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I’m back from vacation. What did I miss? Turns out, quite a lot – including the end Uber-Waymo Partnership in Phoenix. Uber and Waymo still have robotaxi service partnerships in Atlanta and Austin. not a question ifhowever when will these contracts expire? But this, in my opinion, is not the most interesting question. I’m more interested in how these two companies will fare after the remaining partnerships are over.
There’s already tension with Uber executives taking a not-so-subtle shot at Waymo. Hopefully these thinly veiled barbs will be replaced by more direct action once the partnerships end. One of the battlegrounds will be politics, especially the markets where robotaxi companies are trying to gain entry.
This week, we saw another exciting development in the autonomous vehicle industry on the federal stage. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator Jonathan Morrison issued a directive to autonomous vehicle developers stating that it is unacceptable for their vehicles to interfere with first responders or law enforcement.
Quote from Money: “Let me be clear: the lack of ability to detect and respond appropriately to such situations is a functional deficiency. Emergency situations are not rare or extremely ‘unusual’ situations. So NHTSA today issues a call to action for AV developers and operators to immediately focus their resources on addressing this problem.”
Morrison’s letter never names any robotaxi company, and it was sent to every AV developer on the Department of Transportation’s list. Standing General Order. But apparently Morrison is directing the agency’s ire at Waymo.
A previous one TechCrunch research Waymo, which operates the largest fleet of robot-axi vehicles in the United States with cars in cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco, found that it had repeated encounters with first responders. And just this week, the San Francisco supervisor Bilal Mahmoud he said he planned submit a letter of inquiry Examining how autonomous vehicles impact public transit services and emergency responders in the wake of the 4th of July fireworks. Local news agencies reported on this multiple Waymo robots had to be towed after a power outage during a long traffic jam.
Morrison’s letter carries weight. But will there be significant consequences for AV developers? It’s hard to say at this point. For now, NHTSA has asked the companies to submit “solutions” to the agency by the end of the month.
Another news from the Federation. Take a look at the new one 2026 Regulatory Plan and Unit Agendaupdated last week. It contains a long list of proposed changes to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), which govern vehicle design and equipment requirements. These proposed changes could help autonomous car companies Tesla and Zooxdeveloping vehicles without steering wheels, pedals, or other features required of human-driven vehicles.
A little bird
Do you have a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Email My Alert at kkorosec.07 or Sean O’Kane sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Deals!
We usually focus on venture deals, but this week I wanted to highlight Rivian and the sale of 86.25 million shares of Class A common stock at $15.50 each (which includes an additional 11.25 million additional shares that the underwriters elect to purchase).
All in all, Rivian said he expected it It raised $1.32 billion in the new capital. The increase comes at a notable time for the EV maker. The company launched the new R2 SUV last month and recently raised the sales forecast For 2026. The company said it expects to deliver between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles in the second quarter after beating its expectations on the back of strong quarter-over-quarter growth in EDV and R1 and the introduction of R2 deliveries.
The company did not disclose the reason for the increase. But we remind you that Rivian is not yet profitable and expanding the production of R2 or any car is not cheap!
Other deals that caught my eye…
Bidbusa Los Angeles-based startup building a digital marketplace where multiple dealers can bid on cars, collected 15 million dollars in a Series A funding round led by Ibex Investors. Mucker Capital, FJ Labs, Motley Fool Ventures, Data Point Capital, Walter Ventures and Guy Car Dealer Yossi Levy also participated.
Lyft he said he was planning to get Serveo’s bike share business in Spain. Terms were not disclosed, but the ride-hailing company said it will close this year.
TaiSanUK battery launch, It raised £4.65 million in a seed funding round co-led by Eos Advisory and Midlands Engine Investment Fund II. Matching funding from InnoEnergy, AFI Ventures, EverQuest Capital Partners, Exergon, Heartfelt Ventures, Adeline Arts & Science, Techmind, angel investor François Badelon and Innovate UK also participated.
Notable readings and other information
Assurance AmericaUS insurance provider, confirmed data breach It affected the personal information and driver’s license numbers of 6.9 million people, making it the largest known leak of Americans’ driver’s license data this year.
Beta Technologiesthe takeoff and landing of the electric vehicle is completed operational flights It is being implemented under the new eVTOL Integrated Pilot Program of the US Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. The flights covered approximately 275 nautical miles, covering the states of Virginia and Maryland.
Long lasting followers Tesla will remember the hard times that happened Elon Musk battled various short sellers of the company’s stock. Musk is more polarizing than ever, and the hedge fund founder has found a way to tap into that negative sentiment with two new tools. anti-Elon exchange-traded funds.
GM The Chevrolet brand has produced an all-American EV truck. Senior Correspondent Tim De Chant asks: Why no one buys?
Manna Aerois an autonomous drone delivery startup based in Ireland scaling up It says it will employ 1,000 workers over the next few years with a factory and operations center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
Slate Auto merged with Crayola Offering car wraps to EV truck and SUV customers five crayon colors. (Reminder: The base Slate EV isn’t painted. Instead, it’s made from a gray composite material that can be customized with a car wrap. The company has hundreds of options.)
One more thing…
The TechCrunch podcast Installation mode just started its third season and it’s great. Build Mode is hosted by Isabelle Johannessen, who leads TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield program. Unlike Equity – the TC podcast I co-host with Anthony Ha and Sean O’Kane – Build Mode is designed to help early-stage founders.
the new season begins with Precursor Ventures founder and managing partner Charles Hudsonwho talks about what early-stage founders should know before raising their first institutional round.
Check out: The New Rules of Early Stage Fundraising with Charles Hudson.
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