Uber said to be negotiating sale of self-driving tech to Toyota

Uber might begin selling its autonomous driving systems to outside companies, including major automakers, according to a new report from Japan’s Nikkei. The report claims that Uber has had talks with Toyota regarding supplying the automaker with self-driving tech, and that the two are currently in negotiations around how this would work, with talk of… Continue reading Uber said to be negotiating sale of self-driving tech to Toyota

Volkswagen’s self-driving electric Sedric concept is heading to production

Volkswagen confirmed at its annual media conference that it’s going to bring one of its most eccentric concepts to production – the all-electric Sedric shuttle, which is more tiny pod bus than car, will eventually actually get made, after its design is refined by one of the Volkswagen Group’s portfolio brands through a further development… Continue reading Volkswagen’s self-driving electric Sedric concept is heading to production

Lyft is testing monthly subscriptions for riders

Lyft is testing a monthly subscription plan for people who tend to take a lot of rides, The Verge first reported. This is no surprise, given Lyft CEO and co-founder Logan Green said earlier this week Lyft would like to achieve in transportation what Netflix achieved in streaming media with subscriptions. There seems to be… Continue reading Lyft is testing monthly subscriptions for riders

Ford is changing the way it builds vehicles

Ford is a 115-year-old company and has changed much over the years. The car maker seems ready to change again. Today, Ford gathered several hundred journalists in a theater deep in its Dearborn, MI development center. The building is surrounded by engineering labs and test facilities. A Ford proving ground is across the street, the… Continue reading Ford is changing the way it builds vehicles

Drover picks up £5.5M funding for its car subscription marketplace

Drover, a London-based startup that lets you take out a “car subscription” as an alternative to car ownership, has picked up £5.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by VC firms Cherry Ventures, Partech and BP Ventures (the venture arm of BP), and adds to an earlier £2 million ‘pre-seed’ investment from Version… Continue reading Drover picks up £5.5M funding for its car subscription marketplace

Finnish autonomous car goes for a leisurely cruise in the driving snow

It’s one thing for an autonomous car to strut its stuff on a smooth, warm California tarmac, and quite another to do so on the frozen winter mix of northern Finland. Martti, a self-driving vehicle system homegrown in Finland, demonstrated just this in a record-setting drive along a treacherous (to normal drivers) Laplandish road. Martti… Continue reading Finnish autonomous car goes for a leisurely cruise in the driving snow

Arbe Robotics raises $9M to build high-resolution radars for autonomous cars

As carmakers and tech companies continue to improve the mechanics and reliability of self-driving cars, Arbe Robotics, a Tel Aviv startup developing a high-resolution radar system to help those vehicles detect and identify objects, has raised $9 million to help see itself to its first in-car trials in the next year or two. There are… Continue reading Arbe Robotics raises $9M to build high-resolution radars for autonomous cars

A view from Andreessen Horowitz on the questions shaping the future of autonomous vehicles

Frank Chen Contributor Everything that moves, says a16z partner Frank Chen, will go autonomous. But what does that really mean? In this presentation from the a16z Summit, Chen goes over the 16 most commonly asked questions about autonomous cars, and what their answers might be:  Will we progress level by level, or go straight to… Continue reading A view from Andreessen Horowitz on the questions shaping the future of autonomous vehicles

P2P car marketplace Shift pauses DC operations, lays off 10% of staff

After Beepi shut down its service and transferred its operations to stealth Fair.com, its closest competitor Shift is facing some downsizing, too — a measure of the challenges of the peer-to-peer car selling business model that both had been trying to establish. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that Shift has laid off just under 10 percent of… Continue reading P2P car marketplace Shift pauses DC operations, lays off 10% of staff

Intel confirms 15% stake in mapping business Here to work on autonomous car tech

Here, the mapping and location services company once owned by Nokia and sold for €2.5 billion to a car-maker consortium of Audi, BMW and Daimler in 2015, is picking up a new investor today. Chipmaker Intel has confirmed that it is taking a 15 percent stake in the business, which it will use to develop autonomous… Continue reading Intel confirms 15% stake in mapping business Here to work on autonomous car tech