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Aurora acquires Uber’s self-driving Unit, Raises $400 Million from Uber

8Dec By AnkitaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Aurora acquires Uber’s self-driving Unit, Raises $400 Million from Uber

Aurora acquires Uber’s self-driving unit, Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) to accelerate and deliver it first product safely & quickly. Founded in 2017, Aurora is working on self-driving technology. The company is building the Aurora Driver, a platform that brings together software, hardware and data services to operate passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and heavy-duty trucks across a range of applications. In addition to acquiring ATG, the company announced a strategic partnership with Uber that connects aurora technology to Uber's ride-hailing platform and an investment of $400 million in Aurora from Uber. After this deal Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will join Aurora Board. “Few technologies hold as much promise to improve people’s lives with safe, accessible,...

Toyota AI Ventures Launch a $100M Fund for early age startups

2May By PriyankaNo Comments

Automobile

Toyota AI Ventures Launch a $100M Fund for early age startups

LOS ALTOS, Calif. (May 2, 2019) – Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Toyota AI Ventures announced a new $100 million fund dedicated to investing in early-stage startups developing disruptive technologies and business models in the autonomous mobility and robotics markets. Toyota AI Ventures is a subsidiary of Toyota Research Institute (TRI). In less than two years, Toyota AI Ventures has invested in a diverse portfolio of 19 startups. Fund II brings the firm’s total assets under management to more than $200M to invest in and support promising startups around the world.“Auto manufacturers must participate in the startup ecosystem to stay ahead of the rapid shift in the auto industry,” said Jim Adler, managing director of Toyota AI Ventures. “Investing in startups creates long-ter...

BMW, Baidu Joint Project on Self-Driving Cars Breaks Down

19Nov By NitishNo Comments

News

BMW, Baidu Joint Project on Self-Driving Cars Breaks Down

German automaker BMW and Chinese internet giant Baidu will end their joint research on self-driving cars, executives for the two firms said on Friday, with Baidu now searching for new global research partners. Wang Jing, the head of autonomous car development at Baidu, told Reuters the company was now using cars from Ford's Lincoln in its U.S. testing, declining to elaborate. "I'm open for any partners, actually I'm talking to many," Wang said, speaking on the sidelines of China's third World Internet Conference in the eastern Chinese city of Wuzhen. Tech and automotive leaders contend that cars of the future will be capable of completely driving themselves, revolutionizing the transportation industry, with virtually all carmakers as well as companies such as Alphabet's Google and...

Self Driving Won’t Work in India Because Nobody Obeys Driving Rules: RC Bhargava

6Nov By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

Entrepreneurs Talk

Self Driving Won’t Work in India Because Nobody Obeys Driving Rules: RC Bhargava

At a time when the automotive world is bullish on self driving cars, Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava says such autonomous vehicles will not work in India as "nobody obeys any of the driving rules". "I would love to see people try and put that technology to use in the Indian driving conditions," Bhargava said. At an interaction here late last evening, he was asked about his views on self driving cars and how were they likely to impact the traditional automobile industry. "I think no technology will work here when nobody obeys any of the driving rules, no nobody obeys any of the systems which are there. How will you devise a technology that will predict customer behaviour, nobody can predict customer behaviour?" he said. Asked about the impact of taxi aggregators like Ola and...

Anand Mahindra Looking To Launch Driverless Tractor

11Aug By NitishNo Comments

News

Anand Mahindra Looking To Launch Driverless Tractor

Mahindra group is investing in the future of mobility with intentions to play a pioneering role in the development of driverless tractors and commercial vehicles, its Chairman Anand Mahindra today said. Amid speculations in the world whether conventional auto companies will survive in a transformed environment, he said the buzz about the future of mobility is centered around three topics -- shared mobility, role of renewable energy- powered vehicles and autonomous vehicles. "Mahindra is investing in the future of mobility by combining our innovative manufacturing capabilities with our investments in downstream platforms," he said while addressing the companys AGM here. Stressing on the groups ambitions to be prepared for the future, Mahindra said: "Everyone in the world is...

Chinese Tech Giant Baidu Planning of Mass-Producion of Driverless Cars

28Jun By AdityaNo Comments

CHINA

Chinese Tech Giant Baidu Planning of Mass-Producion of Driverless Cars

Chinese tech giant Baidu today said it plans to begin mass-production of driverless cars in five years as part of its efforts to get ahead of its US rivals Google and Tesla Motors in the autonomous vehicle technology. President Zhang Yaqin said Baidu will carry out road tests of driverless cars in 10 Chinese cities, with the aim to commercialise the technology in three years and realise mass production in five years. The move is a significant step for the Beijing-based tech company trying to get ahead of Google in building autonomous cars, and is marshalling the resources to advance the effort. During the ongoing Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2016, or Summer Davos, in Tianjin, Zang told state-run Xinhua news agency that the core technology of Baidus driverless cars, was the "B...

18Apr By AnkitaNo Comments

CHINA

China’s First Driverless Cars Complete Long-Distance Road Test

Two self-driving cars on Saturday afternoon wrapped up a 2,000-km (1,240 miles) journey in China's first long-distance road test for autonomous vehicles. The vehicles, produced by Chang'an Automobile, left the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing on Tuesday and arrived at Beijing at about 5 p.m. Saturday. The cars successfully drove distance from other vehicles, changed lanes, overtook and performed other maneuvers including three-point turns automatically but still need the help of a driver in certain road sections and gas stations, the designers said. The maximum speed of the cars reached 120 kilometers per hour. Tan Benhong, deputy director of the Chang'an Automobile Engineering & Research Institute, said they would improve the technologies based on the results of the test a...

Apple registers automobile domain names, including “apple.car”

9Jan By reutersNo Comments

Automobile, News

Apple registers automobile domain names, including “apple.car”

Apple Inc has registered domain names related to automobiles, adding to speculation about the company's plans to develop an automobile. The iPhone maker registered the domain names, which include apple.car, apple.cars and apple.auto in December, according to domain information provider Who.is. MacRumors had first reported the news on Friday, but said the domain names could be related to Apple's CarPlay, which lets drivers access contacts on their iPhones, make calls or listen to voicemails without taking their hands off the steering wheel. While never openly acknowledging plans to build a car, Apple has been aggressive in recruiting auto experts from companies such as Ford or Mercedes-Benz. Car technology has become a prime area of interest for Silicon Valley companies includin...