General Motors announced on Friday its acquiring SoftBank Vision Fund’s equity ownership stake in San Francisco-based autonomous driving technology developer Cruise for $2.1 billion. As part of the massive investment, GM is separately making an additional $1.35 billion investment in Cruise, replacing a previous commitment made by the Softbank’s Vision Fund fund in 2018.
Eric Walz2022-04-24 17:00 PT
On Monday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued “Drivered Deployment” permits to Cruise LLC and Waymo to start commercial passenger service in autonomous vehicles (AVs) in San Francisco. The permit allows Cruise and Waymo to collect fares from passengers who use the robotaxi services, as well as offer shared rides.
Eric Walz2022-04-07 11:00 PT
Autonomous driving developer Waymo plans to launch its autonomous ride-hailing service soon in San Francisco. In preparation for the service, Waymo announced that its fleet of self-driving vehicles has traveled 2.7 million miles on city streets, mapping the city and collecting valuable data to improve its autonomous driving technology stack called the “Waymo Driver”. In a new blog post, Waymo shared how it safely accomplished this.
Eric Walz2022-03-04 14:25 PT
Waymo is Deploying its Self-Driving Vehicles in New York City
Alphabet Inc’s autonomous driving arm Waymo is deploying its autonomous vehicles in New York City. Beginning tomorrow, Waymo’s mapping vehicles start mapping the city in preparation for a more widespread deployment of fully-autonomous vehicles. The company plans to launch an autonomous ride-hailing service in major U.S. cities called "Waymo One" that's similar to Uber and Lyft.
Eric Walz2021-12-10 07:30 PT
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will now require automakers selling vehicle equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) or SAE Levels 3-5 automated driving systems to report any crashes involving their vehicles, the agency announced on Tuesday.
FutureCar Staff 2021-08-05 15:30 PT
Autonomous driving startup Pony.ai announced its newly designed perception platform in collaboration with Volvo-backed Luminar Technologies. The next-generation fleet of self-driving Pony.ai robotaxi vehicles will integrate Luminar’s new Iris lidar sensor. The company plans to deploy its robotaxi vehicles equipped with Luminar lidar by 2023.
Eric Walz2021-06-16 14:00 PT
Intel-owned Mobileye Unveils its New Lidar and Radar Technology for Autonomous Vehicles at CES
As automakers race to develop self-driving vehicles, they are turning to tech companies and chipmakers for help in designing and developing the hardware that will support future electric and self-driving vehicles. One such company is Intel subsidiary Mobileye. During two sessions at CES on Monday, Mobileye president and chief executive officer Amnon Shashua explained how the company is planning to become a global leader in autonomous vehicle technology.
Eric Walz2021-02-17 17:15 PT
Alphabet Division Waymo Will No Longer Use the Term ‘Self-Driving’ to Describe its Technology
To date, no major automaker or self-driving startup, has actually developed a vehicle capable of safe self-driving without human intervention. So Waymo, which spun out of Google’s self-driving car project over a decade ago, wants to help educate the public about the true capabilities of its autonomous driving technology. The company announced this week that going forward its will no longer refer to its technology as "self-driving."
FutureCar Staff 2021-02-12 12:55 PT
California ride hailing company Lyft is teaming up with Boston-based Motional on an autonomous ride-hailing service in major cities across the U.S., the companies announced on Wednesday. Motional’s self-driving vehicles will be integrated, operationalized and deployed on the Lyft network. The services will launch in 2023.
FutureCar Staff 2021-01-22 11:30 PT
Autonomous Driving Startup Pony.ai Raises $267 Million in Latest Funding Round
Autonomous driving startup Pony.ai, which is backed by Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and is working with the automaker on self-driving technology, has raised another $267 million in its latest funding round. Pony.ai’s latest funding round follows a $462 million investment led by Toyota in February.
