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Hey hey, it’s a brand new yr! I’ve missed you these previous two weeks. However I’m again, and in Las Vegas for CES 2025. As at all times, bulletins from the present got here quick and livid — some extra materials than others.
My huge takeaway: Autonomous automobiles are again, and the trough of disillusionment days are within the rearview. At the least, that was the sentiment from a lot of the of us I spoke to whereas strolling across the Las Vegas Conference Middle. In the meantime, U.S. automakers were absent this year excluding Scout Motors, the VW Group spinoff.
Waymo had its largest exhibit but on the CES conference ground, the place it showed off the Zeekr RT. There have been loads of different autonomous car startups (or AV adjoining firms) with reveals, together with Utilized Instinct, May Mobility, Japanese firm Tier IV, Polymath Robotics, and Zoox. John Deere even obtained in on the automated driving motion. Quite a few different AV startups, in addition to firms associated to automated driving, had executives milling about, together with of us from Aurora, Serve Robotics, and Waabi.
The temper was uplifted — excited, even — however with out the identical unchecked hypey-ness I skilled six or seven years in the past.
Nonetheless, excessive challenges stay on the capital and operational entrance. Even Waymo, which arguably is the dominant power, has struggles, together with an incident the place a customer got stuck in one of its robotaxis.
Somewhat chook
We love being at CES as a result of it provides us an opportunity to speak to numerous little birds in particular person for a change. This week, that included among the high brass at Volkswagen Group, who had numerous confidence within the firm’s new offshoot startup Scout Motors.
Scout continues to be a couple of years away from manufacturing and continues to be early within the means of constructing its manufacturing facility in Columbia, South Carolina. However Volkswagen Group expects huge issues from Scout. Executives stated that would even embody utilizing Scout’s manufacturing facility to construct different automobiles because the startup ramps up manufacturing — probably even from new VW three way partnership associate Rivian, which is presently increasing its personal manufacturing facility in Illinois and has delayed plans for a brand new plant in Georgia.
Volkswagen seems to be at it this manner: Its factories are constructed round producing platforms versus particular automobiles. If there are sufficient commonalities between varied vehicles or SUVs within the bigger portfolio — one thing that’s sure to occur as Rivian-VW software program and electrical structure begin to energy extra VW Group automobiles — then, within the firm’s eyes, it is smart to allow them to share manufacturing area and assets.
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Offers!
NXP, a Dutch semiconductor large, plans to acquire TTTech Auto, an Austrian firm that makes a speciality of security software program for autonomous automobiles. The all-cash transaction is valued at $625 million.
NXP makes a speciality of semiconductors for automation throughout industries, and it offers chips for sensors and cameras which can be essential to core automated driving features. The acquisition comes as chip firms — together with Nvidia and Qualcomm — double down on offering automotive-grade supercomputers and toolkits that may assist automakers provide autonomous car know-how.
Different offers that obtained my consideration …
Amazon AWS entered right into a 10-year, $1 billion partnership with Right here, which makes a speciality of mapping and placement tech. As a part of the deal, Right here can use AWS’s cloud infrastructure to assist auto producers get the assets they should develop and deploy automated driving options.
Serve Robotics raised $80 million from unnamed institutional traders through a direct providing. This elevate got here the day after Serve introduced that it had raised $87 million all through the month of December by way of a mix of an ATM and train of warrants. Collectively, these funds will assist Serve lengthen its runway previous 2026 and construct its fleet to 2,000 sidewalk robots by the top of 2025.
Notable reads and different tidbits
CES roundup
Earlier than we soar into the opposite information, listed below are some extra CES highlights that you just might need missed:
BMW is revamping its in-car user interface, beginning with the Neue Klasse sedan later this yr, together with a widget-based system that lets customers customise the format in a method that tasks visuals onto the windshield.
Delta Air Traces introduced a slew of updates, together with an AI-powered assistant in its app and upgraded in-flight entertainment system, full with free onboard YouTube Premium and Music. The airline additionally introduced an unique cope with Uber that may see SkyMiles members earn miles through Uber rides and deliveries.
Honda unveiled the most recent in its futuristic 0 Collection, a midsized electrical SUV prototype known as the 0 SUV. Honda guarantees to debut a manufacturing model of the 0 SUV within the first half of 2026.
