Aurora Innovation has begun running its second-generation autonomous trucks on U.S. highways without safety drivers, a response to what it calls surging customer demand. The rollout dovetails with a partnership announced with Volvo Group, which plans to put more than 300 driverless trucks on North Carolina roads by 2027, moving freight without anyone behind the wheel.
Waymo put its robotaxis back on freeways after fixing the technical failures that had sidelined them, and opened its Dallas service to the general public after months of a 150,000-person waitlist since February. Yet an American Enterprise Institute analysis finds the company still stuck in traffic, literally and regulatorily, in its efforts to crack New York City.
Chinese robot maker Unitree emerged from its IPO valued at more than $7.4 billion yuan, according to CITIC, with executives forecasting accelerating first-half revenue as humanoid demand surges. The listing lands just as the FCC moves to ban Chinese humanoid robots from U.S. markets, a policy response to what analysts describe as China's outsized lead in humanoid investment and manufacturing.
Waymo executives spent the period pressing a safety-over-speed narrative: CEO Tekedra Mawakana explained why she rejects Silicon Valley's 'move fast and break things' ethos, while a colleague argued Tesla's camera-only approach can't match lidar for safety. Co-CEO Terence Sheahan issued a broader warning to AI companies building robots and cars, and the pitch got empirical backing from an IIHS study finding Waymo robotaxis crash 68% less often than human drivers.
Uber's split from Waymo has left the ride-hailing giant leaning on its own unproven autonomous technology, the Los Angeles Times reports, just as Bloomberg notes Uber's languishing stock is drawing fresh investor scrutiny of its self-driving timeline. The two pieces together paint a company whose robotaxi ambitions now rest on shakier ground than before the breakup.