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 […]
View More Autonomous truck startup TuSimple hits unicorn status in latest roundCategory: otto
Levandowski’s Pronto.ai plans to ship automated driving systems for trucks in 2019
Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer and serial entrepreneur who was at the center of a trade secrets lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, has taken his newest autonomous vehicle technology company out of stealth mode with a product aimed at the commercial trucking industry. Technically, Levandowski’s involvement in a self-driving trucking company was first revealed by […]
View More Levandowski’s Pronto.ai plans to ship automated driving systems for trucks in 2019Otto co-founder Lior Ron is back at Uber
Lior Ron, the co-founder of the controversial self-driving technology company Otto, is returning to Uber to head up its trucking logistics company, Uber Freight, TechCrunch has confirmed. Both Ron and his co-founder and ex-Googler Anthony Levandowski went to Uber after it acquired Otto in August of 2016. However, Levandowski was fired from Uber after pleading […]
View More Otto co-founder Lior Ron is back at UberSelf-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics raises $40 million
In Don Burnette and Paz Eshel’s view, trucking is the killer app for self-driving technology. It’s what led Burnette to leave the Google self-driving project and co-found Otto in early 2016, along with Anthony Levandowski, Lior Ron, and Claire Delaunay. And it’s what would eventually prompt Burnette to leave Uber—the company that acquired Otto—and co-found a […]
View More Self-driving truck startup Kodiak Robotics raises $40 millionUber’s self-driving truck program is done
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Uber’s self-driving truck program feels like it just took off, but after a court trial and several major leadership changes, it’s been a long road to a dead-end announced Monday.
Back in 2016, Uber acquired Otto — former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski’s self-driving truck startup — and Uber’s self-driving truck program was born. Then Levandowski was sued for taking trade secrets from Google and bringing them to Uber in the acquisition. That was mainly about the LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) laser and sensor technology that uses light to help the autonomous vehicles “see” the road and world around them. Read more…
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View More Uber’s self-driving truck program is doneUber Freight lead, Lior Ron, has left the company
Lior Ron, Uber’s head of freight operations, has left the company, a source familiar with the situation told TechCrunch. “We remain fully invested in and excited about the future of Uber Freight,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. “Since launching in Texas, we have introduced Freight to all states in the continental […]
View More Uber Freight lead, Lior Ron, has left the companyIn an alternate universe Lyft may have bought Otto
The Uber vs. Waymo trial took a turn for the the weird today when testimony revealed that Otto, the company whose acquisition is at the center of this lawsuit, was entertaining bids from other suitors.
For a bit of background, Otto is the self-driving truck company that Anthony Levandowski co-founded with Lior Ron. Both men previously worked at Google/Alphabet/Waymo — Levandowski on… Read More
The nanny of former Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski has filed an excruciatingly detailed lawsuit
Anthony Levandowski might have thought things couldn’t get much worse. But a new lawsuit filed Levandowski’s former nanny suggests that the exact opposite is true. In fact, much of the nanny’s lawsuit — filed by a personal injury attorney in Fair Oaks, Ca., and rife with complaints, including of a retaliatory and hostile work environment, age discrimination, failure to… Read More
Smart lock maker Otto suspends operations
Otto showed the world its digital lock in August. Four months later, the company has suspended operations. Hardware is hard. It’s a cliche for a reason.
The company made the decision just ahead of the holidays, a fact that founder and CEO Sam Jadallah recently made public with a lengthy Medium post now pinned to the top of the startup’s site. The extended survey of the Bay Area… Read More