Hertz spins out Oro Mobility with $80 million from Cohen, Certares and Knighthead

The $80 million is strategic equity, and Hertz will keep majority ownership of the business. Oro is now a standalone company led by CEO Doria Holbrook, with Hertz CEO Gil West serving as executive chairman. Investors include Cohen Private Ventures, the family office of Steve Cohen, along with funds affiliated with Certares Opportunities and Knighthead Capital Management. Hertz is betting that robotaxi makers such as Waymo, Tesla and Uber will need outside help handling purchasing, upkeep and cleaning of their vehicles. Oro dates to earlier this year, when Hertz began building it around its long experience running vehicle fleets. For founders building autonomous or logistics software, the deal shows that fleet operations are attracting capital apart from the vehicle makers. Companies shipping dispatch, monitoring or maintenance software for robotaxis should expect these operators to be the buyers and integration partners.