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Autonomous vehicle technology is not yet ubiquitous or mainstream. Readers here might shout, “It’s everywhere!” but I can tell you that it is not — although I understand why folks in the San Francisco Bay Area might disagree.
The tech is, however, being commercialized and that transition from testing to commercial product has me thinking about scale. A few strategies are emerging.
Scale through partnerships. A couple of announcements this week highlighted this strategy. Wayve locked in a commercial partnership with Mercedes-Benz to integrate the startup’s automated driving tech into at least one model set to be deployed within the next two years. This is a Level 2 type product, meaning it handles certain driving maneuvers but still requires the human driver to remain engaged. While this is not a Level 4, or fully driverless product, it gives Wayve reach and follows similar deals with Nissan and Stellantis. Those partnerships have also opened doors for its fully driverless product. Earlier this year, Wayve announced a partnership with Nissan and Uber to launch a robotaxi service in Tokyo.
Widespread and concentrated, all at once. As I wrote this week, Waymo’s commercial robotaxi ramp-up looks expansive, both in geographic reach and ridership. And by almost every measure, it is — until you pay attention to where the bulk of those robotaxis are actually showing up.
I looked at vehicle registration data and found that, at least for now, Waymo is concentrating its efforts in just two states. About 80% of Waymo’s roughly 4,000 robotaxis are in California and Texas, and Texas is where the action is now: Waymo’s fleet there has grown by more than 49% in the past three weeks.
Waymo is also scaling by seeking out new kinds of users: teenagers.
I might put Aurora, a company developing and commercializing self-driving trucks, somewhere between these two categories. Aurora is clearly focused on Texas, but it has cast a wide net when it comes to partners. CEO Chris Urmson is also clearly bullish on how the company will scale over the next four years, noting this week that Aurora has “emerged from the building stage.” The company said it’s targeting more than 30,000 driverless trucks in operation by 2030. The company plans to have more than 200 driverless trucks by the end of the year.
A little bird
Our little bird items are typically just that: small yet notable nuggets of insider information from across the transportation industry. But every now and then, a tip turns into something much bigger.
That’s what happened a few weeks ago, when Zoox workers reached out to senior reporter Sean O’Kane about a problem with the company’s test fleet in Atlanta. Workers were getting sick, and they suspected it was from its test vehicles, Toyota Highlander SUVs equipped with Zoox’s self-driving system.
The TL;DR: Zoox grounded its autonomous vehicle test fleet in Atlanta after safety drivers were potentially exposed to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or hydrogen sulfide gas inside its vehicles last month. Zoox says it only ever found evidence of CO2 in the vehicles.The repeated incidents led one worker to file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which opened an inquiry and told Zoox to investigate the exposures.
You can, and should, read the whole story here.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Deals!
Wall Street may be preoccupied by whether the buzziest AI companies will go public in 2026, but there is other IPO activity in other industries, including transportation. Many of these are companies located outside of the United States.
For instance, Carro, the used car marketplace backed by SoftBank, is considering dual listing on the Nasdaq and the Singapore Exchange. Two India-based companies — used car marketplace Spinny, which is back by Tiger Global, and electric bus company PMI Electro Mobility Solutions — have both filed confidentially for IPOs. Then there’s EcoCeres, a Hong Kong-based company that produces renewable fuels, which reportedly plans to raise about $1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering.
And don’t forget just last week the U.S.-based autonomous vehicle company May Mobility said it planned to go publicvia a merger with a blank-check company.
Other deals that got my attention …
Ultraviolette, the India-based electric motorcycle manufacturer, raised $85 million and has brought on Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan as an adviser. Read our previous coverageon Ultraviolette here.
Comma, the startup founded by hacker George Hotz, is facing a federal investigation after five reported crashes involving the company’s aftermarket hands-off driver-assistance tech, two of which resulted in three deaths.
Einride, the Swedish autonomous and electric trucking company, said it plans to use Nvidia’s Hyperion platform to build the next generation of its self-driving system.
San Francisco-based PitPro Automationhas developed a robot that can change tires and has now deployed it at a shop in Canada.
The Boring Companyis working on “a simple precursor Hyperloop” between Austin and San Antonio that will reduce the journey between the two cities to less than 30 minutes, according to the tunneling startup’s founder, Elon Musk.
Tesla is finally handing over the first of its all-electric Semi trucks to customers. CEO Elon Musk is known for shaky timelines, but when I attended the Semi reveal event in 2017, I didn’t think it would take nearly a decade. One insider note from reporter Sean O’Kane: “Customers will be able to take delivery of the truck whenever they are ready, though charging infrastructure remains a hurdle.”
Does AI need a learner’s permit? MIT researcher Bryan Reimer, whose work I periodically share here, weighs in.
Volkswagen is reportedly delaying the return of its ID Buzz to the United States. Meanwhile, Volkswagen subsidiary MOIA America has partnered with Beep and is now launching its first passenger servicesin self-driving ID Buzz vehicles equipped with Mobileye self-driving tech in the Orlando community of Lake Nona. There is still a human operator on board.
One more thing …
We’re a couple of weeks away from Disrupt 2026, TechCrunch’s annual tech conference in San Francisco. I am interviewing Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe onstage October 13, and we have a lot of ground to cover. If you recall, Rivian has some lofty plans for its R2, robotaxis, and automated driving. And then there is Scaringe’s other projects, the spinout Also and Mind Robotics.
If you’re in San Francisco during Disrupt, you should come. And I’m offering you a 30% discount with code mobility30by following this link. There are other interesting talks besides Scaringe, plus dozens of startups to check out. Check out the agenda here, which includes talks with folks from startupBedrock Robotics, GM, and self-driving trucks company Waabi. Les Karpas, Nvidia’s head of physical AI, and Mark Wahlberg will also be there, among many, many others.
