The ongoing trend of consolidation in the world of ridesharing continues apace, with the latest development coming out of Europe. BlaBlaCar, the French carpooling platform, is acquiring Less, a young carpooling platform based in Paris and focusing only on urban rides, paying drivers on a per-kilometer rate to incentivize them. The financial terms are not… Continue reading France’s BlaBlaCar acquires carpool startup Less in ongoing ridesharing consolidation
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
BMW is working with LiDAR company Innoviz to make self-driving cars
BMW has already made clear its intent to launch self-driving cars by 2021. Now, the automaker has decided on solid-state LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors and computer vision tech from startup Innoviz to enable its Level 3 – 5 autonomous vehicles to “see” their surroundings. For clarity, level 3 involves highly-automated driving, level four… Continue reading BMW is working with LiDAR company Innoviz to make self-driving cars
Didi appoints one of its execs to lead ride-hailing service 99
Didi, the Chinese transportation behemoth that acquired Brazilian ride-hailing service 99 back in January, has replaced 99’s chief executive with one of its own, Recode first reported. Stepping in to replace Peter Fernandez is Tony Qiu, who most recently oversaw Didi’s luxury business. Before joining Didi, Qiu had stints at Morgan Stanley and Bain Capital. Fernandez… Continue reading Didi appoints one of its execs to lead ride-hailing service 99
India’s Jugnoo adopts a unique take on ride-hailing to help fill Singapore’s Uber void
Another contender is throwing its hat into the ring to replace Uber in Southeast Asia after India’s Jugnoo, a startup that specializes in offering autorickshaws on-demand in India, revealed it plans to enter Singapore. Uber announced its exit from Southeast Asia last month in a deal that sees Grab buy its regional business, and since… Continue reading India’s Jugnoo adopts a unique take on ride-hailing to help fill Singapore’s Uber void
Grab’s acquisition of Uber Southeast Asia drives into problems
The long-rumored Grab acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asia business may be official now, but it’s far from complete. In fact, what should be a celebratory coming-of-age moment for the Southeast Asian local champion is threatening to become nightmarish thanks to persistent regulators, panicky Uber staff and reluctant drivers who are supposed to switch to Grab… Continue reading Grab’s acquisition of Uber Southeast Asia drives into problems
Voyage open-sources autonomous driving safety practices
Voyage, the self-driving car spinout from Udacity, is open-sourcing its approach to autonomous driving safety. This comes at a time when autonomous driving programs are under intense scrutiny following two fatal crashes — one involving Tesla’s Autopilot and the other one involving one of Uber’s self-driving cars in Tempe, Arizona. Meanwhile, Voyage has already successfully deployed… Continue reading Voyage open-sources autonomous driving safety practices
Alibaba is bringing its smart assistant to cars from Daimler, Audi and Volvo
Alibaba is jumping behind the wheel after it announced that Daimler, Audi and Volvo will bring its voice assistant to their vehicles. The assistant — Tmall Genie — is scheduled to go into cars “in the near future.” When it does, Alibaba said it will enable drivers to check fuel levels, mileage, battery levels and engine status use… Continue reading Alibaba is bringing its smart assistant to cars from Daimler, Audi and Volvo
Ride-hailing app Careem reveals data breach affecting 14 million people
Careem, the ride-hailing company based in Dubai, revealed today it was the victim of a cyber breach. Hackers accessed the names, email addresses, phone numbers and trip data of anyone who signed up for Careem prior to January 14. Careem said there’s no evidence the hackers accessed passwords or credit card information. While the breach… Continue reading Ride-hailing app Careem reveals data breach affecting 14 million people
China’s Didi Chuxing launches its ride-hailing service in Mexico
China’s ride-sharing leader Didi Chuxing has continued its global march after it officially launched in Mexico, expanding its battle with Uber to a new front. The company raised $4 billion in December to expand overseas and it hasn’t held back on doing so this year. Hot on the heels of moves into Brazil, Taiwan and… Continue reading China’s Didi Chuxing launches its ride-hailing service in Mexico
SF supervisor doesn’t want you riding electric scooters on sidewalks
For those of you keeping track of the scooter saga in San Francisco, Supervisor Aaron Peskin has filed a resolution in opposition of California State Assembly bill 2989. The bill, authored by Assembly Member Heath Flora and sponsored by electric scooter startup Bird, seeks to increase the speed limit of electric scooters from 15 to… Continue reading SF supervisor doesn’t want you riding electric scooters on sidewalks