Don't Look Now, but AV Investment Is Bouncing Back

Welcome to the Ride AI Newsletter, your weekly digest of important events and new developments at the intersection of technology and transportation. 

Here Comes Micromobility America…

Before we begin, we’d like to remind readers that our sister show dedicated to small electric vehicles, Micromobility America, is coming to Socal on November 14-15 for two immersive days of test rides, networking, programming, awards, parties, and more.

And until Friday (6/28), you can score Early Bird tickets for only $125.

For context, the final price for tickets to Micromobility Europe earlier this month was nearly $1,000, so we definitely recommend booking now if you plan on going.

What You Need to Know Today

Investment in autonomous vehicles is moving higher after a prolonged drought of fresh capital. “Through April, less than $800 million was raised by startups in the autonomous driving industry, per Crunchbase data. However, since May 1 nearly $2.7 billion has come pouring into the sector.”

Cruise is being fined $112k by the California Public Utilities Commission for withholding evidence about a pedestrian-involved collision in October 2023. After the incident resulted in Cruise being forced to suspend operations in California, this settlement opens the door for the GM-backed company to reapply for a new permit.

Related: GM is tapping Xbox veteran Marc Whitten as Cruise’s new CEO.

Uber Freight is teaming with Aurora on a multi-year collaboration to use Aurora’s self-driving technology to haul goods for Uber Freight customers. The partnership will start with routes between Houston and Dallas.

A new paper finds Level 4 self-driving vehicles are about 36% less likely to be involved in moderate injury accidents and 90% less likely to be involved in a fatal accident. But compared to human drivers, L4 AVs are worse at driving in low-light conditions and making turns.

South Korea’s Bitsensing has raised $25M in Series B funds to develop high-resolution radar technology for autonomous vehicles, also known as 4D imaging radar.

Miami International Airport is rolling out “autonomous power chairs” to assist travelers with mobility issues.

ARK’s lofty expectations for Tesla’s stock value estimates that nearly 90% of the company’s enterprise value and earnings will be attributed to potential robotaxi business in 2029…

Hyundai is showcasing new autonomous park and charge robots. The robots latch onto a vehicle's front and rear wheels and are guided to the designated parking spot by an integrated camera system.

Wisk Aero, which is owned by Boeing, is acquiring Verocel, a software verification and validation company, to boost the safety software for its self-flying eVTOL.

Waymo is getting rid of its waitlist and making robotaxis available to all in San Francisco.

On the emergence of “Level 2+” autonomous vehicles and why they should be regulated like Level 3 vehicles.

On that note, Ford’s CEO says the company is “getting close” to Level 3 autonomous technology that will enable hands- and eyes-free driving.