The world’s highest-valued artificial intelligence startup SenseTime has set foot in Japan. The Beijing-based firm announced on Friday that it just opened a self-driving facility in Joso, a historic city 50 kilometers away from Tokyo where it plans to conduct R&D and road test driverless vehicles. The initiative follows its agreement with Japanese auto giant Honda in… Continue reading World’s most valuable AI startup SenseTime unveils self-driving center in Japan
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
Uber’s India rival Ola nears $6 billion valuation ahead of huge funding round
Ola, India’s local rival to Uber, has seen its valuation jump to nearly $6 billion as it prepares to take in a large round of financing. The ride-hailing firm, which was founded in 2010, has raised around $3.3 billion from investors to date, and it topped that up a little this week. Ola pulled in… Continue reading Uber’s India rival Ola nears $6 billion valuation ahead of huge funding round
E-scooter startup Bird is raising another $300M
Electric scooter startup Bird is said to be nearing a deal to extend its Series C funding with an additional $300 million led by cross-over investor Fidelity, according to an Axios report. Bird declined to comment. Fidelity has not previously invested in Bird and is reportedly doing so at a flat pre-money valuation of $2… Continue reading E-scooter startup Bird is raising another $300M
Go-Jek’s Southeast Asia expansion runs into a roadblock in the Philippines
Southeast Asian ride-hailing challenger Go-Jek has expanded into three new markets as it bids to expand beyond its native Indonesia, but it is having major issues getting into a fourth. The company — which rivals Grab, is valued at more than $6 billion and is backed by the likes of Google and Tencent — this… Continue reading Go-Jek’s Southeast Asia expansion runs into a roadblock in the Philippines
Meituan partners with Nvidia, Valeo and Icona for its autonomous delivery platform
Meituan Dianping, China’s largest on-demand food delivery company, announced today at CES that it has signed three new major partners for the development of its autonomous delivery open platform. They are Nvidia, Italian automotive design company Icona, and French automotive supplier Valeo. This is the first time Meituan Dianping, which went public four months ago… Continue reading Meituan partners with Nvidia, Valeo and Icona for its autonomous delivery platform
After over a million pre-orders, Amazon’s Echo Auto has begun to ship
At Amazon’s event in September, the company announced the Echo Auto, an aftermarket product designed to bring Alexa to cars. But the device has remained in pre-order status, even as other products also unveiled at the same event — like the Fire TV Recast, AmazonBasics microwave and various Echo devices for the home — went… Continue reading After over a million pre-orders, Amazon’s Echo Auto has begun to ship
Report: Self-driving car startup Aurora is raising capital at a $2B valuation
Early last year, LinkedIn co-founder and prolific venture capital investor Reid Hoffman called Chris Urmson “the Henry Ford of autonomous vehicles (AV).” The vote of confidence and big check from Hoffman, coupled with a team of deeply knowledgable AV entrepreneurs, has catapulted his company, Aurora Innovation, squarely into “unicorn” territory. Aurora, the developer of a full-stack… Continue reading Report: Self-driving car startup Aurora is raising capital at a $2B valuation
Mobileye is using its sensors to create detailed maps of the UK
Mobileye, the Israeli-based automotive sensor company acquired by Intel in 2017, is leveraging the huge amounts of data it can collect to help build precise maps of the UK’s roads and infrastructure. The company announced at CES 2019 that it has reached an agreement with Ordnance Survey to help the UK mapping agency bring high-precision… Continue reading Mobileye is using its sensors to create detailed maps of the UK
Nvidia dives into a new business segment with Drive AutoPilot
Nvidia’s automotive ambitions seemed targeted solely on creating a platform to enable fully autonomous vehicles, notably the robotaxis that so many companies hope to deploy in the coming decade. It turns out that Nvidia has also been working a more near-term product that opens it up to a different segment in the automotive industry. The… Continue reading Nvidia dives into a new business segment with Drive AutoPilot
Uber’s IPO may not be as eye-popping as we expected
Uber is expected to raise $10 billion later this year in one of the largest U.S. initial public offerings in history. The float will value the ride-hailing giant somewhere between $76 billion — the valuation it garnered with its last private financing — and $120 billion — a sky-high figure assigned by Wall Street bankers… Continue reading Uber’s IPO may not be as eye-popping as we expected