One year after a $38 million Series B valued on-demand aviation startup Blade at $140 million, the company has begun taxiing the Bay Area’s elite. As part of a new pilot program, Blade has given 200 people in San Francisco and Silicon Valley exclusive access to its mobile app, allowing them to book helicopters, private… Continue reading Flying taxi startup Blade is helping Silicon Valley CEOs bypass traffic
Tag: Uber
How Nuro plans to spend Softbank’s money
Autonomous delivery startup Nuro is bursting with ideas since SoftBank invested nearly $1 billion in February, new filings reveal. A recent patent application details how its R1 self-driving vehicle could carry smaller robots to cross lawns or climb stairs to drop off packages. The company has even taken the step of trademarking the name “Fido”… Continue reading How Nuro plans to spend Softbank’s money
One year after Uber’s fatal self-driving crash, pedestrians aren’t any safer
One year ago this week, a distracted driver behind the wheel of an SUV struck and killed a 47-year-old woman as she attempted to walk across a street. The woman was Elaine Herzberg, and the SUV was a self-driving car operated by Uber. Herzberg was one of 6,227 pedestrians killed last year on U.S. streets,… Continue reading One year after Uber’s fatal self-driving crash, pedestrians aren’t any safer
Indonesia’s Kargo comes out of stealth with $7.6M from Travis Kalanick, Sequoia and others
Travis Kalanick may be busy cooking up a cloud kitchen business, but that hasn’t stopped the former Uber CEO’s VC fund from making its first investment in Southeast Asia. 10100, the firm that Kalanick launched last year for investments in Asia, just took part in a $7.6 million seed round for Kargo, an early-stage “Uber… Continue reading Indonesia’s Kargo comes out of stealth with $7.6M from Travis Kalanick, Sequoia and others
Uber ‘picks NYSE’ for huge stock listing
Ride-hailing firm Uber will list on the New York Stock Exchange, according to reports, in one of the most anticipated stock debuts of the year. The decision to opt for the Wall Street exchange over the tech-heavy Nasdaq was first reported by Bloomberg, citing sources. It comes as smaller, ride-sharing rival Lyft prepares to list… Continue reading Uber ‘picks NYSE’ for huge stock listing
Alibaba, Tencent, car makers set up $1.5 billion China ride-hailing venture
BEIJING (Reuters) – Alibaba, Tencent, Suning, and car makers including Chongqing Changan Automobile have set up a $1.5 billion Chinese ride-hailing venture, a move that could test the dominance of ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing. FILE PHOTO: A man stands near the logo of Alibaba Group at the company’s newly-launched office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia June… Continue reading Alibaba, Tencent, car makers set up $1.5 billion China ride-hailing venture
Complaints from the industry: Tesla & Arizona
The autonomous driving industry has some legal complaints a week to report. All complaints relate to the US, where the convictions can quickly take on exorbitant sums. So had Tesla announced the startup Zoox to sue and the survivors of the Uber-accident sue against US state Arizona and the city of Tempe. Tesla vehicle The… Continue reading Complaints from the industry: Tesla & Arizona
Tesla alleges self-driving car startup Zoox stole company secrets
Bloomberg via Getty Images Tesla filed a lawsuit this week against four former employees for allegedly stealing trade secrets and providing them to a rival company. According to the complaint filed with the US district court for Northern California, the ex-Tesla workers gave confidential information to autonomous vehicle start-up Zoox. The documents allegedly allowed the… Continue reading Tesla alleges self-driving car startup Zoox stole company secrets
Postmates’ newest feature is like Uber POOL for food delivery
Postmates is launching a new feature called Postmates Party that lets customers within the same neighborhood pool their orders. In return, these customers get the food delivered for free, eliminating a major pinch point for potential Postmates users. The feature illustrates how Postmates, one of the earlier entrants to the billion-dollar food delivery wars, is… Continue reading Postmates’ newest feature is like Uber POOL for food delivery
Uber Freight is expanding into Europe
Uber Freight, the newly spun out Uber business unit that helps truck drivers connect with shipping companies, is kicking off its global expansion plans. The company said Wednesday it is launching the app in Europe, starting with the Netherlands. Local carriers and drivers will be able to book and move their first loads with Uber… Continue reading Uber Freight is expanding into Europe