India’s Airbound bags $37M to take on trucks with rocket-like drones
Airbound’s ultra-lightweight approach to drone delivery has attracted backing from Greenoaks, DoorDash, and Silicon Valley investor Lachy Groom.
Transportation
Brake problems in GM EVs draw greater federal scrutiny
In one crash, the driver of a 2024 Blazer EV said they had to “deliberately steer the vehicle into a concrete curb” to slow it down and avoid a “catastrophic intersection collision.”
Uber faces fine of nearly $1B over automated driver suspensions
The Dutch Data Protection Authority is fining Uber €825 million in the second largest penalty issued under Europe’s GDPR.
TechCrunch Mobility: The custom chip driving Waymo’s robotaxi ambitions
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.
Waymo hands over documents in NHTSA’s child collision probe
The responses to NHTSA’s questions so far are redacted entirely, citing “confidential business information.”
US government lab is probing Chinese lidar for security vulnerabilities
The security review is being performed by the Idaho National Laboratory, and the research is being funded by a company — or a group of companies — in the electric and autonomous vehicle industries.
Tesla recalls 3 million cars as part of China-wide push to stop hidden door handles
Tesla and eight other automakers will install warning labels that help occupants identify the often hard-to-find manual door releases.
Tesla, Uber, and Waymo all get the OK to operate thousands of robotaxis in Nevada
Together, these permits would allow up to 8,000 robotaxis to be deployed over the next 12 months.
Waymo’s cheaper, next-gen robotaxi is now open to all riders in these three cities
The next-generation robotaxi, called the Waymo Ojai, is central to the company’s push towards mass scale, and eventually, profitability.
Rivian spinout Also raises another $150 million
The round, led by Prysm Capital, will fund the company’s expansion beyond pedal-assist electric bikes and commercial cargo quads to autonomous delivery vehicles.