Waymo has revealed that it designed a custom silicon chip for its sixth-generation self-driving system, a move that shows how deeply the company is vertically integrating its hardware as it pushes to lower costs and scale its robotaxi service. The chip, a 5 nm ASIC, processes raw data from the vehicle’s 13 high-fidelity cameras before that information reaches the system’s core computing unit. Waymo said the chip delivers more than 1,000 TOPS of computing performance, placing it in the same range as Nvidia’s DRIVE AGX Thor automotive processor. The company argued this design gives its Ojai robotaxi unmatched efficiency and the ability to react safely in complex, high-density urban environments.
Waymo opened the Ojai robotaxi to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and has repeatedly said the next-generation vehicle is cheaper to build, operate, and maintain than its predecessors. That cost reduction is essential if the company hopes to turn a profit. The custom chip announcement came alongside a list of compute partners, including AMD, Micron, Nvidia, Samsung, Sandisk, Socionext, and TSMC. Some of these partners were disclosed for the first time.
Separately, TechCrunch reported that the Idaho National Laboratory is investigating whether Chinese lidar sensors could pose a security risk if widely adopted in U.S. vehicles. The research is funded by a company or group of companies in the electric and autonomous vehicle industries. TechCrunch contacted Rivian, General Motors, Ford, Kodiak, Lucid Motors, Nuro, and Uber; all said they were unaware of the review. Aurora, Nvidia, and Zoox did not respond to questions.
Also, the startup incubated within Rivian that spun out in March 2025, raised another $150 million in a Series D round led by Prysm Capital, with participation from Eclipse, Greenoaks, and MVP Ventures. The company has raised $455 million since its spin-off. Also has evolved from a micromobility company focused on electric bikes and cargo quads into a Palo Alto-based technology company building small electric vehicles, including autonomous ones. Earlier this year, it closed a $200 million round and signed a multiyear agreement with DoorDash to develop autonomous delivery vehicles.
Serve Robotics, a sidewalk delivery robot company, finalized several new deals after Uber reduced its use of Serve’s robots and sold its shares in the company. Serve has partnered with Grubhub to operate sidewalk robots in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Alexandria, Virginia. Serve also expanded its existing DoorDash partnership to San Jose, California, and Washington, D.C.
Einride, the Swedish electric and autonomous trucking company, agreed to buy 500 Tesla electric Semis and make them available to its customers, including Amazon. The trucks will be added to Einride’s fleet in phases over the next 24 months, starting in September. Tesla has recently pulled back on its promise to reach volume production of the Semi in 2026.
Grounded, a Detroit startup that customizes electric and gas-powered vans, raised $5 million in seed funding from existing backers Also Capital and The 81 Collection, along with Animal Capital, the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund, and various SpaceX alumni. Uber announced an investment and partnership with drone delivery company Zipline, aiming to make 1 million deliveries per day by the end of 2029. Vessev, a New Zealand startup building electric hydrofoil boats, raised $19 million in a Series A led by Blackbird Ventures. Amazon wants its drone delivery service to reach nearly 500 U.S. cities by the end of 2026. Bedrock Robotics, founded by veterans of Waymo and Segment, said excavators equipped with its self-driving system are operating fully autonomously at three customer sites in Nevada and Texas.
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