Another acquisition for French carpooling platform BlaBlaCar: It’s picked up Russian Internet giant Mail.Ru’s relatively recent rival offering, BeepCar, in what’s being billed as both an acquisition and a partnership. BlaBlaCar says the move is aimed at consolidating its international growth. “Through this acquisition, we are doubling down our commitment to develop carpooling in Russia,… Continue reading BlaBlaCar acquires carpool rival BeepCar from Russia’s Mail.Ru
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
Drive.ai’s self-driving vehicle service is now live in Texas
The bedroom community of Frisco, Texas might seem like an unusual place to find a self-driving vehicle. But here in this city of nearly 175,000 people, there are seven. And as of Monday, they’re available for the public to use within a specific sector of the city that has a concentration of retail, entertainment venues… Continue reading Drive.ai’s self-driving vehicle service is now live in Texas
China’s Didi pumps $1B into its rebranded driver services business
Didi Chuxing is going pedal to the metal for its automobile services business after it announced it will invest $1 billion into the division, which is also getting a rebrand. The Chinese ride-hailing firm had been tipped to spin out the business and raise $1.5 billion from investors ahead of an IPO, according to a recent Reuters… Continue reading China’s Didi pumps $1B into its rebranded driver services business
Rideshare companies offered New York $100M to drop proposed regulations
Lyft, Uber and Via yesterday made an offer to succor New York City’s beleaguered taxi medallion owners: a $100 million relief fund paid over five years to cover the plight of these poor souls. But the city, in its arrogance, refused this generosity! How could they? Perhaps because the money was contingent on New York… Continue reading Rideshare companies offered New York $100M to drop proposed regulations
Tesla’s alleged ‘saboteur’ strikes back with defamation suit
Martin Tripp, the former Tesla employee who was fired and then sued by the electric vehicle automaker, has filed a lawsuit, alleging statements made by CEO Elon Musk in recent weeks (many in tweet form) defamed him. Tripp is asking for $1 million in damages from the electric automaker. Tripp, who has hired an Arizona-based law firm,… Continue reading Tesla’s alleged ‘saboteur’ strikes back with defamation suit
Renovo partners with aiPod to deploy self-driving cars in London and beyond
Renovo is licensing its technology to yet another self-driving startup—this time aiPod—in its bid to sell a platform that will enable companies to deploy commercial fleets of fully automated vehicles. Fleets of autonomous vehicles that can safely pick up and drop off people and packages will require more than an AI system that can brake,… Continue reading Renovo partners with aiPod to deploy self-driving cars in London and beyond
Waymo partners with Walmart, Avis, AutoNation and others to expand access to self-driving cars
Waymo, Google’s former self-driving project that’s now an Alphabet company, announced today a new series of partnerships aimed at giving more people access to its autonomous vehicles. Through deals with Walmart, AutoNation, Avis and others, Waymo will pick up customers and drive them to businesses in the Phoenix area. The company already had existing relationships with… Continue reading Waymo partners with Walmart, Avis, AutoNation and others to expand access to self-driving cars
‘Waze of Parking’ app SpotAngels raises $2.3 million
SpotAngels, an app that uses crowdsourced data to help drivers find parking and avoid tickets, has raised $2.3 million from a group of investors that includes Google Maps co-founder Lars Rasmussen. Luc Vincent, the former head of Google Street View and vice president of engineering at Lyft, as well as Y Combinator, Streamlined Ventures and Via ID… Continue reading ‘Waze of Parking’ app SpotAngels raises $2.3 million
Uber hits 10 billion trips
Last month, Uber hit 10 billion completed trips across rides and deliveries, the company announced today. This comes about one year after Uber hit five billion trips. Lyft, Uber’s main competitor in the U.S., hit half a billion rides last October. Uber officially hit the milestone on June 10, 2018 when 173 trips and deliveries simultaneously… Continue reading Uber hits 10 billion trips
Uber self-driving cars back on public roads, but in manual mode
Uber is putting its autonomous vehicles back on Pittsburgh’s city streets, four months after a fatal accident involving one of its self-driving cars prompted the ride-hailing company to halt testing on public roads. But for now, Uber’s modified self-driving Volvo XC90 vehicles will only be driven manually by humans and under a new set of safety… Continue reading Uber self-driving cars back on public roads, but in manual mode