Segway got here to play this yr with two sick new e-bikes. The primary is Xyber, a mud bike that’s not even road-legal but, and the second is Xafari, a extra traditional, customizable step-through bike. Each are filled with tech and are available underneath $3,000.
Scout Motors, the VW spinoff, stood out at CES for having a extra traditional strategy to its two automobiles, the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup. They’ve obtained regular door handles, optionally available gas-powered vary extenders, and, miraculously, buttons! As an alternative of all touchscreens! That doesn’t imply the vehicles are gentle on tech, although; one cool characteristic they’ll have is built-in satellite connection.
Uber additionally teamed up with Nvidia this yr, saying it will use the chipmaker’s new generative world mannequin simulation instrument, Cosmos, and cloud-based AI supercomputing platform, DGX Cloud, to assist the event of AVs.
Vay, the Berlin-based startup that makes use of teleoperations know-how to have people pilot empty automobiles to rental prospects, is expanding operations in Las Vegas, with plans to extend its fleet dimension to 100 automobiles.
Xpeng Aero HT unveiled its “modular flying car” that’s primarily an enormous electrical van with a small, foldable eVTOL that may roll out and launch into the skies. And, apparently, Xpeng is on the point of mass-produce this yr.
ADAS
Tesla’s “Precise Sensible Summon” characteristic, which lets Tesla house owners use their app to summon their automobile to them autonomously, is under federal investigation following a number of crashes.
Autonomous automobiles
Aurora Innovation has lost Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi as certainly one of its board members after he resigned final week, citing a need to concentrate on his duties at his ride-hail and supply firm.
A Serve supply robotic and a Waymo robotaxi collided at a Los Angeles intersection. No robots have been damage, nevertheless it’s an fascinating case examine of what occurs as our streets grow to be full of several types of AVs.
Electrical automobiles, charging, & batteries
Lucid produced and delivered a record number of vehicles in 2024. The EV startup met its manufacturing goal with 9,029 EVs and delivered 10,241 automobiles.
Rivian delivered 51,579 electric SUVs, vans, and vans in 2024, up 3x from 2023. The corporate additionally constructed 49,476 EVs final yr, which is 8,000 fewer than Rivian’s July steering.
Tesla noticed fewer deliveries final yr in comparison with 2023, marking the automaker’s first ever year-to-year drop. Not even the Cybertruck, Tesla’s first true new mannequin since 2020, boosted Tesla’s development. (Bonus: Take a look at all the promises Elon Musk made for Tesla in 2024.)
Turo was concerned in some critically messy enterprise after two people rented EVs from the peer-to-peer car-sharing platform and used them to perform acts of violence. First there was the man who drove a Ford F-150 Lightning right into a crowd of individuals, then the man who drove a Tesla Cybertruck to the Trump lodge in Las Vegas and allegedly blew it up. Each people had clear data, so what might Turo have done to prevent this?
Miscellaneous
Tesla administrators will now should pay as much as $919 million again to the corporate after a Delaware decide permitted a settlement, resolving allegations that they overpaid themselves.
This week’s wheels
Inside hours of touchdown in Las Vegas, I headed to Zoox’s operations heart, which is positioned off the Strip. My mission: take a experience in a Zoox robotaxi. Mission achieved. And twice, for that matter. Keep tuned for my full writeup and video within the subsequent day. However till then, listed below are a couple of ideas.
Throughout my two separate Zoox journeys, each of which have been at evening, the robotaxi dealt with quite a few advanced conditions, together with development zones, two automobile crashes (we weren’t concerned), double-parked automobiles, and turning proper on a crimson gentle. This expertise felt regular, although logically I understood this was not regular. At the least not but.
Zoox nonetheless has a bit of labor to do, although. Whereas the robotaxi obeyed all site visitors guidelines and operated safely, there have been a couple of instances when it hit the brakes a bit arduous. The suspension might additionally use some work to make it a extra snug experience.
What’s “This week’s wheels”? It’s an opportunity to be taught in regards to the totally different transportation merchandise we’re testing, whether or not it’s an electrical or hybrid automobile, an e-bike, or perhaps a experience in an autonomous car.
CES,techcrunch mobility
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