Loading the player… Elon Musk has merged SpaceX and xAI, creating what might be the blueprint for a new Silicon Valley power structure. With his $800 billion net worth already rivaling historic conglomerate GE’s peak market cap, and Musk being vocal about his view that “tech victory is decided by velocity of innovation,” the question isn’t whether a personal conglomerate can be built, but rather how far… Continue reading How Elon Musk is rewriting the rules on founder power
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
How far will Elon Musk take the ‘everything’ business as SpaceX and xAI merge?
Elon Musk has merged SpaceX and xAI, creating what might be the blueprint for a new Silicon Valley power structure. With his $800 billion net worth already rivaling historic conglomerate GE’s peak market cap, and Musk being vocal about his view that “tech victory is decided by velocity of innovation,” the question isn’t whether a personal conglomerate can be built, but rather how far Musk himself is… Continue reading How far will Elon Musk take the ‘everything’ business as SpaceX and xAI merge?
Uber appoints new CFO as its AV plans accelerate
Uber is promoting Balaji Krishnamurthy, its VP of strategic finance and investor relations, to be its CFO, replacing its current finance chief Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah. Krishnamurthy has been at Uber for over six years, spending most of his tenure in the company in its investor relations division. He often posts about the company’s autonomous ride-hailing efforts,… Continue reading Uber appoints new CFO as its AV plans accelerate
Waymo raises $16B to scale robotaxi fleet internationally
Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, has raised $16 billion as it plans to grow its fleet of driverless taxicabs this year to more than a dozen new cities internationally, including London and Tokyo. Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital led the funding round, which now values Waymo at $126 billion, the company… Continue reading Waymo raises $16B to scale robotaxi fleet internationally
Waymo reportedly raising a $16B funding round
Waymo has nearly finalized a new $16 billion funding round that will value the robotaxi company at $110 billion, according to the Financial Times. More than three-fourths of that funding will reportedly come from a source close to home — Alphabet, where Waymo is a subsidiary. (The company was incubated as part of Alphabet’s “moonshot… Continue reading Waymo reportedly raising a $16B funding round
Uber is literally in the driver’s seat when it comes to AV bets
Loading the player… Self-driving truck startup Waabi’s billion-dollar fundraise isn’t just about trucks. The deal, for $750 million up front plus another $250 million from Uber tied to deployment milestones, marks a major expansion into robotaxis for the company founded by former Uber AI chief Raquel Urtasun. It also feels like another chip from Uber on the autonomous vehicle roulette… Continue reading Uber is literally in the driver’s seat when it comes to AV bets
Uber puts another chip on the self-driving roulette table
Self-driving truck startup Waabi’s billion-dollar fundraise isn’t just about trucks. The deal, for $750 million up front plus another $250 million from Uber tied to deployment milestones, marks a major expansion into robotaxis for the company founded by former Uber AI chief Raquel Urtasun. It also feels like another chip from Uber on the autonomous vehicle roulette table. With more… Continue reading Uber puts another chip on the self-driving roulette table
Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides to and from San Francisco International Airport
After years of negotiations and false starts, Waymo is now allowed to operate a robotaxi service to and from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The Alphabet-owned company said in a blog post Thursday it will begin offering access to SFO to a select number of riders before offering it to all customers in the… Continue reading Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides to and from San Francisco International Airport
Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica
A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, according to the company. Waymo told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the child — whose age and identity are not currently public — sustained minor injuries. The NHTSA has opened an investigation into the accident, and… Continue reading Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica
Luminar sale approved despite last-minute mystery bid
Moments before a bankruptcy judge was expected to approve the sale of Luminar’s lidar business, an unidentified party submitted an offer that apparently blew away the leading bid of $33 million. This bid, which emerged just before a hearing Tuesday, kicked off a series of rapid-fire meetings between Luminar’s remaining leadership team and its lawyers,… Continue reading Luminar sale approved despite last-minute mystery bid