self-driving cars
Tesla is pushing a free one-month trial of its FSD Beta driver-assistance software to US customers
Tesla is about to start giving every customer in the U.S. a one-month trial of its $12,000 driver-assistance system, which it calls Full Self-Driving Beta, provided they have a car…
Waymo recalls and updates robotaxi software after two cars crashed into the same towed truck
Waymo is voluntarily recalling the software that powers its robotaxi fleet after two vehicles crashed into the same towed pickup truck in Phoenix, Arizona, in December. It’s the company’s first…
Waymo is about to start testing its driverless passenger vehicles on the highway later this month, a critical milestone for the company that, if successful, will unlock expanded commercial operations. …
Foxconn and Nvidia are building ‘AI factories’ to accelerate self-driving cars
Nvidia and Foxconn are working together to build so-called “AI factories,” a new class of data centers that promise to provide supercomputing powers to accelerate the development of self-driving cars,…
Robotaxis hit a speedbump, crypto is down and tech IPOs may be on the horizon
Our Monday show covers the latest in tech news from the weekend and what’s making headlines early in the week.
Pony, investor Toyota partner to ‘mass produce’ robotaxis in China
Autonomous-driving company Pony.ai and Toyota say they’re teaming up with the goal of one day cranking out a bunch of “fully driverless robotaxis.” The two companies intend to kick off…
China’s WeRide secures self-driving vehicle license from UAE
The United Arab Emirates has given Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide the first national license for self-driving vehicles. The permit allows WeRide to test its Level 4 autonomous vehicles on…
Not dead yet: This is true both of the U.K’s capacity to attract venture capital dollars, and of the promise of autonomous cars.
Waymo’s self-driving cars will be available on Uber’s app, starting in Phoenix
Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, has agreed to a multi-year strategic partnership with Uber that will see some of Waymo’s autonomous vehicle technology join Uber’s platform. The collaboration comes a few…
Self-driving cars are taking ages to become a reality, but they won’t take forever
My dream of never having to drive again is far from dead. I just need to add five or 10 years to my prior timelines.
Apple’s first car effort might not be self-driving after all
Apple has talked a big game about its future plans to break into the automotive market. But a report from Bloomberg says that Apple has had to scale back its…
It’s time to admit self-driving cars aren’t going to happen
A couple caveats for those going apoplectic over the headline: I mean self-driving isn’t going to be a thing A) in our lifetimes and B) with any kind of omnipresent…
Alex and Grace are back to cover the biggest and most interesting technology, startup and market news. This morning was a fun mix of stuff that we…
Pony.ai loses permit to test autonomous vehicles with driver in California
The California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked Pony.ai’s permit to test its autonomous vehicle technology with a driver on Tuesday for failing to monitor the driving records of the safety…
Luminar’s Austin Russell: ‘We probably shouldn’t have existed’ but lidar will drive next-gen safety anyway
At TC Sessions: Mobility, Luminar founder and CEO Austin Russell admitted that his now successful company was founded in hubris, but that a skeptical eye during peak lidar hype helped…
Waymo is expanding its driverless program in Phoenix
Waymo is pulling the human safety driver out of its recently expanded robotaxi operations in downtown Phoenix, Dmitri Dolgov, co-CEO of Waymo, announced on the TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility stage on…
China’s logistics robot maker VisionNav raises $76M at $500M valuation
Industrial robotics has in recent years become one of the hottest tech sectors in China as the country encourages the use of advanced technology to enhance efficiency on the production…
Robotaxi rivals Pony and WeRide join Chinese ride-hailing service OnTime’s $153M round
This is an interesting day when we see two of China’s major robotaxi foes come together, offering a clue to how the industry is evolving in the country. WeRide.ai and…
Alibaba-backed Deeproute further slashes L4 driving costs to $3,000
Only four months after Deeproute.ai announced it planned to sell its self-driving solution at an attractive $10,000, the Shenzhen and Fremont-based startup said it has further slashed the cost by…
Steer’s Anuja Sonalker explains the benefits of chasing the less glitzy side of autonomy
“We are revenue positive and we are cash-flow positive. We have a strong balance sheet and good reserves. All of our operations today are actually run through our income in…
Bosch picks up Five.ai after the self-driving startup pivoted to B2B and then put itself up for sale
Consolidation is moving ahead in the world of autonomous driving, with the latest development coming out of Europe. Today, Bosch announced that it would be acquiring Five.ai, the autonomous driving…
Waymo opens driverless robotaxi testing to San Francisco employees
Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, has begun offering its San Francisco employees fully autonomous rides, the company said Wednesday. Waymo will begin its rider-only operations within its “initial San Francisco service…
China’s EV chassis maker PIX raises $11M to build its own smart vehicles
The autonomous driving industry in China has enjoyed a boom over the past two years, with both institutional and corporate investors pouring money into a driverless future. Companies thriving in…
Aurora unveils test fleet of autonomous Toyota Sienna robotaxis
Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation is launching a small test fleet of custom-designed self-driving Toyota Siennas for future ride-hail operations. The company will test its vehicles on highways and…
China’s driverless delivery startup Whale Dynamic targets US market with $2.5M funding
A nascent Nuro challenger from China has its sight set on the delivery market in the U.S. and just raised some seed funding to advance its ambitions. Whale Dynamic, a…
Buckle up, autonomous vehicles finally get federal safety standards
Autonomous vehicles and vehicles with automated driving functions now have their own set of motor vehicle safety standards, a U.S. federal agency ruled on Thursday. The ruling begins to provide…
Waymo to begin charging for robotaxi rides in San Francisco
Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet, has scored a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission that allows it to charge riders for ride-hailing trips in its autonomous vehicles in…
Motional and Via launch free autonomous ride-hail service in Las Vegas
Motional, the Aptiv-Hyundai joint venture aiming to commercialize autonomous driving technology, has launched a new robotaxi service in Las Vegas with on-demand and transit tech service Via. The two companies,…
Waymo to keep robotaxi safety details secret, court rules
Waymo, the autonomous driving arm of Alphabet, was granted a win on Tuesday when a California court ruled it could keep secret certain details regarding its AV technology. The company…
Chasing Cruise and Waymo, Chinese AV company AutoX plans to begin testing in San Francisco
AutoX, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company that has made plays in both the U.S. and its home country, is now making a move into San Francisco, an area where its…
