Long-distance ridesharing startup BlaBlaCar announced that it is expanding to scooter sharing. But the company isn’t going to operate its own fleet of scooters. Instead, BlaBlaCar is partnering with Voi, a European e-scooter service that has raised $136 million over multiple rounds. Voi operates in dozens of European cities, including Paris, Marseille and Lyon. Over… Continue reading BlaBlaCar partners with scooter startup Voi to launch new BlaBla Ride app
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
Daniel Abt fired from Audi’s Formula E team for using pro sim driver in virtual race
Audi fired Daniel Abt from its Formula E racing team after learning he had a professional sim driver race for him during a virtual competition called the “Race at Home Challenge” held over the weekend. The automaker said in a statement via Formula E that Abt had been suspended from Audi Sport “with immediate effect.”… Continue reading Daniel Abt fired from Audi’s Formula E team for using pro sim driver in virtual race
Bolt, the European on-demand transport company, raises $109M on a $1.9B valuation
Bolt, a rival to Uber and others providing on-demand ridesharing, scooters and other transportation services across some 150 cities in Europe and Africa, is today announcing another capital raise as it weathers a difficult market climate where, because of COVID-19, many are staying in place and avoiding modes of transport that put them into contact… Continue reading Bolt, the European on-demand transport company, raises $109M on a $1.9B valuation
Uber cuts 600 jobs in India
Uber is cutting 600 jobs in India, or 25% of its workforce in the country, it said on Tuesday as it looks to cut costs to steer through the coronavirus pandemic. The job cuts, which affect teams across customer and driver support, business development, legal, policy, marketing, and finance, are part of the company’s global… Continue reading Uber cuts 600 jobs in India
Scale AI releases free lidar data set to power self-driving car development
High-quality data is the fuel that powers AI algorithms. Without a continual flow of labeled data, bottlenecks can occur and the algorithm will slowly get worse and add risk to the system. It’s why labeled data is so critical for companies like Zoox, Cruise and Waymo, which use it to train machine learning models to… Continue reading Scale AI releases free lidar data set to power self-driving car development
Mapbox and SoftBank form joint venture to provide mapping tech to Japanese developers
SoftBank Corp. and Mapbox, the mapping data company that competes with Google and Here, announced that they have established a joint venture called Mapbox Japan. The JV will provide Mapbox’s mapping platform, including APIs and data services, to developers in Japan. Between June 1 and September 30, Mapbox Japan will also provide up to three… Continue reading Mapbox and SoftBank form joint venture to provide mapping tech to Japanese developers
Autonomous aviation startup Xwing raises $10M to scale its software for pilotless flights
Autonomous aviation startup Xwing locked in a $10 million funding round before COVID-19 hit. Now the San Francisco-based startup is using the capital to hire talent and scale the development of its software stack as it aims for commercial operations later this year — pending FAA approvals. The company announced Wednesday its Series A funding… Continue reading Autonomous aviation startup Xwing raises $10M to scale its software for pilotless flights
Indian ride-hailing firm Ola cuts 1,400 jobs
Ola said on Wednesday it is cutting 1,400 jobs in India, or 35% of its workforce in the home market, as the ride-hailing firm works to reduce its expense to steer through the coronavirus pandemic that has severely impacted mobility companies in the country. Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and chief executive of Ola, shared the job… Continue reading Indian ride-hailing firm Ola cuts 1,400 jobs
GM is working on a hands-off advanced driving system for city streets
GM has a “big team” working on an advanced version of its hands-free driving assistance system, Super Cruise, that will expand its capability beyond highways and apply it to city streets, the automaker’s vice president of global product development Doug Parks said Tuesday. GM is also continuing to improve its existing Super Cruise product, Parks… Continue reading GM is working on a hands-off advanced driving system for city streets
Waymo expands first external investment round to $3 billion
Waymo has added an additional $750 million to the $2.25 billion funding round that it first announced in March, bringing the total size of the financing (its first from investors outside of Alphabet) to $3 billion. The extension comes from new investors, including those managed by T. Rowe Price, Perry Creek Capital, Fidelity Management and… Continue reading Waymo expands first external investment round to $3 billion