While DoorDash, Postmates and other apps are looking to reimagine what the food delivery experience looks like, Ray Reddy says he wants to figure out what the next generation of a food court looks like. Sort of. Reddy’s startup, Ritual, aims to remake the whole process of leaving your office and walking around five minutes… Continue reading Order-ahead app Ritual picks up $70M to rethink the social office lunch break
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
Remote-control driverless car startup partners with vehicle manufacturers
Phantom Auto, a platform that can remotely control autonomous vehicles if something goes wrong, has partnered with Einride, Transdev and NEVS, formerly known as Saab Automobile. Phantom Auto’s tech enables a remote driver to take control of an autonomous vehicle, in the event the car encounters something it can’t handle on its own. The plan for… Continue reading Remote-control driverless car startup partners with vehicle manufacturers
Bird looks to bring scooters to Europe
Scooter startup Bird, which is headquartered in Venice, Calif., is looking to expand into Europe, according to a new job posting. The job is for a general manager based in Europe to lead up market management and “raise the opportunities and concerns of the market and set the priorities that will grow Bird in your… Continue reading Bird looks to bring scooters to Europe
Nauto will notify drivers when they’re distracted in real-time
Nauto, the transportation company that aims to make human drivers safer and train autonomous vehicles for all types of scenarios, has just launched Prevent. Nauto Prevent is designed to prevent distracted driving by notifying drivers when they’ve had their eyes off the road for too long. Nauto Prevent’s notifications are dependent upon factors like how… Continue reading Nauto will notify drivers when they’re distracted in real-time
Ride-hailing firm Grab launches new venture to back startups in Southeast Asia
Grab, the ride-hailing firm that acquired Uber’s Southeast Asia business, is aiming to catalyze the early-stage startup scene in Southeast Asia after it launched an accelerator and investment unit called Grab Ventures. The six-year-old company has already made investments and acquisitions — backing startups like Drive.ai and buying Indonesia’s Kudo and India-based iKaaz — and Grab… Continue reading Ride-hailing firm Grab launches new venture to back startups in Southeast Asia
Waymo expands autonomous driving partnership with Fiat Chrysler
On the same day of a massive $2.25 billion Softbank investment into General Motors’ Cruise, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is announcing an expanded partnership with Waymo that will add up to 62,000 more Chrysler Pacifica minivans to Waymo’s self-driving car fleet later this year. This isn’t too surprising, given Waymo said earlier this year that… Continue reading Waymo expands autonomous driving partnership with Fiat Chrysler
Lyft is reportedly close to buying the company behind Ford GoBike and Citi Bike
Lyft is getting close to acquiring Motivate, the company responsible for Ford GoBike in the San Francisco Bay Area and Citi Bike in the New York City area, The Information reports. The deal will reportedly be worth at least $250 million. Lyft declined to comment and Motivate wasn’t available for comment at the time of… Continue reading Lyft is reportedly close to buying the company behind Ford GoBike and Citi Bike
Coord will get you there one way or another with its new APIs
Humans still have an edge over computers when it comes to navigating a city. In areas we are familiar with, we know precisely the cadence of traffic, when to avoid the subway, when biking makes sense, and how that all fits with the current weather and our moods. We have transit intuition, which is why… Continue reading Coord will get you there one way or another with its new APIs
Scoot launches mopeds and bike-share in Barcelona
Scoot, the electric moped company that first launched in San Francisco, is deploying two new modes of transportation in Barcelona. The first is an upgrade of its original scooter that the company deploys in San Francisco. Instead of maxing out at 30 mph, this new moped can go up to 60 mph. The second mode… Continue reading Scoot launches mopeds and bike-share in Barcelona
Uber’s European rival Taxify raises $175M led by Daimler at a $1B valuation
There’s a new unicorn in the global ride-hailing space after Taxify, a startup born in Estonia that does battle with Uber across Europe and Africa, closed $175 million in new funding that takes it valuation to the $1 billion mark. Daimler, the German automotive giant which owns Mercedes-Benz among other things, led the round. The investment… Continue reading Uber’s European rival Taxify raises $175M led by Daimler at a $1B valuation