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Waymo could be the largest commercial Robotaxi operator. It offers 250,000 paid rides a week, but it’s not smooth.
The last seven days in the Waymo world show how dynamic the burgeoning Robotaxi business is. Services, which were restricted nationwide on June 13, have been restricted nationwide ahead of President Donald Trump and his policies.
A few days later, Waymo announced that it would expand its Lobataki service area to an additional 80 square miles in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.
And now Waymo is focusing on New York City, the largest city in the United States. One note about NYC: This will be a Waymo marathon. The company has applied for permission to test self-driving cars in the city, but if approved, that doesn’t mean driverless testing. Truly unmanned vehicles (no human behind the wheels) require a change in state law. Hopefully there will be an increase in lobbying in the state.
Let’s get into the rest of the news.
Little bird
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Great deal!
Applied Intuition continues to attract investors and has an impressive reputation.
The Buzzy Startup has closed its $600 million Series F and public offerings, creating software to help businesses and government agencies develop self-driving vehicle solutions, such as simulation software and data management. The round, co-led by BlackRock-controlled funds and Kleiner Perkins, pushed its valuation to $15 billion. Yes, $15 billion.
Other investors include Qatar Investment Bureau, Abu Dhabi Investment Council and Greycroft. The general growth fund bonds of existing investors such as Catalyst, Lux, Elad Gil and Mary Meeker also participated.
Reminder: The round comes just a year after completing the $250 million Series E, and the company has now valued at $6 billion.
Other deals worth noting…
Archer Aviation raised an additional $850 million through direct registration offerings of 85 million shares at $10 per share. The company said it announced this followed President Trump’s executive order to implement the EVTOL integrated pilot program in the United States.
Sena Systems, a Southern California-based startup that develops wire harnesses for aerospace, has raised $25 million in a round co-ledged by Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of design software company Figma. VC Firm Civ; General Catalyst; Peter Tiel’s Founders Fund. Sequoia Capital; 8vc of Joe Lonsdale; Andreesen Horowitz.
Micro Mobility
The newsletter has a dedicated section on micromobility, reflecting its popularity at the time. Micromobility has been forced to grow the industry after a period of integration and tightening. But it hasn’t disappeared, so that’s why I’m getting it back this week (and sometimes in the future).
Reporter Rebecca Veran hosted a roundtable meeting with VOI CEO Fredrik Hjelm, Bird Co-CEO Michael Washinushi and Dott/Tier CEO Henri Moissinac at the Micromobility European event in Brussels. Some of her insights from the panel and the broader events include:
Shared micromobility has evolved from public nuisance to viable public transport. Cities like Paris currently hand out four-year contracts. Europe has been spending easier time than it thinks Washingsi, the US, is accepting it as public transport 18-24 months from Europe. Companies that have survived for the past few years are better, stronger and are currently working to deepen the profitability and growth of their core markets. Bird, for example, estimates that he is 12-18 months away from his agility in free cash flow. Operators do that in many ways. For example, VOI is tapping on LLMS to turn user feedback into real-time, viable insights. Voi also said he is interested in acquiring companies like Bolt’s micromobility business. All companies said they plan to add more e-bikes to the mix. Wasinushi also noted that Bird prioritizes using data to deploy vehicles at the right place and time. The CEO also said he would like to see more from the city in terms of implementing scooter caps, police riders’ behavior, and creating dedicated infrastructure like protected bike lanes.
Other Micro Mobility News…
Honda has launched an all-electric last mile delivery vehicle called First Port Equad.
Equad comes in two sizes built on the same basic platform. Both are smaller than the smallest Mini Cooper, but can carry between 320 and 650 pounds. There are pedals, and the top speed is limited to 12 mph (20 kph), both of which have requirements to keep the bike lane legal.
Vanmoof has returned and launched its first e-bike since bankruptcy. Reporter Rebecca Veran delves into the same and changed things in Vanmoof.
Veran also provided a list of startups that unfold from the early stages of Europe’s micromobility scene.
Notable readings and other information
Self-driving cars
Zoox has opened its first full-scale production facility. The facility is expected to build 10,000 Robotaxis per day.
Electric cars, batteries, charging
Tesla has partnered with Electrify Expo to launch a weekend EV test drive. This is an interesting move by Tesla, which has historically used other methods other than third-party events such as car shows and expos to attract new customers. It can also target Electrify as the target of protesters behind the Tesla Takedown movement.
Car sharing and riding hair ring
Zoomcar, India’s car sharing marketplace, said the hackers have access to personal data from at least 8.4 million customers, including names, phone numbers and car registration numbers. The company noticed the incident after receiving external communications from threat actors who claimed that some of its employees had access to the company’s data.
The future of flights
The Paris Air Show contained a lot of news under the ever-evolving category called “Future of Flight.” There’s too much to cover everything here, but there were a few highlights. An announcement from US DOT secretary Sean Duffy and the announcement that the Federal Aviation Administration and four other regulators will work together on the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) roadmap. The Archer Aviation introduced midnight aircraft and hosted delegations from over 20 countries. And the beta technology aria became the first electric aircraft to fly at the show.
