TechCrunch Mobility: A roadblock clears for self-driving trucks

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Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! I’m back from a sojourn through New Hampshire’s White Mountains — a few days of respite before Disrupt 2026, TechCrunch’s annual tech conference in San Francisco. Now, after a few days immersed in fall colors, I am ready for the action. And there is gonna be a lot of it. I want to see you all there, so here is a 30% discount on tickets to Disrupt with code mobility30. For more info on the show, scroll down. Now, on to the news!

欢迎回到 TechCrunch Mobility，这里是您了解未来交通，以及人工智能在其中所扮演角色的中心。如需在收件箱中接收此内容，请在此处免费注册——只需点击 TechCrunch Mobility！我刚从新罕布什尔州怀特山脉的短途旅行中回来，在旧金山举办的 TechCrunch 年度科技大会 Disrupt 2026 之前享受了几天休憩。现在，在沉浸于秋色几天后，我已经准备好迎接接下来的行动了，而且会有很多精彩内容。我希望在那里见到大家，所以这里提供一张 Disrupt 大会门票的 30% 折扣码：mobility30。有关展会的更多信息，请向下滚动。现在，让我们进入新闻环节！

Self-driving truck companies Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI received a federal exemption this week that removes a massive barrier to commercialization. Under federal regulations, if a traditional big rig runs into trouble, the human driver must pull over, activate the hazard lights, and then physically place reflective warning triangles on the road within 10 minutes to alert other road users. But if a mechanical problem forces a self-driving truck to pull over, there’s no human driver to deploy those warning devices. It was a big enough hurdle that Aurora took federal safety regulators to court over the requirement. After the court denied its request for an exemption, the company escalated the fight to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. (Companies did have a temporary waiver as it awaited a decision.) Now Aurora and other self-driving truck developers have been given the green light from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The agency has granted a five-year exemption allowing companies to replace roadside warning devices, such as reflective warning triangles, with cab-mounted warning beacons. Check out Aurora’s first responders page to see how it works.

自动驾驶卡车公司 Aurora Innovation 和 Kodiak AI 本周获得了一项联邦豁免，消除了商业化进程中的一个巨大障碍。根据联邦法规，如果传统大型卡车遇到故障，人类驾驶员必须靠边停车，开启危险警示灯，并在 10 分钟内物理放置反光三角警示牌以提醒其他道路使用者。但如果机械故障迫使自动驾驶卡车靠边停车，则没有人类驾驶员来部署这些警示装置。这一障碍非常大，以至于 Aurora 就此要求将联邦安全监管机构告上了法庭。在法院拒绝其豁免请求后，该公司将诉讼升级至哥伦比亚特区巡回上诉法院。（在等待裁决期间，这些公司确实拥有临时豁免权。）现在，Aurora 和其他自动驾驶卡车开发商已获得联邦汽车运输安全管理局的批准。该机构授予了一项为期五年的豁免，允许公司用驾驶室安装的警示灯取代路边警示装置，例如反光三角警示牌。查看 Aurora 的急救人员页面以了解其工作原理。

Daniel Goff, vice president of external affairs at Kodiak AI, said the exemption will help the industry “usher in an autonomous era of freight movement on U.S. roads, one that can save lives and improve the efficiency of goods delivery.” Gerardo Interiano, Aurora’s head of government relations and public affairs, echoed that sentiment, saying the decision underscores the government’s recognition of the economic and community benefits of autonomous trucking. He described the high-visibility, cab-mounted warning beacons as a “critical, 21st-century solution that enhances roadside safety by immediately alerting other road users without ever needing to put a person in harm’s way.” One question I’m left with: Could these cab-mounted warning beacons eventually become standard equipment across the entire trucking industry?

Kodiak AI 对外事务副总裁 Daniel Goff 表示，这项豁免将帮助该行业“开启美国道路货运的自动驾驶时代，这一时代能够挽救生命并提高货物运输效率。”Aurora 政府关系与公共事务负责人 Gerardo Interiano 也表达了同样的观点，称这一决定凸显了政府对自动驾驶卡车在经济和社会效益方面的认可。他将这种高能见度的驾驶室安装警示灯描述为一种“关键的 21 世纪解决方案，它通过立即提醒其他道路使用者来增强路边安全，而无需将任何人置于危险之中。”我留下了一个疑问：这些驾驶室安装的警示灯最终会成为整个卡车行业的标准配置吗？

It’s been a few months since Redwood Materials, the battery-recycling company started by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, kicked off a restructuring to focus more on energy storage. The first stage of the restructuring involved laying off around 135 employees, or 10% of its workforce. But a little bird recently told us that some more executives were on their way out the door. Sure enough, over the last few weeks, Redwood’s vice presidents of engineering, operations, treasury, and external affairs have all left the startup. Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at [email protected].

