Andre H.

While Tesla made headlines for launching robotaxis in Austin this week, another company has been operating there, and in a much larger area, for months: Waymo. Safety experts have found that Waymo is much safer than both Tesla and human drivers. And their gradual rollout is winning over residents in every city they've come to. But concerns over labor, privacy and profitability loom for a company eager to transform the very fabric of American cities. My cover story, featuring Tekedra N. Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, here: https://lnkd.in/e8US7Qhz

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Thousands of semitrucks that cut across the U.S. highway system each day are harboring a secret: They’re only about half full. That inefficiency represents a multibillion-dollar opportunity. And one that a few companies like Uber Freight and Flock Freight are already chasing as part of broader business models that match truck drivers with companies selling goods. San Francisco-based startup Oway is seeking out a narrower business model that more closely resembles Uber for freight, especially on the most inefficient long-haul routes. But it’s a model that the startup believes can scale big enough to make an impact on the country’s economy. Oway, founded in 2023 and backed by Y Combinator and General Catalyst, recently closed a $4 million seed round in pursuit of that goal. Founder Phillip Nadjafov told TechCrunch that investors have bought into Oway’s concept because his company has already developed a way to cut the cost of shipping a pallet across the U.S. by 50%, using a clever mixture of new and somewhat old technologies. https://lnkd.in/evKvZ7vB

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Here’s your weekly EV charging news recap👇 - Washington State Department of Transportation’s Electric Vehicle Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator (EVC RAA) awards $7M to companies including EVroadway, Electrify America, EVCS, EVgo, Blink Charging, and Amazon - Bart Saunders joins AMPECO as Head of Business Development for North America - Tesla enters @Saudi Arabia as the Kingdom targets 30% EV adoption by 2030 ---------------- 📥 Want the latest EV charging business and policy developments? Subscribe to EVPowerPulse in my profile.

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Waabi Unveils Autonomous Truck in Partnership with Volvo In a groundbreaking development, Waabi has unveiled its latest autonomous truck, a product of its collaboration with Volvo Autonomous Solutions. This partnership marks a significant milestone as Waabi integrates its innovative software stack into a custom truck designed on Volvo’s advanced autonomy platform. This initiative not only underscores Waabi's commitment to advancing autonomous logistics but also showcases the potential of strategic alliances in shaping the future of transportation. Together, we are paving the way for safer and more efficient roads. #AutonomousVehicles,#Logistics,#Transportation,#SmartTrucking,#Innovation,#Waabi,#Volvo,#FutureOfTransportation,#FleetTech,#SafetyInTransport

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PALM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED has secured a $20 million strategic investment from Aqua 1 Foundation. With Aqua Labs as our exclusive technology partner, we are embedding Web3 and stablecoin infrastructure into our platforms and advancing work on tokenized investment products, CBDCs, and sovereign-scale digital finance. Interest from 15 countries in adopting our forthcoming stablecoin as state currency shows the scale of what lies ahead. This is a defining moment in our mission to build trusted, asset-backed digital systems with global reach. Full announcement: https://lnkd.in/dh7eFSh4

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We’re thrilled to announce that Nascap Partners has led its first investment into supplai, a KSA-based AI-driven logistics platform revolutionizing cold-chain logistics across Saudi Arabia. We couldn’t be prouder to back two exceptionally hardworking, driven, and determined founders Azmi Negro and Marwan Oueida, who are building critical infrastructure for the Kingdom’s growing enterprise logistics sector. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥: 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐩: Supplai bridges the disconnect between enterprise clients locked into expensive legacy providers and high-quality domestic carrier capacity that sits underutilized. They’re bringing an advanced holistic offering that most domestic carriers can’t provide alone. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭-𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭: The team has demonstrated impressive traction with major F&B conglomerates and enterprise clients across multiple Saudi cities, validating strong demand for their value proposition. 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡: Supplai has deployed AI-powered automation that streamlines operations, creating meaningful efficiency gains for both clients and carriers. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: The founding team has built robust processes around risk management, client diversification, and geographic expansion, demonstrating maturity beyond their stage. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠: The logistics sector is fundamental to Vision 2030, and Supplai is perfectly positioned to capture this massive opportunity as the Kingdom continues its economic transformation. Azmi and Marwan have built something incredible in record time – a platform that doesn’t just move goods, but transforms how enterprises and carriers work together. Their focus on operational excellence, technology innovation, and client success sets them apart in a fragmented market. Congratulations to the entire Supplai team on this milestone. We’re excited to support your journey as you scale across the Kingdom and beyond. 🚀 If you’d like to learn more about what Supplai does and why we believe in them, feel free to reach out.

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Physical AI's moment is here and Waabi is leading the way. Excited to share we have raised $1B USD of new capital to accelerate the commercial deployment of autonomous trucks and meaningfully expand to robotaxis! Partnering with Uber to deploy 25,000 or more Waabi Driver-powered robotaxis on the Uber platform, substantially accelerating the adoption of robotaxis at scale. For the first time in the industry, we have created one shared brain to power the two largest self driving applications —trucks and robotaxis. This means any progress in one vertical directly improves the other. For example, our trucks, which have already mastered complex surface streets enabling an industry first direct-to-customer model, will be able to go all the way to urban centers as well. We have assembled a dream team of capital and strategic partners to accelerate our bold vision: this funding includes an oversubscribed $750M Series C round led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, as well as additional capital from Uber tied to robotaxi development. Market’s reception of our Pioneering Physical AI work has been exceptional -  Thank you Uber, NVIDIA’s NVentures, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, BlackRock, Radical Ventures, HarbourVest Partners, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Linse Capital, Incharge Capital Partners, BDC Capital (Canada), Export Development Canada | Exportation et développement Canada, TELUS Global Ventures (TGV), BMO and others for joining us on the journey. Thank you to the incredible Waabi team and partners for making this all possible. This is a true inflection point and we’re looking forward to building the future of Physical AI, together. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ekq6hh4s

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