While we aim to cover relevant news from all around the world, the fast-paced nature of the U.S. tech scene often dominates the conversation. So, please bear with us as we focus this issue on the latest developments from the ever-present American tech giants.
Uber continues its remarkable comeback in the autonomous vehicle (AV) space. First, it invested an undisclosed sum in Wayve, a UK-based company that recently raised a billion dollars to accelerate its work on an AV engine. Wayve, along with Waabi and Scale.ai, is betting on a generative AI approach as the road to success, a move that has drawn criticism from more traditional AV companies, such as Aurora. To strengthen Uber’s presence in the Middle East, they also just recently entered a partnership with WeRide to launch robotaxi services in the UAE
Back in the US, Uber has also strengthened its partnership with Waymo, arguably the leading AV tech company. The two companies collaborate since about a year in Phoenix, and soon Uber will serve as the customer-facing brand when they jointly expand into the Austin and Atlanta markets. Given that Waymo’s initial customers in San Francisco and Los Angeles can only access its service through the Waymo One app, it raises the question: does moving to the Uber app signal a shift in Waymo’s go-to-market strategy?
While Waymo is claiming “better than humans” safety records and exploring a subscription model for taking your kids to school via robotaxi, the company is also reportedly searching for new vehicle platforms. This might be driven by the introduction of heavy tariffs on Chinese products, which would likely affect the Zeekr vehicle—the expected next platform for Waymo. Now, Waymo is said to be in talks with Hyundai, a company already invested in Motional for AV development. Coincidentally, this news surfaced just as Motional’s CEO stepped down, following a period of financial struggles and significant layoffs.
China remains a focal point as new U.S. legislation is being drafted to restrict the use of Chinese-produced software and hardware for AV/ADAS technology in vehicles, allegedly due to national security concerns.
As we await Elon Musk’s robotaxi launch on October 8, it’s worth noting that Tesla has now removed corporate web posts from several years ago that claimed all vehicles were equipped with the necessary hardware for the much-debated Full Self Driving (FSD) feature. Interestingly, the FSD feature has since been renamed “FSD (Supervised)”.
Finally, in other AV news, Cruise is quietly staging a comeback in San Francisco, Nuro is transitioning from a pod manufacturer to an AV tech provider, and there’s ongoing discussion about how much current robotaxis rely on remote drivers.