Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility<\/strong>, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility<\/a>!<\/p>\n I\u2019m back from a sojourn through New Hampshire\u2019s White Mountains \u2014 a few days of respite before Disrupt 2026<\/strong>, TechCrunch\u2019s annual tech conference in San Francisco. Now, after a few days immersed in fall colors, I am ready for the action. And there is gonna be a lot of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n I want to see you all there, so here is a 30% discount on tickets to Disrupt with code mobility30<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0For more info on the show, scroll down.<\/p>\n Now, on to the news!<\/p>\n Self-driving truck companies Aurora Innovation<\/strong> and Kodiak AI <\/strong>received a federal exemption this week that removes a massive barrier to commercialization.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under federal regulations, if a traditional big rig runs into trouble, the human driver must pull over, activate the hazard lights, and then physically place reflective warning triangles on the road within 10 minutes to alert other road users. But if a mechanical problem forces a self-driving truck to pull over, there\u2019s no human driver to deploy those warning devices.<\/p>\n It was a big enough hurdle that Aurora took federal safety regulators<\/a> to court over the requirement. After the court denied its request for an exemption, the company escalated the fight to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. (Companies did have a temporary waiver as it awaited a decision.)<\/p>\n Now Aurora and other self-driving truck developers have been given the green light from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration<\/strong>. The agency has granted a five-year exemption<\/a> allowing companies to replace roadside warning devices, such as reflective warning triangles, with cab-mounted warning beacons. Check out Aurora\u2019s first responders page<\/a> to see how it works.<\/p>\n Daniel Goff<\/strong>, vice president of external affairs at Kodiak AI, said the exemption<\/a> will help the industry \u201cusher in an autonomous era of freight movement on U.S. roads, one that can save lives and improve the efficiency of goods delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n Gerardo Interiano<\/strong>, Aurora\u2019s head of government relations and public affairs, echoed that sentiment, saying the decision underscores the government\u2019s recognition of the economic and community benefits of autonomous trucking. He described the high-visibility, cab-mounted warning beacons as a \u201ccritical, 21st-century solution that enhances roadside safety by immediately alerting other road users without ever needing to put a person in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n One question I\u2019m left with: Could these cab-mounted warning beacons eventually become standard equipment across the entire trucking industry?<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a few months since Redwood Materials<\/strong>, the battery-recycling company started by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel<\/strong>, kicked off a restructuring to focus more on energy storage. The first stage of the restructuring<\/a> involved laying off around 135 employees, or 10% of its workforce.<\/p>\n But a little bird recently told us that some more executives were on their way out the door. Sure enough, over the last few weeks, Redwood\u2019s vice presidents of engineering, operations, treasury, and external affairs have all left the startup.<\/p>\n Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at\u00a0<\/em>[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O\u2019Kane at\u00a0<\/em>[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Waymo<\/strong> has relied on capital from its parent company Alphabet and high-profile venture firms to fund its autonomous vehicle tech plans. This week, the company turned to debt financing for the first time for another bump. A $5 billion bump<\/a> to be exact.\u00a0<\/p>\n PIMCO, Blackstone, and Sixth Street were the lead lenders. But there were so many more, including Capital Group, Loomis Sayles, T. Rowe Price, Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management & Research Company, HPS Investment Partners, and Oaktree.<\/p>\n The debt financing comes as the company accelerates its commercial expansion within existing cities while pushing into new markets in the United States, Europe, and Japan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other deals that got my attention this week \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Bloom<\/strong> has raised $3.6 million<\/a> to become the \u201cAlibaba\u201d of American manufacturing. The seed round was led by SNAK Venture Partners and included Flyover Capital, deep tech firm Mana Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Invest Detroit Ventures, and the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund.<\/p>\n Flai, <\/strong>a startup that developed AI software for dealerships, raised $27 million<\/a> in a Series A funding round led by automation-focused firm Base10 Partners. The round included funding from dealers (Friedkin Group and Findlay Automotive), Toyota\u2019s venture arm, Y Combinator, and First Round Capital.<\/p>\n Parallel Systems<\/strong>, a startup developing a rail vehicle capable of moving over several tons of freight as far as 500 miles without an operator, raised $100 million<\/a> in a Series C round led by AVP, with participation from Hillspire, Agility Global, Cobalt Capital, Anthos Capital, Congruent Ventures, Riot Ventures, and Collaborative Fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n Uber<\/strong> has agreed to buy catering company ezCater<\/strong> in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.3 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Surveillance camera maker Flock<\/strong> cut its workforce<\/a> by 18%, or around 270 employees, as the company faces ongoing and growing backlash to its license plate readers and people-tracking technology. FYI:\u00a0 Flock founder and CEO Garrett Langley <\/strong>will be at TechCrunch<\/strong> Disrupt 2026<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lucid Motors<\/strong> built 2,954 electric vehicles in the third quarter of this year, a 54% drop<\/a> from a year ago, as the company purposely limits production to better meet demand for its EVs.<\/p>\n Kodiak AI has a new 435-mile autonomous route<\/a> between Dallas and Laredo, Texas, with carrier Charger USA. The self-driving trucks startup is hauling refrigerated and dry freight for consumer packaged goods and for food and beverage customers.<\/p>\n Tesla<\/strong> changed the name of its advanced driver assistance system in Europe after pushback from Germany\u2019s transportation ministry. It\u2019s now called \u201cTesla Assisted Driving<\/a>\u201d instead of \u201cFull Self-Driving (Supervised).\u201d<\/p>\n Uber<\/strong> and Chinese autonomous vehicle maker Pony.ai<\/strong><\/a> plan to launch a robotaxi service<\/a> in London as part of an expanded partnership to bring driverless cars to Europe.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a bit more info on TechCrunch Disrupt 2026!<\/p>\n I will kick off the conference on October 13 with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe<\/a>. Senior reporter Sean O\u2019Kane has a fireside interview with Agility Robotics CTO Jonathan Hurst, as well as a panel featuring Also CEO Chris Yu, General Catalyst\u2019s Yuri Sagalov, and Shan Shan, investment manager at Baillie Gifford.\u00a0<\/p>\n I will also interview Shield AI CTO Nathan Michael; Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun; and Mikell Taylor, director of robotics strategy at GM about building AI systems when failure isn\u2019t an option. And I will interview Foxglove CEO Adrian MacNeil and Bedrock Robotics CTO Kevin Peterson about taking physical AI from prototype to product.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not enough? OK, here ya go: We will also have Max Hodak, co-founder of Neuralink and founder of Science Corp.; Ricursive Intelligence co-founders Dr. Anna Goldie and Dr. Azalia Mirhoseini; Hello Robot co-founder and CEO Aaron Edsinger and their robot Stretch 4; and Mark Wahlberg. Plus, hear from engineers and execs from Anthropic, Gamma, Hugging Face, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Replit, as well as investors from Google Ventures, Greylock, Eclipse, Index Ventures, NEA, and Upfront Ventures (to name a few.)<\/p>\n Check out the agenda here<\/a>.<\/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>\n
\nA little bird<\/h2>\n
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Deals!<\/h2>\n
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Notable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
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One more thing<\/h2>\n