Waabi

8VC raises $998M in new funding with a focus on reshaping logistics

Venture capital firm 8VC has announced the launch of Fund VI, securing $998 million in new limited partner capital to fuel its ambitious investment strategy. This substantial raise comes at a pivotal time in the venture capital landscape, particularly in the supply chain and logistics sectors, which have seen significant disruption and innovation in recent years.

The venture capital market in Q4 2024 was...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/8vc-raises-998m-in-new-funding-with-a-focus-on-reshaping-logistics

Waabi and Volvo Autonomous Solutions announce partnership

Toronto-based autonomous truck technology maker Waabi announced a strategic partnership on Tuesday with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks. The partnership is twofold, combining Waabi’s innovations in generative AI with Volvo’s autonomous truck, the Volvo VNL Autonomous.

The vertical integration comes in the form of integrating Waabi’s virtual driver system, the Waabi Driver, into the Volvo autonomous truck, which has redundant systems for safe autonomous...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/waabi-and-volvo-autonomous-solutions-announce-partnership

Dueling approaches to AI in autonomous trucking

Autonomous trucking pioneer Chris Urmson and relative latecomer Raquel Urtasun see AI as critical to making autonomous trucking successful. But they do not see eye to eye on the best way to apply it.

Urmson led Google’s Self Driving Car Project that eventually became Waymo. He co-founded Aurora Innovation in 2017.

When Uber sold its Advanced Technologies Group to Aurora in January 2021, Urtasun was Uber ATG chief scientist and head of research and development. She and Urmson know each other’s...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dueling-approaches-to-ai-in-autonomous-trucking

Could autonomous trucks help save the planet?

It’s understood that autonomous trucks boost fuel efficiency compared to human-driven big rigs.

But the potential energy efficiency gains could be far greater.

In a white paper released Tuesday, Aurora Innovation looked at immediate, medium- and longer-term opportunities and found some obvious and not-so-obvious savings.

The headline factoid: Autonomous trucks could achieve 13%-32% net energy efficiency improvement per loaded mile compared to human-driven miles. It is a lot to digest. 

Aurora makes...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/could-autonomous-trucks-help-save-the-planet

Are startup investors getting past the FOMU cycle?

The same driverless technology that Kodiak Robotics plans to put on highways in late 2024 has application to the military, which sees leveraging commercially developed innovation as smarter than creating everything itself.

Following Kodiak’s reveal of its Ford F-150-based prototype autonomous vehicle for the U.S. Army on Monday, Kodiak founder and CEO Don Burnette and I discussed dual-use technology, the recent comings and goings in the autonomous trucking space and a thawing of investor...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/are-startup-investors-getting-past-the-fomu-cycle

Autonomous trucking: ‘What’s love got to do with it?’ 

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Lior Ron is a fan of autonomous trucking. You might even say the head of Uber Freight loves the idea...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/autonomous-trucking-whats-love-got-to-do-with-it

Waabi signs 10-year autonomous trucking pact with Uber Freight

The contraction of autonomous trucking developers is leaving openings for new players like Waabi Innovation Inc., which has signed a 10-year deal to haul cargo on the Uber Freight network.

Toronto-based Waabi was founded in June 2021 by Raquel Urtasun. She formerly ran the Canadian office of Uber’s Autonomous Technology Group that was sold to Aurora Innovation in 2020. Waabi raised $83.5 million with investments from Aurora and Uber in a round led by Khosla Ventures in 2021. Volvo Group Venture...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/waabi-signs-10-year-autonomous-trucking-pact-with-uber-freight

Upgraded testing may be key to advancing self-driving evolution

FreightWaves' Tony Mulvey and Waabi founder Raquel Urtasun at FreightWaves’ second Autonomous and Electric Vehicles Summit

This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ second Autonomous and Electric Vehicles Summit, which took place Wednesday.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Using AI to improve testing for self-driving

DETAILS: A discussion on how AI and simulation provide safer options to traditional testing.

SPEAKER: Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO at Waabi, a company that is building a trainable self-driving system using AI.

BIO: Urtasun has 20 years of experience in AI, with the past decade spent building self-driving...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/upgraded-testing-may-be-key-to-advancing-self-driving-evolution

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