Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility \u2014 your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n There is a bit of a theme emerging in transportation \u2014 and really every industry: AI is creating jobs for some at the loss of others.\u00a0<\/p>\n General Motors<\/strong>, for instance, laid off more than 10% of its IT department<\/a>, or about 600 salaried employees \u2014 in a deliberate skills swap. This won\u2019t translate into a one-to-one exchange, which means there will likely be a net-negative job loss. But GM insists it is hiring and those layoffs have made room for it to recruit IT people with AI-focused backgrounds.<\/p>\n The most sought-after capabilities are AI-native development, data engineering and analytics, cloud-based engineering, agent and model development, prompt engineering, and new AI workflows. In practical terms, GM is looking for people who know how to build with AI from the ground up \u2014 designing the systems, training the models, and engineering the pipelines \u2014 not just use AI as a productivity tool.<\/p>\n Those AI job losses are mounting in the automotive sector. CNBC calculated<\/a> that Ford, GM, and Stellantis have cut a combined total of more than 20,000 U.S. salaried jobs, or 19% of their combined workforces, from recent employment peaks this decade. While there are a variety of reasons for these cuts, they are generally connected to technological changes, including AI.<\/p>\n Companies are leaning heavily into AI, although anecdotes from some engineers and founders suggests not all of these businesses know quite what they\u2019re doing with it yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Samsara<\/strong> is one company that seems to have figured out a revenue-generating use case. The company has spent the last decade giving its customers cameras to mount inside millions of trucks for driver monitoring, theft prevention, and helping with liability claims. The company took that mountain of data and trained its own model that can detect potholes<\/a> and determine how quickly they are deteriorating. The company is pitching this product to cities and announced it has several under contract, including Chicago.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nothing this week, although I am working on a fun one! Reach out anytime with insights, tips, or just because. You can reach us via email or Signal.<\/p>\n Email Kirsten Korosec at <\/em>kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/em><\/a> or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at <\/em>sean.okane@techcrunch.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n You might have noticed that Rivian\u2019s spinoff company Mind Robotics<\/strong> raised another $400 million<\/a>, just two months after raising $500 million<\/a>. And that pace got me thinking about its founder RJ Scaringe and his innate ability to get VC and institutional backers to invest in his ideas and projects.<\/p>\n I calculated that investors have poured $12.3 billion into Scaringe\u2019s three startups \u2014 Also, Mind Robotics, and Rivian. That figure doesn\u2019t include the close to $12 billion in gross proceeds raised in Rivian\u2019s IPO, nor did I count the more recent strategic deals with Volkswagen Group and Uber \u2014 which together could add nearly $7 billion to Rivian\u2019s coffers.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can read my whole riff on the topic here<\/a>. But if you don\u2019t feel like clicking, here is one item that stood out. I spoke to a number of insiders and investors and they all mentioned Scaringe\u2019s ability to give undivided attention to whoever he\u2019s talking to \u2014 whether it’s an investor, supplier, or exec \u2014 and make them feel like the most important person in the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s yet another piece of evidence in my long-standing case against multitasking. Debate me!<\/p>\n Other deals that got my attention \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Arkeus<\/strong>, an Australian startup that developed perception software for autonomous drones and aircraft, raised $18 million<\/a> in a Series A round led by QIC Ventures. Other investors include R+VC, Folklore Ventures, DYNE Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, Salus Ventures, and Beaten Zone.<\/p>\n Aseon Labs<\/strong>, a Redwood City, California, startup that has developed a depot in a box for charging, cleaning, and inspecting autonomous fleets, came out of stealth<\/a> with undisclosed backing by Y Combinator.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rapido<\/strong> raised $240 million<\/a> in a round led by Prosus, and that values the Indian ride-hailing company at $3 billion. Existing investors, including WestBridge Capital and Accel, participated. The round was part of a larger $730 million primary and secondary financing.<\/p>\n Quantum Systems<\/strong>, a Germany-based drone startup backed by Peter Thiel, is in talks to raise around \u20ac600 million ($703 million) with companies like Airbus and Blackstone as investors, Bloomberg reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Is Redwood Materials ready for an IPO?<\/a> Senior reporter Sean O\u2019Kane interviewed the company\u2019s new CFO, Deepak Ahuja<\/strong>, whose name will be familiar to anyone who follows Tesla. Ahuja was Tesla\u2019s former finance chief and most recently held a similar position at drone company Zipline.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla<\/strong> Robotaxis have crashed at least twice since July 2025 while a teleoperator was remotely driving<\/a> the vehicles, according to newly unredacted information submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.<\/p>\n Uber<\/strong> is expanding in India<\/a> with two new engineering campuses that can fit about 9,600 people and a data center partnership aimed at supporting its overall product development and infrastructure operations.<\/p>\n Waymo<\/strong> issued a software update to its fleet of nearly 4,000 vehicles to help them avoid flooded roads<\/a> as part of a recall announced by the NHTSA. Important note:\u00a0The company hasn\u2019t fully solved the problem of how its vehicles behave in these conditions.<\/p>\n Disrupt, our flagship annual tech conference in San Francisco, will be held in October. And while that is a ways off, I wanted to share one bit of news. We will have six stages this year, which you can read about in more detail here<\/a>. One worth noting for this crowd is our AI in the Real World Stage<\/strong>.It will be here that we\u2019ll dig into robotics, autonomous systems, manufacturing, defense, and industrial operations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\nA little bird<\/h2>\n
Deals!<\/h2>\n
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Notable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
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One more thing \u2026<\/h2>\n