Johan Land

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

5

Robotaxis may be scaling, but drivers aren’t slowing down. In markets like San Francisco and Phoenix, AVs are starting to roll out at scale. But according to Gridwise Analytics data cited by Axios, driver activity and earnings remain steady, even with autonomous fleets entering the mix. Thank you to the Axios team for the mention in this piece, which explores how gig drivers are navigating this transition. For now, AVs are supplementing, not replacing, human labor. As demand for ride-hailing continues to grow, understanding how AVs and human labor coexist will be a key storyline in the coming years. If you're digging into the numbers, here are two pieces that go deeper. 2025 Gridwise Analytics 2025 Annual Gig Mobility Report: https://lnkd.in/dQjXXSKc Gridwise x S&P Global Mobility AV Whitepaper: https://lnkd.in/dJF3Hp6M post&utm_campaign=organic linkedin Read the full article on Axios here: https://lnkd.in/dvynSv9T #GigEconomy #AVs #UrbanMobility #DriverData #GridwiseAnalytics #FutureOfWork #RideshareTrends

34

3 Comments

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

843

90 Comments

Waymo raises $16 billion fundraise is a milestone for autonomous mobility This financing, participated by Sequoia Capital, GV (Google Ventures), Dragoneer Investment Group, and DST Global, brings Waymo’s total funding raised to well over $22 billion. Alphabet Inc. remains the majority owner, preserving strategic continuity and long-term focus while bringing in heavyweight external capital to accelerate commercialization. After more than a decade of intensive R&D, Waymo is no longer in the proof-of-concept phase. The company is running autonomous rides in multiple U.S. cities with real customers, and is generating revenue in markets where driverless service is live. Safety is a core part of the value thesis here. Waymo’s vehicles logged estimates of 80–90 % fewer injury-causing crashes and 82 % fewer airbag-deploying crashes per million miles compared to typical human driver rates. As a consumer, paying for a driverless vehicle that is more predictable and safer feels like a natural evolution in mobility. Technology 🤝 Progress

18

1 Comment

Forward deployed engineers are consultants in hoodies — but with tech multiples 🥷💸 FDEs (forward deployed engineers) are a great GTM hack. And right now, the revenues they bring in are often counted as ARR — and get the corresponding multiple. 😅 You embed engineers with customers, do a bunch of custom work, make sure they leverage your full suite and get tightly integrated into their pipelines. The result? Consulting-style delivery — but recurring revenue optics. OpenAI’s FDE engagements start at $10M. Rumors say they’ve landed a $200M FDE deal with the Pentagon. ...I’ve also heard of several London PE firms bringing OpenAI in to deploy FDEs across their portfolios to automate anything that moves. But let’s be honest — this is services revenue in SaaS clothing. High-touch, low-margin, labor-intensive work, bundled with software or models. It’s a brilliant model though! You get sticky integrations, higher retention, and short-term revenue that (for now) still gets valued like software. Wonder for how long it will go on? The lines between “product” and “professional services” are already blurry. We might see a reckoning in how hybrid models are valued. But for now, the best players are still pulling it off. 🔥 #FDE #AI #OpenAI #VC #Valutations

26

7 Comments

Our portfolio company, APFusion, has announced a $6M Series A led by I2BF Global Ventures. The company is building the digital rails to modernize how used and recycled parts are sourced, priced, and delivered. The platform connects 240 salvage yards, and over 70 of them sell on its ShopEarl.com platform. The startup launched the online marketplace in January, and customers include Nordstrom’s Automotive, B&R Auto Wrecking, and M&M Auto Parts. The $30B+ auto salvage market has remained largely offline—fragmented, inefficient, and overlooked. As supply chain pressures and demand for affordable parts intensify, their platform is becoming mission-critical infrastructure for the auto industry. For more details, please read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dhKfk9bv

16

I was wondering what Uber was going to do after shutting down ATG. This makes perfect sense. Today they announced a massive pivot into autonomy: a $300M investment in Lucid (congrats Claudia Gast), a board seat at Nuro, and a plan to deploy 20,000 robotaxis starting in 2026. Lucid provides the EV platform—high-range, luxury-grade, and designed with autonomy in mind. Nuro brings the Level 4 self-driving system. And Uber, of course, has the global demand and rider network to scale it all. It’s a bold strategy—but a logical one. Instead of building everything in-house, Uber is now stitching together best-in-class partners to re-enter the autonomy race with a real shot. After years of hype and retrenchment in AVs, this feels like a smart, second-wave approach (clearly the stock market agrees). https://lnkd.in/g5jjZYWh #autonomousvehicles #robotaxis #futureoftransportation #strategy #uber #evs #mobility

55

3 Comments

We Europeans love trains. It’s part of our culture - and part of our social contract. A new episode of Humans of Asterion is live. This one features Alex Haag, CEO and co-founder of Futurail. Alex spent more than a decade building autonomous systems in the automotive industry. He was among the first engineers on Autopilot at Tesla, then became CTO of the autonomous driving division at Audi. At some point, he realized those same engineering principles were urgently needed elsewhere - not on roads, but on rails. Rail is already one of the most efficient transport systems we have. In Europe, it is widespread, trusted, and deeply embedded in everyday life. We Europeans love trains. It’s part of our culture and part of our social contract. And that is precisely why what’s happening matters. On many secondary lines, the economics no longer work. Capacity exists - but cannot be deployed. The social cost is tangible: fewer connections, weakened territories, and people increasingly cut off from nearby cities. This is not only about innovation. It’s about keeping the system operational. In this episode, we talk about: → Why Futurail starts with depot automation to unlock certification → How driver shortages and operating costs are pushing the system to its limits → What it really means to build certifiable AI in open, non-fenced rail environments → Why autonomous trains are fundamentally different from autonomous cars And what it takes to build a deeptech company inside Europe’s industrial reality. Link in the comments:

