Autonomous Vehicle Industry Sees Leadership Change and Trademark Disputes

The autonomous vehicle sector experienced significant shifts this week, with Aurora Innovation's co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Sterling Anderson, announcing his resignation. While the reasons remain unclear, Anderson mentioned an "exciting external opportunity" during the company's Q1 earnings call. Despite this departure, Aurora plans to expand its driverless truck operations, including nighttime and adverse weather testing, and new routes beyond Texas.

Meanwhile, Tesla faced a setback with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denying its "Robotaxi" trademark application due to its generic nature. Applications for "Cybercab" are also on hold due to similar existing trademarks.

Funding, Acquisitions, and the Impact of Trade Wars

Zeekr, the Chinese EV company that went public last year, is now being taken private by its parent company, Geely Auto, in response to trade war tensions. This highlights the ongoing impact of U.S.-China relations on the automotive industry.

Several companies secured funding this week. Bosch Ventures launched a new $270 million fund focused on deep tech startups, with increased attention on North America. Battery software startup Breathe raised $21 million in a Series B round. Struggling Indian ride-hailing startup BluSmart received a $30 million funding proposal from existing investors.

Acquisition activity was also prominent. DoorDash acquired its UK rival Deliveroo for approximately $3.87 billion and purchased restaurant management software provider SevenRooms for $1.2 billion. Uber invested an additional $100 million in Chinese autonomous vehicle company WeRide and acquired an 85% stake in Turkish delivery service Trendyol Go for $700 million.

Other Notable Developments

  • Former Cruise president and CTO Mo Elshenawy joined telehealth company Hims & Hers as CTO.
  • Nuro began testing its autonomous vehicles on the Las Vegas Strip.
  • Uber partnered with Pony.ai, Momenta, and WeRide to expand robotaxi services in the Middle East and Europe.
  • Waymo revealed its commercial fleet size of 1,500 vehicles and announced a new factory in Arizona to produce more autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles.
  • Wayve hosted Virgin Group founder Richard Branson for a test drive in one of its autonomous vehicles.
  • Zoox paused its driverless testing program and issued a voluntary software recall after a crash in Las Vegas.
  • Cadillac launched its Celestiq EV.
  • Ford and General Motors withdrew their yearly guidance due to economic uncertainty related to tariffs.
  • Rivian lowered its delivery forecast due to tariffs but secured $1 billion in funding from Volkswagen.
  • Ford increased prices on the Mustang Mach-E and Maverick due to tariffs.
  • Lucid Motors addressed early quality issues with its Gravity SUV.
  • Mitsubishi Motors is discussing sourcing an electric car model from Foxconn.
  • Tesla sales declined in Europe.
  • Joby Aviation adjusted its commercial launch target to 2026.