An update on Waymo disengagements in California Waymo TeamBlockedUnblockFollowFollowingFeb 13 Each year California requires companies with AV testing permits in the state to report on their disengagements. These reports assist the state in its understanding of how well a self-driving car is doing its job. Today the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) published Waymo’s… Continue reading An update on Waymo disengagements in California
Tag: Waymo/Google
Exclusive: VW, Ford far apart on investment in Ford autonomous unit – sources
(Reuters) – Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co have been unable to reach agreement on whether or how much the German automaker will invest in Ford’s self-driving vehicle unit, people familiar with the negotiations said. FILE PHOTO: The President and CEO of Ford Motor Company Jim Hackett, poses with Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess at the… Continue reading Exclusive: VW, Ford far apart on investment in Ford autonomous unit – sources
Aurora cofounder and CEO Chris Urmson on the company’s new investor, Amazon, and much more
You might not think of self-driving technologies and politics having much in common, but at least in one way, they overlap meaningfully: yesterday’s enemy can be tomorrow’s ally. Such was the message we gleaned Thursday night, at a small industry event in San Francisco, where we had the chance to sit down with Chris Urmson, the cofounder… Continue reading Aurora cofounder and CEO Chris Urmson on the company’s new investor, Amazon, and much more
Waymo CTO on the company’s past, present and what comes next
A decade ago, about a dozen or so engineers gathered at Google’s main Mountain View campus on Charleston Road to work on Project Chauffeur, a secret endeavor housed under the tech giant’s moonshot factory X. Project Chauffeur — popularly know as the “Google self-driving car project” — kicked off in January 2009. It would eventually… Continue reading Waymo CTO on the company’s past, present and what comes next
Amazon just invested in self-driving car company Aurora
Leonard Ortiz | Digital First Media | Getty Images
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, speaks to a group of Amazon employees that are veterans during an Amazon Veterans Day celebration, to honor the Warriors@Amazon, a group of employees who have served in the military and their spouses, in an event outside a hanger at the Long Beach Airport in Long Beach on Monday, November 12, 2018. The event included the unveiling Amazon's 40th airplane named Valor in honor of the group. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Self-driving car startup Aurora announced on Thursday that it has raised more than $530 million in funding, from investors including Amazon, Sequoia and the investment arm of energy giant Shell.
“This funding and partnership will accelerate our mission of delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly,” Aurora said. Aurora's management has a lot of experience in the automotive industry.
The company's CEO and co-founder Chris Urmson is the former CTO of self-driving cars at Alphabet, which owns the autonomous vehicle firm Waymo. Co-founder and chief product officer Sterling Anderson led the design and launch of the Tesla Model X, according to Aurora's website. Drew Bagnell, Aurora's chief technology officer and co-founder helped found Uber's Advanced Technology Center.
“We are always looking to invest in innovative, customer-obsessed companies, and Aurora is just that,” Amazon told CNBC in a statement. “Autonomous technology has the potential to help make the jobs of our employees and partners safer and more productive, whether it's in a fulfillment center or on the road, and we're excited about the possibilities.”
The Wall Street Journal said last year that Amazon has a team dedicated to building autonomous vehicle technology. Amazon also announced a partnership with Toyota last year that will help Amazon explore ways to use self-driving cars to deliver food. Earlier this week, CNBC reported that Amazon is already hauling cargo in self-driving trucks developed by Embark.
Rather than manufacturing its own vehicles, Aurora is working with incumbents like VW and Hyundai, as well as Byton in China, to develop self-driving cars. It competes with Waymo, other venture backed autonomous vehicle start-ups like Zoox, and self-driving companies that were acquired by Ford and GM, Argo.AI and Cruise, respectively.
Neither Amazon nor Aurora revealed just how much of the new funding round came from Amazon. The e-commerce titan's investment in Aurora follows its addition of risk language in its 10K filings, that Amazon views “transportation and logistics services” as competition.
Amazon's delivery costs exceeded $27 billion in 2018. Using advanced driver-assistive technology, or fully self-driving vehicles, could help it curb delivery costs.
-CNBC's Deirdre Bosa and Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
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Amazon Echo is a key part of company's future, says NYT columnist
12:16 PM ET Fri, 1 Feb 2019 | 04:19
Daimler cuts dividend as downturn, R&D costs hit Mercedes
STUTTGART (Reuters) – Daimler cut its dividend on Wednesday after fourth-quarter operating profit plunged by 22 percent, hit by trade wars, rising costs for developing electric cars and an industry downturn that has dented even the most profitable carmakers. Daimler said the return on sales at Mercedes-Benz cars fell to 7.3 percent in the fourth… Continue reading Daimler cuts dividend as downturn, R&D costs hit Mercedes
Waymo cooperates with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s alliance is expected to partner with Google’s sister Waymo. The enterprise Waymo. a sister company of Google, is considered the industry leader in the field of autonomous driving. The company had its first robotic taxi service in Arizona last December started and drives around with Level 4 vehicles. German manufacturers are not ready yet… Continue reading Waymo cooperates with Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance
Renault-Nissan to work with Google’s Waymo on driverless cars
TOKYO: The three-way alliance of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors is planning a deal to work with Google’s Waymo to jointly develop self-driving taxis, Japan’s Nikkei said Tuesday. The three automakers are finalising tie-up negotiations with Waymo, a Google-affiliated developer of self-driving car technology, the business daily said on its website. The two sides are… Continue reading Renault-Nissan to work with Google’s Waymo on driverless cars
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi studies a possible partnership with Google to develop autonomous taxis
Posted 05/02/2019 17: 06: 45CET TOKYO, Feb. 5 (EUROPA PRESS) – The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi automotive alliance is studying a possible partnership with Google for the development of autonomous taxis and other services that use autonomous driving vehicles. According to the Japanese publication ‘Nikkei’, under the agreement, car manufacturers will work with Waymo, the autonomous driving technology… Continue reading Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi studies a possible partnership with Google to develop autonomous taxis
Waymo may team up with Renault-Nissan on self-driving taxis
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu Waymo might not be done courting the automotive world after working with the likes of Fiat Chrysler and Jaguar Land Rover. Nikkei claims the Alphabet-owned company is in the “final phase” of talks to partner with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance on self-driving car services. While there aren’t too many specifics, one project would… Continue reading Waymo may team up with Renault-Nissan on self-driving taxis