Category: News Site

Flying taxi startups look to Asian markets for takeoff

The world’s first passenger-drone services may debut in Asia — but the technology behind these flying taxis will be largely European. Volocopter GmbH of Germany said Thursday it will open a landing facility in Singapore later this year for trial flights, while Austria’s FACC AG is working to produce hundreds of passenger drones for Chinese… Continue reading Flying taxi startups look to Asian markets for takeoff

Automakers have a choice: Become data companies or become irrelevant

Jeff Peters Contributor Jeff Peters, PhD is a principal at Autotech Ventures, investing in transportation startups. He has published academic and media articles on transportation, optimization, autonomous driving and AI. More posts by this contributor Will self-driving cars kill parking? The AI in your non-autonomous car While Bezos amassed billions, Apple took over our culture,… Continue reading Automakers have a choice: Become data companies or become irrelevant

Tesla Model 3 Boom In Norway Leads To Problems

Growth of car sales outpaced Tesla’s capacity in Norway. Customers complain about Model 3 quality. So far this year, the Tesla Model 3 is the best-selling car of any kind in Norway, but the unprecedented volume led to new problems with insufficient service capacity and a high number of complaints on the quality of the new… Continue reading Tesla Model 3 Boom In Norway Leads To Problems

Uber brings electric bike service JUMP to London

FILE PHOTO: Uber “JUMP” bikes are shown along a sidewalk in downtown San Diego, California, U.S., April 23, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) – Taxi app Uber will pilot its electric bicycle service JUMP in London from Friday as it makes 350 bikes available to rent in a part of Britain’s capital city, a… Continue reading Uber brings electric bike service JUMP to London

Fresh off a $530M round, Aurora acquires lidar startup Blackmore

Aurora, the self-driving car startup backed by Sequoia Capital and Amazon, is in an acquiring mood. The company, founded in early 2017 by Chris Urmson, Sterling Anderson and Drew Bagnell, announced Thursday that it acquired lidar company Blackmore. The Blackmore purchase follows another smaller, and previously unknown, acquisition of 7D Labs that occurred earlier this… Continue reading Fresh off a $530M round, Aurora acquires lidar startup Blackmore

Cruise says its AV successfully completed 1,400 unprotected left-hand turns

Unprotected left-hand turns are tough for robots and humans alike. The compounding variables of crossing in front of oncoming traffic make it one of the toughest maneuvers in driving. It’s one of the toughest challenges for self-driving platforms — even more so as drivers often look for non-verbal cues from other drivers to when it’s… Continue reading Cruise says its AV successfully completed 1,400 unprotected left-hand turns

DoorDash, now valued at $12.6B, shoots for the moon

More than five years ago, Sequoia partner Alfred Lin called Tony Xu, the founder of a small on-demand delivery startup called DoorDash, to say he was passing on the company’s seed round. This was, of course, before venture capital funding in food delivery startups had taken off. DoorDash, launched out of Xu’s Stanford graduate school… Continue reading DoorDash, now valued at $12.6B, shoots for the moon

Aiming for 50% EVs by 2025, Audi to replace TT coupe with electric car, could do the same for A8

Audi is going to replace its Audi TT coupe with an all-electric model as the company continues to up its electric plans. Its A8 sedan may go electric, as well. Audi revealed its plans at its annual shareholders meeting, Bloomberg reports. The carmaker may also consider ending the run of its R8 sports car. The… Continue reading Aiming for 50% EVs by 2025, Audi to replace TT coupe with electric car, could do the same for A8