TechCrunch Mobility: A new, bigger AV boom is here

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I’ve joked present and connected the Equity and Autonocast podcasts that the autonomous conveyance manufacture feels a batch similar 2016, astatine slightest successful presumption of the buzziness surrounding the sector.

But a caller speech with Trucks VC spouse Puneeth Meruva has maine rethinking that comparison. There’s grounds that 2026 is adjacent hotter — astatine slightest by definite measures — than those frothy dealmaking days of 2016 and 2017. 

Trucks VC, which specializes successful early-stage investing, has fielded pitches from 81 caller autonomous conveyance startups truthful acold successful 2026 — two-thirds much than past twelvemonth and capable to surpass the roar years of a decennary ago.  The VC steadfast argues successful a caller blog post that we’re successful the midst of a second, adjacent bigger AV question fueled by technological breakthroughs. Yes, I’m talking astir AI. 

Image Credits:Trucks VC

“For a agelong clip AV companies were trying to spell from what was AV 1.0 to AV 2.0, which is benignant of this beatified grail end-to-end architecture for AVs,” Meruva told me. “And I deliberation the instauration models present supply a method architecture that makes those end-to-end systems possible.”

These foundational models are peculiarly bully astatine generalizing crossed antithetic environments and scenarios, perchance making AVs cheaper and faster to deploy. The accomplishment of almighty unfastened root models similar Nvidia’s Alpamayo and Qwen’s general-purpose vision-language-action models has made it adjacent easier for startups to get disconnected the ground.

The obstruction to introduction is little than ever before. Meruva said Trucks is consistently seeing startups deploy wrong a fewer months and with little than $1 cardinal raised. (And portion Meruva wouldn’t sanction names, the steadfast has invested successful immoderate of them.)

Of these 81 startups that pitched Trucks VC, I mistakenly assumed astir would beryllium applying their AV tech to construction, warehouse, agriculture, and mining. And yes, those were successful the mix. But what amazed maine was the increasing fig of startups pitching pure-play robotaxi businesses. And galore are positioning themselves arsenic nonstop competitors to Waymo. 

As chaotic and postulation brain-thinking arsenic that whitethorn sound, Meruva thinks determination is country for smaller players. 

“In this world, smaller, much niche autonomy companies tin vie — possibly they’re not competing with Waymo connected a planetary scale, but possibly they’re competing successful circumstantial regions oregon circumstantial types of routes,” helium said.  

And Meruva doesn’t spot the gait flattening. He expects adjacent much AV startups to transportation the steadfast adjacent year.

Deals!

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

Regular readers of this newsletter cognize we’ve been intimately pursuing Slate Auto — breaking the archetypal communicative connected Jeff Bezos’ investment mode backmost successful April 2025. But the institution it spun retired of is what got our attraction this week. 

Re:Build, a Massachusetts-based manufacturing accelerator, raised $2.1 billion to “expand Re:Build’s capableness to manufacture hard tech products and motorboat caller concern startups.” The concern was led by General Catalyst and JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group. Other investors weren’t disclosed.

The company, which was co-founded by Amazon’s erstwhile commercialized CEO Jeff Wilke, has billed itself arsenic “America’s reply to Shenzhen.” 

Other deals …

Bedrock Robotics raised $600 million successful a backing circular that values the autonomous conveyance exertion startup astatine $4.1 billion. CapitalG and Emergence Capital co-led the Series C round. New investors US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Bessemer Venture Partners, and Temasek participated successful the round, alongside existing investors 8VC, Georgian, Valor Equity Partners, Xora, Eclipse, Perry Creek Capital, and Nvidia.

DoorDash has agreed to acquire Instacart for $17 billion. Meanwhile, DoorDash noted successful its third-quarter net that it has, truthful far, lone received a fewer 100 orders from AI agents.

PreScalar, a San Francisco-based startup processing bundle and investigating infrastructure for factories, raised $7 million successful effect backing co-led by Dynamo Ventures and BMW one Ventures, with information from Blue Wire Capital, Uplift Ventures, and Antler. The startup was founded past twelvemonth by a trio who had stints astatine Cruise, Google, Rivian, and Waymo. 

Notable reads and different tidbits

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

Elroy Air, a startup processing autonomous heavy-cargo drones for defense, accelerated response, and commercialized logistics, hired Jeremy Hux arsenic its CFO successful mentation for going public.

Ford announced two caller EV chargers that volition let its forthcoming Fathom pickup motortruck to service arsenic a artillery susceptible of delivering powerfulness to the location oregon grid.

GM is embracing hybrids now. Times definite person changed! The U.S. automaker is besides trying to determination past the operator data-selling contention from respective years ago. GM agreed to a $220 cardinal settlement with 36 states (its colony with California and the Federal Trade Commission happened earlier) to settee allegations that it illegally sold backstage driving behaviour and determination accusation to information brokers.

Kodiak AI volition present 75 self-driving trucks to freight institution DTL Transport starting successful 2028. It’s the company’s archetypal binding commercialized woody for driverless large rigs that volition tally connected nationalist highways.

Rivian reported its third-quarter earnings, and a fewer items stood retired to us. For one, the caller R2 has been palmy capable for the institution to raise its 2026 transportation guidance by a mates thousands vehicles. Rivian, which had antecedently expected to present betwixt 65,000 and 70,000 EVs this year, bumped up that level to 67,000. But present is different perchance lucrative development: The $5.8 cardinal associated task betwixt Rivian and Volkswagen Group is expanding to include AI assistants. No connection yet connected whether that means VW volition put adjacent much wealth into Rivian. 

Tesla turns to Turo to boost adoption of Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

Waymo and Toyota person locked successful a manufacturing partnership, officially moving them past the “we’re conscionable talking” phase. Toyota volition manufacture AV-ready bZ4X vehicles — and integrate Waymo’s self-driving strategy — astatine its mill successful Japan. The vehicles volition beryllium utilized for robotaxi services successful Japan, the U.K., and different planetary markets. Importantly, the companies hinted that this could yet pb to a licensing woody successful which Waymo AV tech is successful personally owned vehicles.

One much happening …

Last telephone for founders, investors, and builders based successful and astir the Boston area. The Founder Summit — a one-day lawsuit successful Boston — volition beryllium held connected November 4. And I volition beryllium there! This lawsuit is truly geared toward startup founders, aspiring founders, and investors. Attendees tin expect advice-driven talks from VCs and serial founders, positive tons of chances to network. 

For my TechCrunch Mobility readers, present is simply a 30% discount connected tickets. Click this link and usage the codification mobility30.