Eric Walz2020-12-13 09:55 PT
China’s Baidu Fully Opens its 'Apollo Go' Robotaxi Service to the Public in Beijing
China’s Baidu Inc., which is one of the world’s largest tech companies and the equivalent of Google in China, announced this week that its “Apollo Go” robotaxi service in Beijing is now fully open and picking up passengers. The Apollo Go service is free for riders and there are no reservations necessary. Baidu currently has 14 pick-up and drop-off stations approved and opened to the public.
Eric Walz2020-12-05 13:30 PT
Lidar Pioneer Velodyne to Become a Public Company in a Reverse Merger Deal
San Jose California-based lidar company Velodyne Lidar Inc. is becoming a public company in a reverse merger agreement with Graf Industrial Corp. (GRAF), a special special purpose acquisition company. As part of the reverse merger agreement, GRAF will be renamed "Velodyne Lidar, Inc." and will remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol VLDR.
Eric Walz2020-08-08 14:15 PT
Softbank Leads $500 Million Investment in Didi Chuxing’s Autonomous Driving Subsidiary
After losing billions on investments in U.S. ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc. and shared workspace startup WeWork, Softbank Group Corp is placing its next bets on self-driving cars in China. Softbank is leading a funding round in Chinese transportation company Didi Chuxing. The investment is in Didi’s autonomous driving subsidiary.
Eric Walz2020-07-05 13:30 PT
Pony.ai Given Green Light to Carry Passengers in its Robotaxis in China
Autonomous driving startup Pony.ai, which was founded in Fremont, California with the goal of building the safest and most reliable autonomous driving technology, has been granted permission by local authorities in Beijing to pick up passengers in its robotaxis.
Eric Walz2020-06-28 11:00 PT
Waymo Secures $750 Million in its Latest Funding Round, Totaling $3 Billion Since March
Despite the economic fallout due to the coronavirus crisis, venture capital continues to flow to companies working on self-driving cars and commercial robotaxi services that have the potential to change the future mobility landscape. Waymo announced it had raised another $750 million its first ever outside investment round. The Alphabet subsidiary has raised $3 billion since March.
Eric Walz2020-06-19 10:00 PT
Waymo to Resume its Self-driving Vehicle Testing Next Week in Arizona
Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, the self-driving technology company which spawned from Google’s early self-driving car project, announced on Thursday that it will resume its autonomous vehicle testing next week. Waymo is putting some of its vehicles back on the road in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, where the company has been testing its driverless vehicles for the past several years.
FutureCar Staff 2020-06-14 15:15 PT
Waymo Raises $2.25 billion in its First-Ever External Investment Round
Waymo, the self-driving division of Parent Alphabet, announced on Monday it raised $2.25 billion in its first ever external funding round. Waymo spun out of Google’s early self-driving car project, which was one of the first efforts to develop self-driving cars over a decade ago.
Eric Walz2020-04-08 16:30 PT
Autonomous Driving Startup Pony.ai Receives $400 Million Investment from Toyota
Autonomous driving startup Pony.ai announced today it received a $400 million investment from Toyota. The investment will help to strengthen and expand its collaboration with Toyota on self-driving cars.
FutureCar Staff 2020-04-03 16:45 PT
Self-driving startup EasyMile was ordered to suspend its autonomous shuttle operations in the U.S. today after a passenger was injured last summer after one of the company’s vehicles made a sudden stop. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered French-based EasyMile to suspend its operations while the agency investigates the incident.
FutureCar Staff 2020-04-02 16:45 PT
President Trump Sign Executive Order to Study Threats to the U.S. Global Positioning System
President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday directing U.S. agencies to test the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure systems in the event of a disruption or manipulation of the Global Positioning System.
Eric Walz2020-03-20 12:30 PT
LG Develops ‘Invisible' Speaker Sound Technology That Could Revolutionize In-Vehicle Audio
Eric WalzDec 28, 2022 10:45 AM PT
Toyota's Redesigned Prius May Get More Drivers Behind the Wheel of a Hybrid Vehicle
FutureCar Staff Dec 25, 2022 12:50 PM PT
Eric WalzDec 22, 2022 2:30 PM PT
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