由特斯拉联合创始人 JB Straubel 创办的电池回收公司 Redwood Materials 启动重组以更加专注于储能业务，至今已有几个月了。重组的第一阶段涉及裁员约 135 人，占其员工总数的 10%。但最近有消息人士告诉我们，还有更多高管即将离职。果不其然，在过去几周里，Redwood 的工程、运营、财务和对外事务副总裁都已离开了这家初创公司。有线索提供给我们吗？请发送电子邮件至 [email protected] 联系 Kirsten Korosec，或通过 Signal 联系 kkorosec.07，或发送电子邮件至 [email protected] 联系 Sean O’Kane。

Waymo has relied on capital from its parent company Alphabet and high-profile venture firms to fund its autonomous vehicle tech plans. This week, the company turned to debt financing for the first time for another bump. A $5 billion bump to be exact. PIMCO, Blackstone, and Sixth Street were the lead lenders. But there were so many more, including Capital Group, Loomis Sayles, T. Rowe Price, Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management & Research Company, HPS Investment Partners, and Oaktree. The debt financing comes as the company accelerates its commercial expansion within existing cities while pushing into new markets in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Waymo 一直依赖其母公司 Alphabet 和知名风险投资公司的资金来支持其自动驾驶汽车技术计划。本周，该公司首次转向债务融资以获得进一步的资金支持。确切地说，是 50 亿美元。PIMCO、Blackstone 和 Sixth Street 是主要贷款方。但参与的机构还有很多，包括 Capital Group、Loomis Sayles、T. Rowe Price、Apollo、Blue Owl、Diameter Capital Partners、Franklin Templeton、Fidelity Management & Research Company、HPS Investment Partners 和 Oaktree。此次债务融资正值该公司在现有城市加速商业扩张，同时向美国、欧洲和日本的新市场推进之际。

Other deals that got my attention this week … Bloom has raised $3.6 million to become the “Alibaba” of American manufacturing. The seed round was led by SNAK Venture Partners and included Flyover Capital, deep tech firm Mana Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Invest Detroit Ventures, and the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund. Flai, a startup that developed AI software for dealerships, raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by automation-focused firm Base10 Partners. The round included funding from dealers (Friedkin Group and Findlay Automotive), Toyota’s venture arm, Y Combinator, and First Round Capital. Parallel Systems, a startup developing a rail vehicle capable of moving over several tons of freight as far as 500 miles without an operator, raised $100 million in a Series C round led by AVP, with participation from Hillspire, Agility Global, Cobalt Capital, Anthos Capital, Congruent Ventures, Riot Ventures, and Collaborative Fund. Uber has agreed to buy catering company ezCater in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.3 billion.

本周引起我注意的其他交易……Bloom 筹集了 360 万美元，旨在成为美国制造业的“阿里巴巴”。这轮种子轮融资由 SNAK Venture Partners 领投，参与方包括 Flyover Capital、深科技公司 Mana Ventures、Detroit Venture Partners、Invest Detroit Ventures 和 Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund。为汽车经销商开发 AI 软件的初创公司 Flai 在由专注于自动化的公司 Base10 Partners 领投的 A 轮融资中筹集了 2700 万美元。此轮融资包括来自经销商（Friedkin Group 和 Findlay Automotive）、丰田风险投资部门、Y Combinator 和 First Round Capital 的资金。开发无需操作员即可将数吨货物运输长达 500 英里的铁路车辆的初创公司 Parallel Systems 在由 AVP 领投的 C 轮融资中筹集了 1 亿美元，Hillspire、Agility Global、Cobalt Capital、Anthos Capital、Congruent Ventures、Riot Ventures 和 Collaborative Fund 参与了投资。Uber 已同意以 23 亿美元的全现金交易收购餐饮公司 ezCater。

Surveillance camera maker Flock cut its workforce by 18%, or around 270 employees, as the company faces ongoing and growing backlash to its license plate readers and people-tracking technology. FYI: Flock founder and CEO Garrett Langley will be at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Lucid Motors built 2,954 electric vehicles in the third quarter of this year, a 54% drop from a year ago, as the company purposely limits production to better meet demand for its EVs. Kodiak AI has a new 435-mile autonomous route between Dallas and Laredo, Texas, with carrier Charger USA. The self-driving trucks startup is hauling refrigerated and dry freight for consumer packaged goods and for food and beverage customers. Tesla changed the name of its advanc

监控摄像头制造商 Flock 裁员 18%，约 270 名员工，因为该公司正面临对其车牌识别器和人员追踪技术的持续且日益增长的抵制。顺便提一下：Flock 创始人兼首席执行官 Garrett Langley 将出席 TechCrunch Disrupt 2026。Lucid Motors 在今年第三季度生产了 2,954 辆电动汽车，同比下降 54%，因为该公司有意限制产量以更好地满足其电动汽车的需求。Kodiak AI 开辟了一条连接德克萨斯州达拉斯和拉雷多之间 435 英里的新自动驾驶路线，合作方为承运商 Charger USA。这家自动驾驶卡车初创公司正在为消费包装商品以及食品和饮料客户运输冷藏和干货。特斯拉更改了其 advanc 的名称