Zoox Begins Testing Robotaxis in LA 🏝️🤖
Nuro raises $106M Series E Funding, Waymo gets stuck in a Chick-fil-A drive-thru, and what robotaxis will mean for Uber and Lyft drivers.
Top Stories of the Week
Amazon’s Zoox begins robotaxi testing in Los Angeles (link). They’re starting with a few safety-driver-equipped test vehicles to gather data manually across LA, their sixth market. And autonomous driving will kick off later this summer, with public rides expected in both Las Vegas and San Francisco by year’s end.
I’m excited for another player to launch driverless rides but still have a lot of questions around Zoox’s strategy for commercialization. The company has said they’ll launch with their own app to start but I don’t think customers are going to download a fourth app after Uber, Lyft and Waymo. So it seems inevitable that they will need to partner with Uber and/or Lyft. Either way, I look forward to hearing Ron Thaniel talk more about these questions and the latest expansion news today at Curbivore in LA (his panel is at 11:30 am)!
Nuro Announces $106 million Series E Financing at $6B Valuation, Backed by Leading Financial and Strategic Investors (link). This round brings their total funding to $2.2 billion, although the valuation is a drop from the $8.6 billion post money valuation they earned in 2021. But on the bright side, most startup valuations have come down since then, so I think this is a positive sign for Nuro and the sector at large.
I’d love to see some more firm deadlines or goals from the company though when it comes to when we should expect to see driverless vehicles on the road without a safety driver.
Wayve’s Self-Driving Tech Is Coming to Nissan Vehicles (link, no paywall). Starting in 2027, Nissan plans to upgrade its ProPilot driver assistance system with self-driving software from Wayve — a big win for the UK-based startup backed by the likes of Nvidia, Microsoft, SoftBank, and Uber. The revamped system will also include new sensors like lidar (supplier still under wraps), with Nissan calling it a “new standard for autonomous driving” thanks to its advanced collision avoidance tech.
Waymo to begin data collection in Tokyo with driver-operated test rides (link). Starting next week, they'll roll out 25 driver-operated electric Jaguar I-PACEs across Tokyo to map the city and better understand the local roads, infrastructure, and driving habits.
Cool Rides
Only on a Waymo in SF (link).
Rode in my first Waymo on a recent trip to LA - a total game changer I’ll remember forever, like the first time I used the internet or an iPhone or any other disruptive technology (link).
AV/Humans behaving badly
I’m no expert on bullet holes but it does look like the ‘bullet’ exited on the outside of the door. But according to the OP, there was no entry hole on the inside of the door. So I’m going to guess it was just a stray sharp pole. Still seems dangerous lol.
Waymo gets stuck in California Chick-fil-A drive-thru (link). I had Chick-fil-A for dinner on Tuesday night and it was delicious so I don’t blame Waymo. But I will say, it’s much faster to order it on DoorDash since then you don’t have to wait in the drive thru line.
Waymo? Or Way Mo people..(link). This happens all the time on human powered Uber rides. Have fun with this one guys :)
Other Stuff
What robotaxis will mean for Uber and Lyft drivers (link). There were a couple interesting data points provided by Gridwise in this article and a quote from CEO Ryan Green:
Drivers are still working at the same pace, getting the same incentives, and taking as many trips as before
Even though 30% of drivers are ‘extremely worried’ about self-driving cars, it doesn’t seem like AVs are affecting driver’s earnings just yet.
Waymo's rides have ramped way faster in Austin than prior city launches. By the end of its first month, Waymo facilitated ~20% of Uber rides within its Austin operating zone (link). I’ve been skeptical of Yipit’s robotaxi data since it’s only based on Waymo’s operating domain but this chart is interesting since it’s comparing the growth rates from city to city using the same data source for each one. And I think it makes a great case for Waymo on Uber, since Waymo’s market share is growing so much faster in Austin than in previous markets. So that means more rides, revenue and utilization.
Tesla’s June robotaxi deadline looms as political backlash builds over Elon Musk (link).
Waymo Cancels Turn to ‘Avoid Crash’ (link). Sorry but I wasn’t impressed by this video. The Waymo was making a left turn so it slowly crept out into the intersection like a normal human driver would do. I’d hardly call that canceling a turn or even avoiding a crash.
I went to an autonomous vehicle hype conference in LA and now I know why we won't lose human drivers anytime soon (link, no paywall). Lloyd had a couple great lines in this article that made me lol but I think his viewpoint is also that of a typical customer.
I wasn't particularly in a time crunch, but, like most people, I don't call a rideshare driver half an hour or more before I leave the house to get to a destination.
Waymo: ‘no plans’ to use in-car camera data for targeted ads (link). A Waymo spokesperson made this statement after tech sleuth Jane Wong leaked a screenshot from an unreleased version of Waymo’s privacy policy, which seems to show that riders might soon be able to opt out of letting their personal info — including interior camera footage tied to their identity — be used to train generative AI models, potentially for things like ads.
Until next week. And if you’re at Curbivore today, please say hi. We had a great opening party last night with over 200+ attendees!
-Harry