TechCrunch Mobility: When a robo-taxi has to call 911

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Waymo She shared that she now provides 500,000 paid taxi rides every week. This number is small compared to its human-driven counterparts, e.g Lyft and Uber. But that’s not what I found most interesting. The pace of growth in new flights and markets and its comparison to the size of its fleet is what caught my attention. We’ve created a chart (you can see below) that helps visualize the quick scale.

However, this scale creates new challenges, including the inevitability of the robot becoming paralyzed, as many did during the California power outages in December. It got us wondering, what happens when a robotaxi breaks down, and who dismantles it?

Senior correspondent Sean O’Kane It was dug into Waymo’s system (which includes its roadside assistance team), as well as at least six incidents in which first responders had to step in and manually drive the stuck Waymo around. In some cases, a robo-taxi broke down in the middle of an emergency: A police officer responding to a mass shooting in Austin earlier this month was diverted to first run a Waymo robo-taxi off the road.

In essence, Sean found that when Waymo’s vehicles break down, the company relies on taxpayer-funded public services to transport its vehicles for it.

Depending on who you talk to, this is either unacceptable, no big deal, or somewhere in between the two. At a recent hearing, San Francisco District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong He said many of his counterparts agree that “our first responders should not be AAA.”

For those who shrug their shoulders, I would suggest they think about what comes next.

This isn’t just a problem with Waymo. Several companies hope to deploy paid robotaxis in the United States this year, including… kinetic and Zoox. Teslawhich has its service in Austin, also has big ambitions. Each company may have a different system with varying degrees of reliance on first responders.

birdie

Small bird close by Uber Recently I shared a tidbit about him Waymowhich the ride-hailing company has partnered with in a few cities. According to this insider, a Waymo robot car takes up to 30% longer to get somewhere than a human driver, due to how careful the robot car has to be and its tendency to avoid potential challenges like unprotected left turns. (Important note: I’ve been in a lot of Waymos and these vehicles can handle left turns just fine, but they can be difficult so it makes sense for a robot to avoid them.)

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosek at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com Or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Offers!

Ziplinethe American drone delivery and logistics startup, has been around for years. More recently, its success with home delivery and continued global expansion has helped attract more money.

The company said it has raised another $200 million, in addition to its latest funding round that was originally announced in January. The additional funds, which included participation from cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm, pushed Zipline’s recent Series H round to $800 million. Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, and Tiger Global participated in the seed tranche that valued the drone delivery startup at $7.6 billion.

My story speaks to why a startup found so many interested investors. TL; DR: Home delivery volume growth exceeded expectations in January and February, and CEO Keller Clifton said he expects it to do so over the next three months, compared to 2025.

Other deals that caught my attention…

No trafficAn Israeli traffic management software startup has raised $90 million in a Series C funding round led by PSG Equity, Axios reported.

Rivian Received another billion dollars from Volkswagen Group After completing one of its milestones within the framework of a joint technological project between the two automakers. About $750 million comes in the form of equity investment. The other $250 million is either equity or convertible debt, depending on the prototypes the Volkswagen Group has submitted to Rivian for testing. (The companies did not immediately clarify this.)

Artificial intelligence shieldThe independent military aircraft maker has raised $1.5 billion in Series G funding at a post-cash valuation of $12.7 billion. The deal was led by private equity firm Advent and investment group JPMorganChase.

swisha Bengaluru-based food delivery startup, has raised $38 million in a Series B round led by Hara Global and Bain Capital Ventures. Other investors include Accel, Stride Ventures and Alteria Capital.

Uber Plan to invest in it Vernrobotaxi company under Rimac Group. The undisclosed investment, which insiders tell us should be resolved in the next few months, is part of a wider deal including… Pony.ai To bring robotaxis to Europe, starting in Zagreb, Croatia.

Notable Readings and Other Stories

DoorDash Provided relief payments to drivers as the Iran-US war sent gas prices soaring.

Harbingeran electric trucking startup, continues to add products to its lineup. This time, the Harbinger chassis will be used in Frazer’s 70-year-old emergency vehicles.

Faraday future It’s clear with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC closed its investigation into the electric vehicle startup despite SEC staff in the case recommending enforcement action last year.

Here’s a timely advantage. recklessThe popular flight tracking app has released a new feature called “Airport Intelligence” that provides users with real-time alerts and reasons about airport disruptions, and is available at 14,000 airports around the world.

Sony Honda Mobilitya joint venture between the two Japanese groups, is abandoning the two Afeela-branded electric vehicles it has spent the past few years developing. I had received a lot of press releases and invitations to see Afila over the years, and with each passing quarter, it seemed less likely to become a reality.

Utah’s governor signed a bill setting the liability framework for self-driving vehicles.

Zoox Purpose-built robotaxis are plying public roads in Austin and Miami after nearly two years of running their test vehicles in the two cities. The company plans to start offering rides at both locations later this year as part of its early rider program. Note: Until Zoox receives a waiver from the federal government, it will not be able to charge for rides.

Another thing…

Below are the results of my question regarding Rivian and the R2 robotaxi deal with Uber. As a reminder, this was the setup. Rivian plans to build thousands of R2 robotaxis, including a self-driving system. Is this a distraction and too much risk or is it critical to the long-term future of the company?

About 55% of voters believe this is a distraction, while 45% said the pursuit of robotaxis is critical to its long-term future.

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