Waabi raises $1B and expands into robotaxis with Uber

Waabi has secured a $750 million Series C round to accelerate autonomous trucking, and another roughly $250 million commitment from Uber to deploy 25,000 robotaxis exclusively on its platform.

The price gap between Waymo and Uber is narrowing

Data collected and analyzed by Obi suggest a shift is underway.

Uber launches an ‘AV Labs’ division to gather driving data for robotaxi partners

Uber is not developing its own robotaxis again; instead it plans to collect and offer data. It’s a bet that more volume will help autonomous vehicle partners solve the weirdest edge cases.

Waymo probed by National Transportation Safety Board over illegal school bus behavior

The NTSB joins the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in investigating Waymo vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses.

TechCrunch Mobility: ‘Physical AI’ enters the hype machine

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things “future of transportation.” 

New York governor clears path for robotaxis everywhere, with one notable exception

New York City will be a notable exclusion from proposed legislation to legalize commercial robotaxis across the state.

Waymo explains why its robotaxis got stuck during the SF blackout

The company also said its robotaxis navigated more than 7,000 dark stoplights successfully on Saturday.

Waymo is testing Gemini as an in-car AI assistant in its robotaxis

Waymo is testing a Gemini-powered in-car AI assistant, per findings from a 1,200-line system prompt. The assistant can answer general knowledge questions, control certain in-cabin features, and more.

Uber and Lyft to test Baidu robotaxis in London next year, joining Waymo

The geographic expansions continue for the ride-hailing companies’ robotaxi plans.