What has Waymo learned?
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As the only company currently operating robotaxis at scale, Waymo has earned the right to talk about what works and what doesn’t. And in public remarks this week, a Waymo exec suggests that AI shortcuts embraced by other companies, notably Tesla and Wayve, won’t pan out. Years from now, will this prediction be regarded as prescient or shortsighted?
Plus, bureaucratic hurdles delay AVs in London, Gatik raises big bucks for “middle mile” autonomy, and Indian startup Airbound has a vision for rocket-like drone delivery. Finally, why are some bike safety advocates so tired of hearing about bike helmets?
What you need to know
Waymo warns against AI shortcuts: In a blog post and in a subsequent interview, Srikanth Thirumalai, Waymo vice president of onboard software, warns against AV developers betting on single “end-to-end” AI systems à la Tesla, Wayve and Waabi. Putting that much trust into the reasoning of a single neural network is too risky, he says. Even the best AI models still hallucinate.
That was just one of many points Thirumalai made in an article assessing the lessons learned from Waymo’s first 200 million miles of fully autonomous driving. In another knock on Tesla, he says safe AVs require multimodal sensors, not just cameras.
Your move, Tesla.
Big money in the middle mile: Self-driving box truck startup Gatik raises $200 million just two months after landing a multiyear commercial deal with PepsiCo. While rivals chase robotaxis, sidewalk bots, and long-haul big rigs, Gatik is aiming for the oft-overlooked “middle mile” — short-haul delivery runs between distribution centers and stores — for customers including Walmart, Kroger and Tyson. It appears to be paying off: Gatik says it’s locked in $600 million in contracted revenue.
Fleets Take the Wheel with Bojan Jukic
While Waymo and other autonomous players continue to expand, they’re running into a much older problem: how to manager their growing fleets. That’s the slow, complicated, unsexy part of running mobility services that involves cleaning, charging, and moving vehicles around to where they need to be, and that’s the business Bojan Jukic, CEO of Wunder Mobility, is in. On this episode, he and host Nick Perloff-Giles talk about how the micromobility revolution predicted autonomy, what Europe is doing well, and what the future holds for fleet management.
Drones + rockets: Indian startup Airbound raises $37 million to develop a new type of drone technology that it believes can compete with the flexibility and economics of delivery trucks. The Bengaluru-based company, which is already delivering thousands of diagnostic samples between hospitals across southern India, currently operates 3.3 lb drones that can carry up to 2.2 lbs. It says its next-gen vehicle, however, will weigh 6.6 lbs and be able to carry 11 lbs. The key, it believes, is an aircraft with a rocket-like design that takes off and lands vertically.
Robotaxi reality check in London: The ambitious timeline set by the UK government to roll out autonomous ride-hailing in London is running into obstacles with Transport for London, the city’s transit authority. While the government hoped for Uber and Wayve to be offering driverless rides by spring of 2026, TfL says they are unlikely to be operating this year while the agency drafts its guidance on AVs.
Less than 13 weeks to go! 😎🌴
Join us at the special 10th edition of CoMotion LA, and join the leaders, innovators and decision-makers reshaping how cities move, connect and grow.
Participate in public sector pitches, walking tours, panels, keynotes, live demos, workshops, networking sessions, LA New Mobility Challenge, and sizzling evening receptions.
Latest confirmed speakers:
- Annabel R. Chang, Director of U.S. State and Local Public Policy and Political Campaigns, Waymo
- Phil Pierce, City Policy Lead, Zoox
- Tania Mahan, Senior Transport Integration & Mobility Manager, FIFA World Cup 2026™
- Eyal Cohen, CEO & Founder, Humble Robotics
- Kelly Rula, Strategic Initiatives, Seattle Department of Transportation
- Emily Warren, Deputy Secretary for Innovative Mobility Solutions, California State Transportation Agency
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What we’re reading
The helmet distraction: After being criticized for setting a poor example, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledges to wear a bike helmet from now on. But Streetsblog’s Kevin Duggar is frustrated with Mamdani for seeming to affirm the belief that bike safety is about individual responsibility, rather than institutional responsibility to build safer infrastructure. In fact, in places where it is safest to bike (e.g. the Netherlands) relatively few people wear helmets.
