Self-driving truck startup Waabi’s $1 billion funding isn’t just about trucks.
The deal, which includes $750 million upfront and an additional $250 million from Uber related to deployment milestones, marks a significant expansion into robotaxis for the company founded by former Uber AI chief Raquel Urtasun. It also feels like another Uber chip on the self-driving car roulette table. With more than 20 AV partners around the world, the question is not only whether Waabi can achieve its plan to deploy more than 25,000 robotaxis, but whether Uber’s bet-on-all strategy will actually work.
Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Sean O’Kane, and Anthony Ha discuss Uber’s AV partnership strategy, why Waabi’s “simulation-first” approach is different, and other headlines of the week.
Listen to the full episode to hear:
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