TechCrunch Mobility: When a robotaxi has to call 911

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Waymo shared that it is now providing 500,000 paid robotaxi rides every week. That number is small compared to its human-driven ride-hailing counterparts, like Lyft and Uber. But that’s not what I found most interesting. The pace of growth in rides, new markets, and how it compares to its fleet size is what got my attention. We built a chart (which you can view below) that helps visualize the rapid scale. 

That scale, however, does create new challenges, including the inevitably of the robotaxis becoming paralyzed, like so many did during the blackout in California in December. It got us wondering, what happens when a robotaxi gets stuck — and who unsticks it? 

Senior reporter Sean O’Kane dug into Waymo’s system (which includes its own roadside assistance team), as well as at least six incidents in which first responders had to step in and manually drive the stuck Waymo. In some cases, robotaxis got stuck in the middle of an emergency: A police officer responding to a mass shooting in Austin earlier this month was diverted to first move a Waymo robotaxi out of the way. 

At its core, Sean found that when Waymo’s vehicles get stuck, the company relies on taxpayer-funded public services to move its vehicles for it.

Depending on who you talk to, this is either unacceptable, no big deal, or somewhere in between. In a recent hearing, San Francisco District 4 supervisor Alan Wong said that many of his counterparts agree that “our first responders should not be AAA.” 

For those who shrug, I would suggest they think about what’s coming.

This is not just a Waymo issue. Numerous companies are hoping to deploy paid robotaxis in the U.S. this year, including Motional and Zoox. Tesla, which has its service in Austin, has big ambitions too. Each company may have a different system with varying degrees of reliance on first responders.

A little bird

A little bird close to Uber recently shared a tidbit about Waymo, which the ride-hailing company has partnered with in a few cities. According to this insider, it takes up to 30% longer for a Waymo robotaxi to get somewhere compared to a human driver because of how careful the robot car needs to be and its tendency to avoid potential challenges like unprotected left turns. (Important note: I’ve been in lots of Waymos and these vehicles can absolutely handle left-hand turns, but they can be difficult and so it makes sense the robotaxis may avoid them.)

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

Deals!

Zipline, the U.S. autonomous drone delivery and logistics startup, has been around for years. Recently, its success in home delivery and continued global expansion has helped it attract even more money. 

The company said it raised another $200 million, adding to a recent funding round originally announced in January. The additional funds, which included participation from crypto investment firm Paradigm, has pushed Zipline’s recent Series H round to $800 million. Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, and Tiger Global participated in the initial tranche that valued the drone delivery startup at $7.6 billion.

My story homes in on why the startup may have found so many interested investors. TL;DR: Its at-home delivery volume growth beat its forecast in January and February, and CEO Keller Clifton said he expects it to over the next three months, relative to 2025.

Other deals that got my attention …

NoTraffic, an Israeli traffic management software startup, raised $90 million in a Series C funding round led by PSG Equity, Axios reported.

Rivian received another $1 billion from Volkswagen Group after completing one of its milestones under a technology joint venture between the two automakers. About $750 million is coming in the form of an equity investment. The other $250 million is either equity or convertible debt, depending on which prototypes Volkswagen Group provided to Rivian for testing. (The companies did not make this immediately clear.)

Shield AI, the autonomous military aircraft maker, raised $1.5 billion in Series G funding at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation. The deal was led by PE firm Advent and a JPMorganChase investment group.

Swish, a Bengaluru-based food delivery startup, raised $38 million in a Series B round led by Hara Global and Bain Capital Ventures. Other investors included Accel, Stride Ventures, and Alteria Capital.

Uber plans to invest in Verne, the robotaxi company under Rimac Group. The undisclosed investment, which insiders tell us should be resolved in the next few months, is part of a broader deal that includes Pony.ai to bring robotaxis to Europe, starting with Zagreb, Croatia.

Notable reads and other tidbits

DoorDash has introduced relief payments for drivers as the Iran-U.S. war drives up gas prices.

Harbinger, the EV trucking startup, continues to add to its product roster. This time, Harbinger’s chassis will be used in emergency vehicles for 70-year-old company Frazer.

Faraday Future is in the clear with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC closed its investigation into the electric vehicle startup despite SEC staff on the case recommending an enforcement action last year.

Here’s a timely feature. Flighty, the popular flight-tracking app, released a new “Airport Intelligence” feature that gives users real-time alerts and reasons about airport disruptions, available across 14,000 airports in the world. 

Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture between the two Japanese conglomerates, is giving up on the two Afeela-branded EVs it spent the last few years developing. I received loads of press releases and invites to see the Afeela over the years and with each passing quarter it seemed less likely it would become a reality. 

Utah’s governor signed a bill that establishes a liability framework for autonomous vehicles. 

Zoox’s purpose-built robotaxis are navigating public roads in Austin and Miami after almost two years of operating its test vehicles in the cities. The company plans to start offering rides in both locations later this year as part of its early-rider program. Note: until its gets the exemption from the feds, Zoox can’t charge for rides.

One more thing …

Here are the results to my question regarding Rivian and its R2 robotaxi deal with Uber. As a reminder, this was the setup. Rivian plans to build thousands of R2 robotaxis, including the self-driving system. Is this a distraction and too big a risk OR is it critical to the company’s long-term future?

About 55% of voters believe it’s a distraction, while 45% said the robotaxi pursuit is critical to its long-term future. 

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