Welcome to TechCrunch Mobility, your go-to source for transportation news and developments. Today, I, Rebecca Bellan, am stepping in for Kirsten to discuss Aurora Innovation’s recent achievements.
Aurora has been striving to launch America’s first fully autonomous commercial trucking service, initially targeted for April this year, after delaying from an expected 2024 debut. This week, the company successfully completed over 1,200 miles of freight transport between Dallas and Houston with its inaugural customer partnerships involving Hirschbach Motor Lines and Uber Freight, albeit using just a single truck for the moment. Aurora’s ambitions include scaling to "tens of self-driving trucks" and expanding operations to El Paso and Phoenix by late 2025 while servicing its customer base with a fleet of supervised autonomous vehicles.
This milestone for Aurora could significantly impact the trucking industry. However, it remains uncertain whether the company is strategically positioned amid ongoing challenges, such as Trump’s tariffs that are disrupting shipments, which could jeopardise its operational viability.
In other news, AeroVironment, known for drone technology, has wrapped up its acquisition of defense and space engineering firm BlueHalo in a $4.1 billion stock deal, indicating a new direction in defence technology that spans air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. True Anomaly, a startup focusing on defence-related aerospace solutions, also secured $260 million in a Series C round, bolstered by venture firm Accel.
Moving into the realm of autonomous vehicles, May Mobility has recently forged a partnership with Uber to deploy its self-driving vehicles on the Uber platform by the end of 2025, starting in Arlington, Texas. Similarly, the Chinese startup Momenta plans to introduce its robotic taxi service on Uber in Europe by 2026. Meanwhile, Waymo and Toyota are exploring possibilities that could lead to new self-driving vehicles tailored for ride-hailing and personal use, though discussions are in the early, tentative stages.
In electric vehicle news, legal battles at Canoo continue, with an investor contesting a proposed asset sale to the CEO, presenting a more lucrative bid of $20 million. Rivian appears secure with a substantial stockpile of batteries, positioning itself well against the backdrop of tariffs affecting the automotive sector. New EV startup Slate Auto, backed by Jeff Bezos, is considering setting up a manufacturing plant in Warsaw, Indiana. In contrast, reports about Tesla exploring a successor for Elon Musk were denied by board chair Robyn Denholm as board member Joe Gebbia acquired a notable amount of Tesla stock.
Lastly, Ford has decided to shut down its FNV4 software architecture project, which was intended to support its competitive edge against Tesla in the EV market. Additionally, Joby Aviation has successfully transitioned its eVTOL to vertical flight, moving closer to FAA certification.
On the delivery front, DoorDash is pushing back against an Uber lawsuit alleging anti-competitive practices by claiming it is merely a strategy by Uber to stifle genuine competition.
Stay tuned for more insights and updates in the ever-evolving tech landscape.
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