Autonomous vehicles need more than a brain to operate safely in a world filled with obstacles. They need maps. Or more specifically, self-driving vehicles need maps that constantly refresh and can deliver important information — like that sudden lane closure due to construction or a double-parked vehicle — so they can take the safest and… Continue reading Carmera, the mapping startup for autonomous vehicles, raises $20 million
Tag: Autonomous
Volkswagen to invest $4 billion to build digital businesses, software
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) will invest 3.5 billion euros ($4 billion) by 2025 to build digital businesses and products including a cloud computing-based platform to connect vehicles and customers to offer services such as car sharing. FILE PHOTO: The backlight of an e-Golf electric car is pictured at the new production line of the… Continue reading Volkswagen to invest $4 billion to build digital businesses, software
The founder of $3.2 billion startup Zoox says that he was ousted as CEO ‘without a warning’ because ‘the board chose …
The CEO of Zoox has left in a management shake-up at the the high-profile, well-funded, and idiosyncratic self-driving car startup. Zoox has already started searching for a replacement for Tim Kentley-Klay, who cofounded the Silicon Valley-based company, a source close to Zoox told Business Insider. In the meantime, it has named board member Carl Bass… Continue reading The founder of $3.2 billion startup Zoox says that he was ousted as CEO ‘without a warning’ because ‘the board chose …
Stealthy Self-Driving Startup Ghost Locomotion Raises $15 Million, Filings Show
The SF Bay Area is home to a lot of self-driving car initiatives. Some startups, like Zoox, are trying “to make the whole widget” by designing a car and its tech from bumper to bumper. Follow Crunchbase News on Twitter Ghost Locomotion, a rather stealthy startup based out of Mountain View, appears to be taking… Continue reading Stealthy Self-Driving Startup Ghost Locomotion Raises $15 Million, Filings Show
La Trobe University completes driverless Autonobus trial
Melbourne’s La Trobe University has detailed findings of what it called successful on-campus trials of Navya’s driverless “Autonobus” shuttle, which uses 360-degree cameras and sensor systems to detect objects and runs a set route based on map coordinates. A report on the trial by La Trobe and its project partners includes a number of recommendations,… Continue reading La Trobe University completes driverless Autonobus trial
Coup of cold stock on the automobile
Black day for Continental. The German equipment maker fell Wednesday about 14% on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, its largest decline since 2009, causing in its fall the European automotive values. At the Paris Bourse, Michelin, Valeo, Faurecia or Peugeot also gave ground – but to a lesser extent -, just like Pirellli in Milan or… Continue reading Coup of cold stock on the automobile
Driving the Future – Toyota Team Members Get Connected
•Toyota strengthens Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) 5.9GHz Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technology commitment via University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute partnership. •Further establishes the Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment as the world’s largest operational real-world deployment of connected vehicles and infrastructure. August 22, 2018 ANN ARBOR, Mich. (August 22, 2018) The University of… Continue reading Driving the Future – Toyota Team Members Get Connected
Getaround car-share service raises $300 million in new funding round
Source: Jill Silvestri
Getaround, the car-share company that lets drivers rent their vehicles to strangers, is gearing up for more growth fueled by a new round of funding.
The San Francisco company has raised $300 million in Series D funding led by the SoftBank Vision Fund. Toyota and company insiders also provided money in the latest financing round. Getaround has raised $400 million in total capital so far.
“We are confident in our product, playbook, and team,” Sam Zaid, Getaround founder and CEO said in a statement. “We look forward to leading the growth of next-generation carsharing.”
Since starting in 2010, Getaround has steadily grown its car-share network to include several thousand vehicles in 66 U.S. cities. In the last year, Getaround has seen a sevenfold Increase in booked hours.
For SoftBank, the investment comes just months after the Japanese company agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in GM's autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise Holdings for $2.25 billion. SoftBank also has invested $9.3 billion in Uber, becoming the ride-hailing company's largest investor.
“SoftBank sees carsharing as an accelerating trend that will disrupt car ownership”, said Michael Ronen, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Car-sharing, which allows members to rent a vehicle for a few hours or several days, has been around for more than 15 years. Zipcar may be the best-known car-share company with more than 12,000 vehicles available for rent. In recent years the industry has picked up momentum with Daimler subsidiary Car2Go and GM subsidiary Maven both steadily growing their networks.
Questions? Comments? BehindTheWheel@cnbc.com.
Lyft and Aptiv have completed 5000 paid trips in their self-driving taxis
Lyft and self-driving technology company Aptiv have been operating a small fleet of self-driving cars in Las Vegas since the Consumer Electronics Show last January. And today, the companies say they’ve reached a new milestone in their partnership: 5,000 paid rides. Lyft and Aptiv claim to be operating the only commercial robot taxi service in… Continue reading Lyft and Aptiv have completed 5000 paid trips in their self-driving taxis
A day in the life of a Waymo self-driving taxi
In a nondescript depot in suburban Arizona, the future of transportation is getting a tune-up. This is where Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, houses its growing fleet of self-driving cars — hundreds of Chrysler Pacifica minivans fitted with highly advanced hardware and software that enables them to safely ride on public roads… Continue reading A day in the life of a Waymo self-driving taxi