By Claudia Assis

Driverless-technology company says it has more than $1.8 billion in cash after SPAC merger

Shares of autonomous-vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation Inc. rose nearly 2% on Thursday, their debut on the Nasdaq after the merger with a blank-check company was completed.

The merger with special-purpose acquisition company Reinvent Technology Partners Y formally closed on Wednesday, leaving Aurora (AUR) with more than $1.8 billion in gross proceeds and cash on hand, the company said.

Aurora announced the plan to merge and become a public company in July. Reinvent is led by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Zynga Inc. (ZNGA) founder Mark Pincus.

Aurora Driver, the company's flagship autonomous driving product, is designed to apply to vehicles from commercial trucks to passenger cars.

Aurora plans to launch its autonomous commercial trucking business, Aurora Horizon, by late 2023, followed by a driverless ride-hailing business, Aurora Connect, in 2024.

The company has inked partnerships with Uber Technologies Inc and an unit of Volvo Group.

-Claudia Assis