There’s a healthy demand for driverless trucks. It’s an industry predicted to reach 6,700 units globally, totaling $54.23 billion this year, and one that stands to save the logistics and shipping industry $70 billion annually while boosting productivity by 30 percent. Besides cost savings, the growth is driven in part by a shortage of human drivers. In 2018,… Continue reading Driverless truck startup TuSimple raises $95 million at $1 billion valuation – VentureBeat
Tag: Autonomous
Self-driving truck start-up achieves unicorn status in funding round that values it at $1 billion
Imaginechina | AP Images
A self-driving TuSimple truck is on display during 2018 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China.
Autonomous trucking company TuSimple has achieved unicorn status on Wall Street with a fresh funding round that values the start-up at $1 billion.
The company said Wednesday it raised $95 million in a series D funding led by Sina Corp. and Composite Capital, a Hong Kong-based investment firm, as it prepares to expand its testing of self-driving semis on highways in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
“By the end of 2020 or early 2021 we think we think we can take the driver out of the cab on trucks,” said Chuck Price, chief product officer of TuSimple.
San Diego-based TuSimple is developing technology to allow shipping companies to operate self-driving class 8 tractor-trailers, potentially eliminating the need for drivers, the biggest expense facing trucking firms today, especially in a tight labor market. On average, shipping firms spend $2 per mile hauling goods, a cost TuSimple believes it could cut by 30 percent by eliminating the driver with autonomous trucks.
The money will help TuSimple expand its fleet of 12 test trucks to more than 50 by June. The company is currently testing autonomous semis on routes between Phoenix and Dallas.”
The extra cash will also help the company develop joint production of autonomous semis with truck manufacturers. TuSimple is currently working with two tractor-trailer makers, which it is not naming.
There are just under 3.5 million semis on the road in the U.S., according the American Trucking Association. They are the heartbeat of an $800 billion freight shipping industry TuSimple executives believe will continue growing.
“With e-commerce growing by double digits every year, freight shipping is not slowing down,” said Cheng Lu, CFO of TuSimple
Most of the attention surrounding the development of autonomous vehicles has been focused on self-driving cars and the race to build autonomous ride-hailing companies. Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, General Motors subsidiary Cruise and Uber are just a few of the companies that have dominated headlines with their work on self-driving cars. By comparison, the potential of autonomous semis has not received as much attention.
That could change as TuSimple and others demonstrate tractor-trailers can drive autonomously from shipping depot to shipping depot. “A big milestone will be showing that on one route we can take out the driver completely,” said Price.
TuSimple is not alone in the push to develop self-driving semis. Embark Trucks, Ike, Starsky Robotics, Thor Trucks and Udelv are also working on autonomous trucks.
Correction: This story was revised to correct the date of TuSimple's announcement to Wednesday.
WiTricity Acquires Qualcomm Halo Wireless Charging Assets
WiTricity and Qualcomm join forces in wireless charging WiTricity announced the acquisition from Qualcomm of a certain technology platform and IP assets, concerning wireless charging systems, which will result in the unification of technology platforms to accelerate wireless charging of EVs. Qualcomm engaged in wireless charging around 2011 when it acquired British start-up HaloIPT. Then, the… Continue reading WiTricity Acquires Qualcomm Halo Wireless Charging Assets
An update on Waymo disengagements in California
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
Supervisory Board of Daimler AG extends contract with Britta Seeger
STUTTGART, Germany, Feb. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Extension of the contract for five years until December 31, 2024 Manfred Bischoff, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG: “We are very happy to continue working with Britta Seeger. She is leading Marketing and Sales of Mercedes-Benz Cars with great success. In the past year, Mercedes-Benz… Continue reading Supervisory Board of Daimler AG extends contract with Britta Seeger
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
Autonomous truck startup TuSimple hits unicorn status in latest round
Another autonomous-vehicle unicorn has joined the herd. TuSimple, a self-driving truck startup running daily routes for customers in Arizona, has raised $95 million in a Series D funding round led by Sina Corp. as the company prepares to scale up its commercial autonomous fleet to more than 50 trucks by June. The startup, which launched in… Continue reading Autonomous truck startup TuSimple hits unicorn status in latest round
Electric Cars: Paris Unlocks 700 Million for “Airbus Batteries”
Starting signal. This time, the Airbus battery is on track. In the wheel of Germany, France has concretized its support for the creation of a European industry for the design and manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. The French government will mobilize 700 million euros in five years, while his counterpart in Germany has promised… Continue reading Electric Cars: Paris Unlocks 700 Million for “Airbus Batteries”
President Macron to unveil plan to give Europe’s electric battery industry a jolt
PARIS (Reuters) – France will invest 700 million euros ($790 million) over the next five years into projects to boost the European electric car battery industry and reduce its carmakers’ reliance on dominant Asian rivals, said French presidency officials. The new battery of the Renault electric car Z.E. is displayed on media day at the… Continue reading President Macron to unveil plan to give Europe’s electric battery industry a jolt
Ford executive raises doubts about VW deal for electric vehicles
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images
Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company Executive Vice President and President of Global Markets, reveals the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 at the 2019 North American International Auto Show during Media preview days on January 14, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan.
Ford and Volkswagen appear increasingly unlikely to pull together a deal to work together on battery-electric vehicles, a senior executive with the Detroit automaker said this week.
The two companies announced plans last month to team up on the development of light commercial vehicles and confirmed that other projects were under consideration. It has been widely reported that a key focus was on battery-electric vehicles, a move that could help Ford and VW save billions of dollars by sharing R&D efforts.
But their programs are out of sync, “almost like snowboarding and skiing,” Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets, said Monday during a taping of the local TV show “Autoline Detroit.”
Automakers around the world have begun looking for ways to partner with erstwhile rivals in order to address an increasingly challenging environment. Many of these alliances focus on the development of new technologies, such as electrification and autonomous driving, areas in which Ford and Volkswagen aim to take a lead.
But the two carmakers are taking markedly different approaches with their electrification programs, said Stephanie Brinley, principal auto analyst with IHS Markit and a participant in the “Autoline” panel discussion.
“They have two very different strategies,” Brinley said, and the “timing issues that just won't mesh.”
America is falling back in love with trucks and SUVs, and that's causing big changes at big car companies
10:38 AM ET Tue, 5 Feb 2019 | 04:45
VW has committed over $50 billion to develop more than 50 pure battery-electric vehicles by 2025. They would be sold through the German automaker's dozen passenger car brands, including Porsche and Audi, as well as the flagship Volkswagen marque.
But the majority of the products will target mainstream markets using a high-volume vehicle platform known as the MEB. “This is meant to be a car for the millions, not millionaires,” Matthew Renna, vice president of e-Mobility for Volkswagen's North American Region, said during a media briefing last week at the Chicago Auto Show.
Ford was itself an early proponent of electrification but initially focused on hybrids, plug-in hybrids and relatively short-range battery-electric vehicles. It now plans to introduce its first long-range model in 2020, and then expand its lineup over the course of the coming decade.
While VW is primarily targeting low-cost, passenger car segments with its battery-car program, “Ford's bet is on commercial vehicles and performance vehicles,” said Farley.
There is still the possibility they could eventually find common ground, “if we could find platforms where it makes sense,” said Farley, but, at least for now, “we're in different timing.”
VW declined to comment about Farley's remarks.