Self-driving truck maker Waabi hired a veteran of the self-driving car industry and Uber’s freight freight CEO Lior Ron to intervene as chief operation officer. This is because the startup appears to be expanding its commercial operations ahead of the launch of driverless trucks on public highways later this year.
Rebecca Tinucci, who spent six years on Tesla’s charging network last year before the automaker jammed charging staff, takes over as head of Uber freight. Ron will remain as chairman of Uber Freight.
“[Ron] “We will lead our move-to-market strategies, expand our key partnerships and lead Waabi to massive commercialization,” said Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Waabi.
Urtasun and Ron Go Waly: Ron previously co-founded Otto, an autonomous trucking company acquired by Uber in 2016.
Uber Freight is a digital marketplace connecting shippers and carriers, and the company aims to integrate autonomous trucks with the platform through partnerships with startups such as Aurora Innovation and Waabi. Uber’s partnership with Warbi has not been affected by Ron’s departure, he said.
While working for Uber’s cargo, Ron met regularly with a chief supply chain officer and a major carrier who said he “couldn’t wait” for a self-driving truck.
“The most shocking thing in the next decade is autonomy and, if the timing is right, for me, joining forces with those who I think are the most standing in to lead transformation,” he added.
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Urtasun claims that Waabi’s “AI-First” approach to scaling autonomy allows them to do more in less time with fewer resources than their competitors. This could be a major advantage given that it is a capital-intensive industry where several promising startups, such as Tusimple, Embark, Crash, and Burn.
Since its establishment in 2021, Waabi has raised a total of $287.7 million. Most of it came from the 2024 $200 million Series B. Ultason argues that there is no need to raise any more to reach the next stage of growth.
The startup’s main competitor is Aurora, which launched its first commercial driverless truck route in the United States this year, raising nearly $3.46 billion from a combination of venture capital and its public list.
Waabi has been able to launch commercial pilots quickly to do most of their training, testing and validation on Waabi World, a closed-loop simulator that virtually tests and teaches autonomous driving software in real time. More recently, Waabi took the simulator to a test track, overlaying the virtual environment with real driving conditions, simulating scenarios such as accidents and construction zones that do not have any real risk.
“At the beginning of the year, we reached full functionality, which basically means we have everything we need to remove the driver. [are focused] Urtasun said, “We’re looking at the ultimate performance improvements and validation.”
The startup is planning to launch it in Texas, which is now US autonomous freight capital, but it has not yet been disclosed which route it will operate or which route it will operate with its launch partner. Startups are working with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to develop and deploy custom built AVS.
“Waabi will lead technology and expand autonomy faster than expected,” Ron said, adding that he is excited about the prospect of integrating technology into customer operations. Part of this is the ability to allow Waabi trucks to travel directly to customer depots. Avoid the need to build a hybrid setup device.
“We’re creating a commercially-ready solution where you can really meet them,” Ron said.
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