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TechCrunch Mobility: Waymo’s Big Apple score and Nvidia backs Nuro

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Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda

Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise.

Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda

Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise.

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TechCrunch Mobility: Waymo’s Big Apple score and Nvidia backs Nuro Kirsten Korosec AM PDT · August 24, 2025 Hey, all, and happy Friday! Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for news, analysis, and scoops around the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!

I was sad to have missed the Monterey Car Week this year, especially because there were a number of reveals I was interested in, including the all-electric Cadillac Opulent Velocity; the Chevrolet Corvette CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo concepts; and Lucid Gravity X reveals. But alas, the sprawling, Champagne-soaked grounds of Quail or the sea of seersucker suits and wide-brimmed hats at Pebble Beach Golf Course were suboptimal landscapes for my newly fractured and boot-encased foot. Next year!

In the meantime, I thought I would reach out to you, dear reader, to get your forecast on what’s in store for automakers and EV sales in the United States once the federal EV tax

My prediction? Well I don’t really want to taint the results, but I will say this: Automakers are going to have to do something in the short term to attract customers, and not just because of the expiring EV tax

Serve Robotics, the autonomous sidewalk delivery robot company, announced earlier this week that it acquired Vayu Robotics, a startup that has developed AI foundation models and a simulation-powered data engine for robots. The companies didn’t disclose the terms of the deal, but some back-of-the-envelope math and a little bird helped me determine that Serve Robotics paid between $45 million and $50 million for Vayu.

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane.com

Several weeks ago, I highlighted a deal between Uber, autonomous vehicle tech startup Nuro, and EV maker Lucid. You can read about that here, but the important piece to remember is Uber’s commitment to make an undisclosed “multimillion-dollar” investment into Nuro. (

Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025 REGISTER NOW Nuro has now raised more money in a Series E round that has reached $203 million from a group of new investors that includes Nvidia, existing backer Baillie Gifford, Icehouse Ventures, Kindred Ventures, and Pledge Ventures. And a portion of Uber’s investment has gone toward the Series E round.

Other deals that got my attention …

ARK Invest, Cathie Wood’s firm, invested about $12.9 million in the Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai, according to the company.

Grid Aero, an aerospace startup, raised $6 million in seed funding from Calibrate Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures.

Group14, a battery materials startup, raised $463 million in a funding round led

Oway, founded in 2023 and backed

One update on the Via IPO: Renaissance Capital estimates Via could raise up to $500 million.

Hertz will start selling preowned vehicles on Amazon Autos.

Redwood Materials said it is working with Caterpillar to recycle the battery packs from the company’s battery-electric underground loaders.

Tesla is planning to introduce in-car voice-assistant functions powered

The Routing Company, a startup that helps transit agencies match riders with vehicles quickly and cheaply, landed Zoox as its first robotaxi client. Zoox will purchase a nonexclusive license for The Routing Company’s tech and will bring five of the startup’s engineers on board to “advance the efficiency and scalability” of its fledgling robotaxi service.

Volkswagen faces a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey over the buttons on the steering wheel of its cars, including ID.4. The lawsuit alleges the buttons are too sensitive and too easy to activate unintentionally.

Waymo has been granted a permit to test its autonomous vehicles in New York City, the first such approval granted

In the world of drones and food, I suppose it was inevitable we would get Zipotle — a merging of the words Zipline and Chipotle. Zipline, an autonomous drone delivery startup, has partnered with Chipotle to fly digital orders to guests’ locations in the greater Dallas area.

Vanity Fair has a lengthy feature on Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana that digs into her past, how she manages, and, as the

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Kirsten Korosec Transportation Editor

October 27-29, 2025 San Francisco Put your brand in front of 10,000+ tech and VC leaders across all three days of Disrupt 2025. Amplify your reach, spark real connections, and lead the innovation charge. Secure your exhibit space before your competitor does.

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