TechCrunch Mobility: The custom chip driving Waymo’s robotaxi ambitions
TechCrunch Mobility: The custom chip driving Waymo’s robotaxi ambitions
TechCrunch Mobility：驱动 Waymo 自动驾驶出租车雄心的定制芯片
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Waymo gets a lot of attention for its fast-paced expansion. And for good reason; it seems like every week, the company’s robotaxis are arriving in a new city, or expanding within an existing service area. We’ve known for a while that Waymo’s sixth-generation self-driving system — which debuted in its next-generation Ojai robotaxi — is central to those ambitions. But now we have a better understanding about why. Waymo 因其快速扩张而备受关注。这不无道理；似乎每周，该公司的自动驾驶出租车都会进入一座新城市，或在现有服务区域内扩大规模。我们早就知道，Waymo 的第六代自动驾驶系统（首次亮相于其下一代 Ojai 自动驾驶出租车）是实现这些雄心的核心。但现在，我们对其原因有了更深入的了解。
The company, which just opened its Ojai robotaxi to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, has repeatedly said that this next-gen vehicle is cheaper to build, operate, and maintain — ingredients required if the company has any hopes of someday turning a profit. What was less clear, until this week, was just how hands-on and vertically integrated Waymo has become as it chases that goal. 该公司刚刚向洛杉矶、凤凰城和旧金山的所有乘客开放了 Ojai 自动驾驶出租车。Waymo 一再表示，这款下一代车型在制造、运营和维护成本上更低——这是该公司未来实现盈利所必需的要素。直到本周，人们才更清楚地了解到，Waymo 在追求这一目标的过程中，其参与程度和垂直整合能力达到了何种水平。
The company shared this week that it built a custom silicon chip — specifically a 5 nm ASIC chip, which is designed to handle the massive influx of raw data before it reaches the core “brain” of the self-driving system. (To get a sense of how much data, consider that the Waymo Ojai has 13 high-fidelity cameras.) Waymo said the chip delivers more than 1,000 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of computing performance, a statistic that puts it roughly in the same performance range as Nvidia’s latest DRIVE AGX Thor automotive processor, a powerful computer designed for automated driving applications. 该公司本周透露，他们制造了一款定制硅芯片——具体来说是一款 5 纳米 ASIC 芯片，旨在处理海量原始数据，然后再将其传输至自动驾驶系统的核心“大脑”。（要了解数据量有多大，可以参考 Waymo Ojai 配备了 13 个高保真摄像头。）Waymo 表示，该芯片提供超过 1,000 TOPS（每秒万亿次运算）的计算性能，这一数据使其性能大致处于英伟达最新 DRIVE AGX Thor 车载处理器（一款专为自动驾驶应用设计的强大计算机）的同等水平。
The end result, Waymo says, is a system that has “unmatched efficiency and performance.” The upshot: Waymo contends that this chip is a critical piece of a system that can react fast and safely in complex, high-density environments — like cities. It’s worth noting that Waymo isn’t working alone on compute. The company listed a slew of partners, some for the first time, that includes AMD, Micron, Nvidia, Samsung, Sandisk, Socionext, and TSMC. Waymo 表示，最终结果是一个拥有“无与伦比的效率和性能”的系统。结论是：Waymo 认为，该芯片是系统中的关键一环，使其能够在城市等复杂、高密度环境中快速且安全地做出反应。值得注意的是，Waymo 在计算领域并非孤军奋战。该公司列出了一系列合作伙伴，其中一些是首次公开，包括 AMD、美光 (Micron)、英伟达 (Nvidia)、三星 (Samsung)、闪迪 (Sandisk)、索喜科技 (Socionext) 和台积电 (TSMC)。
A little bird
小道消息
A couple of little birds spoke to Sean O’Kane (senior reporter, special projects at TechCrunch) about a rather curious investigation being conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory. According to our sources, the lab is evaluating whether Chinese lidar sensors might pose a security risk if they become widely used on vehicles in the United States. That is notable on its own. But what got our attention is that the research is being funded by a company — or a group of companies — in the electric and autonomous vehicle industries. 几位知情人士向 TechCrunch 特别项目高级记者 Sean O’Kane 透露，爱达荷国家实验室正在进行一项相当引人注目的调查。据消息人士称，该实验室正在评估如果中国激光雷达传感器在美国车辆上被广泛使用，是否会构成安全风险。这本身就很值得关注。但引起我们注意的是，这项研究是由电动汽车和自动驾驶行业的某家公司或某组公司资助的。
O’Kane reached out to numerous companies, including Rivian, General Motors, Ford, Kodiak, Lucid Motors, Nuro, and Uber. And all of these companies said they were unaware of the review. Aurora, Nvidia, and Zoox didn’t respond to questions. Read the full story here. 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. O’Kane 联系了包括 Rivian、通用汽车、福特、Kodiak、Lucid Motors、Nuro 和 Uber 在内的多家公司。所有这些公司均表示对该审查不知情。Aurora、英伟达和 Zoox 未回应置评请求。点击此处阅读完整报道。有新闻线索？请发送电子邮件至 kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com 或通过 Signal 联系 kkorosec.07，或发送电子邮件至 sean.okane@techcrunch.com。
Deals!