102

5 Comments

Uber Is Investing $100M to Power Robotaxis Uber is putting $100M+ into building a dedicated autonomous vehicle charging network, starting in the Bay Area, LA, and Dallas. It’s partnering with EVgo Inc. in the U.S. and Ionity in Europe, while expanding robotaxi operations with Waymo and WeRide. This isn’t just about EV charging. It’s about securing the infrastructure layer of autonomy and especially as Tesla Inc. ramps up competition. Autonomy is becoming an infrastructure game. #AutonomousVehicles #Robotaxi #EV #FutureOfMobility

29

4 Comments

Waymo is going to London in '26. My experience in one in SF was amazing! Key takeaways: • Safety first: Waymo vehicles have 5× fewer injury-causing collisions and 12× fewer pedestrian incidents versus human drivers. • Local footprint: Engineering hubs in London and Oxford are already fine-tuning simulations for U.K. roads. • Strategic partnerships: Moove for fleet ops to Jaguar Land Rover’s all-electric I-PACEs • Global roll-out: After Tokyo tests in 2025, and U.S. services in Phoenix, SF, LA, Austin, there’s Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and more on deck. Why it matters to Infocusp Innovations: This aligns with what we’ve seen while building automotive AI solutions; you need to test on closed loop simulations with real-time data pipelines. Our experience in LLM-powered incident management and RAG-driven sensor analytics taught us that modular, secure cloud architectures can accelerate both compliance and innovation. Best Practices for anyone in AI/transport tech: 1. Invest early in local testing to adapt to unique traffic patterns. 2. Forge OEM and regulator partnerships to smooth the path to market. 3. Prioritize data-driven safety metrics to build public trust. How do you see autonomous ride-hailing reshaping urban life in the next five years? Read more: https://lnkd.in/gJn7Urc2

35

2 Comments

🚀🚀🚀🚀 Mind-blowing disruption alert in the autonomous vehicle space! 🤖 Rubén Domínguez Ibar recently shared a viral screenshot of Tesla's groundbreaking Robotaxi service operating in Austin 🌆 where a passenger enjoyed a seamless 3.57-mile 14-minute ride for just $4.57 💰⚡ while comparable UberX surged to $21.20 😱 UberXL to $21.76 Comfort Electric $24.04 and even the shared ride option reached $18.17 🔥 representing an 80% discount 🛻 by removing human driver labor costs 🧠. Tesla's innovative platform now supports limited unsupervised autonomous rides 📉 across select South Austin corridors with dynamic pricing averaging $1.28 per mile 📈 as the Model Y fleet expands and Cybercab prepares for production ramp in April 🚀. This real-world example demonstrates how traditional ride-hailing business models from Uber and Waymo may be unsustainable 📊 because they depend on expensive human labor economics 🏆 which Tesla's vertically integrated AI and vehicle ownership bypasses 🌟. Consequently the ride-hailing industry is poised for unrecognizable transformation 🔮 within 3-5 years ⏰ as full autonomy shifts to mainstream with lower prices better accessibility and efficiency gains 👀. What does this revolutionary shift mean for driver jobs urban mobility and city planning? 💼 I'd love your expert insights in the comments below 👇 on the future of transportation!

42

4 Comments

I'm excited to share that HAAS Alert is now a member of DFRS - Data For Road Safety, an EU organization where industry partners in the transportation, mobility and traffic data domain and public authorities exchange safety related traffic data and information to make roadways safer for everyone. HAAS Alert's vision of a "connected, collision-free world where everyone gets home safely" aligns perfectly with that of DFRS and its close collaboration with Euro NCAP - For Safer Cars, Vans & Trucks. In March 2025, HAAS Alert demonstrated its cloud-based #V2X Safety Cloud® capabilities to other DFRS members at the Road Safety Experience day in the Netherlands. Joining this impressive group of companies to accelerate road safety through collaboration is extra special to share.

97

2 Comments

Optibus chosen to power 100% of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil’s bus network The 41 million annual users of Ribeirão Preto’s bus services will soon be passengers of an AI-powered public transportation system. The PróUrbano Consortium, which operates Ribeirão Preto’s bus services under a municipal contract, has chosen Optibus Planning and Scheduling as its software solution for improving service reliability, network efficiency, and compliance monitoring. The decision will see Ribeirão Preto join the growing list of cities, including Porto Alegre and Manaus in Brazil and Santiago, Chile, using Optibus to create 100% AI-driven public bus systems. We look forward to working with our partners at Consórcio PróUrbano - Central de Vendas, its two operating companies - Rápido D´oeste Ltda and Transcorp Transportes E Serviços - and the City of Ribeirão Preto to improve public transportation across the region. Read the full announcement at the link in the comments. #PublicTransportation #AI #Brazil

9

1 Comment