交易动态！
Also, the startup incubated within Rivian, has raised another $150 million in a Series D round led by Prysm Capital with participation from existing backers Eclipse, Greenoaks, and MVP Ventures. Also has raised $455 million since it spun out of Rivian in March 2025. The raise is notable, and not just because Also has already reached a Series D round after launching just a little more than a year ago. 在 Rivian 内部孵化的初创公司 Also 在由 Prysm Capital 领投的 D 轮融资中又筹集了 1.5 亿美元，现有投资者 Eclipse、Greenoaks 和 MVP Ventures 参与了跟投。自 2025 年 3 月从 Rivian 分拆出来以来，Also 已累计融资 4.55 亿美元。这笔融资引人注目，不仅因为 Also 在成立仅一年多后就已达到 D 轮融资阶段。
The company’s mission has also evolved, which helps explain why it still needs to keep raising cash. When Also launched in spring 2025, it was described as a micromobility company focused on pedal-assist electric bikes and commercial cargo quads. Now it is a “Palo Alto-based technology company building the world’s most capable driven and autonomous small electric vehicles.” That autonomous driving component popped up earlier this year when Also closed a $200 million round and announced a multiyear commercial agreement with DoorDash to develop and deploy autonomous delivery vehicles. 该公司的使命也发生了演变，这解释了为什么它仍需持续融资。当 Also 在 2025 年春季推出时，它被描述为一家专注于踏板辅助电动自行车和商用货运四轮车的微出行公司。现在，它是一家“总部位于帕洛阿尔托的技术公司，致力于打造世界上性能最强的有人驾驶和自动驾驶小型电动汽车”。自动驾驶组件是在今年早些时候出现的，当时 Also 完成了 2 亿美元的融资，并宣布与 DoorDash 达成多年商业协议，共同开发和部署自动驾驶配送车辆。
Sidewalk delivery robot company Serve Robotics also had a notable and very timely deal this week. You might recall that earlier this month, Serve reported during its earning call that Uber had reduced its use of its robots on the app; that partnership is set to end next year. Separately, Uber also sold all of its shares in the company. Months before these changes, Serve was working on several other deals that were recently finalized, according to insiders. 人行道配送机器人公司 Serve Robotics 本周也达成了一项引人注目且非常及时的交易。您可能还记得，本月初 Serve 在财报电话会议上报告称，Uber 已减少了在其应用中使用其机器人的频率；该合作关系将于明年结束。此外，Uber 还出售了其持有的该公司所有股份。据内部人士透露，在这些变动发生前的几个月里，Serve 一直在推进其他几项交易，这些交易最近已最终敲定。
Serve has partnered with Grubhub to use its sidewalk robots, starting in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Alexandria, Virginia. Serve also announced that its existing partnership with DoorDash has expanded to San Jose, California, and Washington, D.C. Uber’s retreat from Serve illustrates an important lesson for any company attempting to scale: Always diversify. And it seems Serve has managed to do that. Serve 已与 Grubhub 达成合作，将在芝加哥、洛杉矶和弗吉尼亚州亚历山大市使用其人行道机器人。Serve 还宣布，其与 DoorDash 的现有合作已扩展至加利福尼亚州圣何塞和华盛顿特区。Uber 从 Serve 的撤资为任何试图扩大规模的公司提供了一个重要教训：务必实现多元化。而 Serve 似乎已经做到了这一点。
Other deals that got my attention … Einride, the Swedish electric and autonomous trucking company, struck a deal with Tesla to buy 500 of its electric Semis and make the electric big rigs available to its customers, which include Amazon. The Tesla Semis will be added in phases to Einride’s fleet over the next 24 months, starting in September. Reminder: Tesla is trying to scale up but recently pulled back on promises to reach “volume production” in 2026. 其他引起我注意的交易……瑞典电动和自动驾驶卡车公司 Einride 与特斯拉达成协议，购买 500 辆电动 Semi 卡车，并将这些电动重型卡车提供给包括亚马逊在内的客户。从 9 月开始，这些特斯拉 Semi 卡车将在未来 24 个月内分阶段加入 Einride 的车队。提醒：特斯拉正在努力扩大规模，但最近收回了在 2026 年实现“量产”的承诺。
Grounded, the Detroit-based startup that customizes electric and gas-powered vans, raised a $5 million seed round, with repeat investments from existing backers Also Capital and Chicago-based early-stage firm The 81 Collection, along with Animal Capital, the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund, and “various SpaceX alumni,” according to founder and CEO Sam Shapiro. 据创始人兼首席执行官 Sam Shapiro 称，总部位于底特律、从事电动和燃油货车定制的初创公司 Grounded 完成了 500 万美元的种子轮融资，现有投资者 Also Capital 和总部位于芝加哥的早期投资机构 The 81 Collection 再次注资，Animal Capital、密歇根户外创新基金以及“多位 SpaceX 校友”也参与了投资。
Uber said it is investing in, and partnering with, drone delivery company Zipline. Uber and Zipline didn’t disclose the investment amount but did share one lofty goal: to make 1 million deliveries per day using the startup’s… Uber 表示正在投资无人机配送公司 Zipline 并与之建立合作伙伴关系。Uber 和 Zipline 未披露投资金额，但分享了一个宏伟目标：利用该初创公司的技术每天完成 100 万次配送……