TechCrunch Mobility: Everything said on, and off, the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

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We’re mixing things up a bit this week to focus on what was said and done off stage TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. In short, it was a banger with many high-profile execs and founders working on the future of transportation.

Here are a few: Waymo co-CEO Takedra MaukanaSlate CEO Chris BurmanCo-CEO and Founder of Nuro Dave FergusonUber CPO Sachin KansalFounder and CEO of Wave Alex Kendalland founder and CEO of Kodiak AI Don Barnett. We will post the video of that interview YouTube channel next week

D Slate Auto Interview Already available with Sean O’Kane and Chris Berman. If you watch it, pay attention to Burman’s comments about accessories that can be added to any Slate EV. The startup will design, manufacture and sell the accessories, but it will also share data so owners can create their own. Even sell to other owners.

“We will release all the data information on it and anyone can 3D print their own,” Burman said. “So we also want people to not feel like they have to come to us. We want to build an ecosystem that our website will have on the Slate Marketplace.”

O’Kane then asked if Slate would take a cut of those things if Slate added them to the Slate Marketplace.

“Yes, we will charge some fee when we work with them,” he said, quickly adding that builders can sell elsewhere (and slate without a cut). “If they want, they can choose to market it on Etsy. That’s their choice of ability and what they do. It’s not like we’re going to have them visit us.”

Among other highlights… Greater St. Francis Daniel Lurie Said he’s happy to have Waymo on the streets of SF and welcomes other companies to use the city as one Testbed for autonomous vehicle technology. and transport-oriented smooth Its winner is announced Startup Battlefield 2025. Oh, and Sean O’Kane and I took a demo ride through the streets of San Francisco in a wave car.

In addition, Mwakana made several interesting comments on stage, including what he believes other companies working on autonomous vehicles need to do more of. Prove their technology is secure And in the face of promises of greater security, the public Death caused by a robotaxis will be accepted.

He also said Waymo will go after people who His vehicle was vandalized And the company has refused government requests for video captured from its vehicles — adding that it will continue to refuse those requests if they are “overbroad.”

Deal!

A company that developed digital fuel management for aviation, i6, Raised $20 million Series B financing led by Yttrium. Joined by International Airlines Group, World Kinect and Shell Ventures.

Intercity SmartbusA technology-enabled intercity bus platform in India, Raised $30 million to finance the expansion of its network in the South Asian country’s smaller towns and cities. An all-equity Series D round led by A91 Partners values ​​the Noida-based startup at $140 million post-money.

navanThe corporate travel and spending platform ended its first day of trading on the Nasdaq down 20% $25 IPO priceresulting in a valuation of approximately $4.7 billion.

PavewiseA road construction technology startup, Raised $2.5 million in a seed round led by C2 Ventures. Other investors included former CEO of Connectic, Service Provider Capital, Geoff Judge, Ryvit Tom Stem, M25, gener8tor 1889, and Broadwater Capital.

RidepandaAn e-bike and scooter fleet startup offering subscriptions to companies, launched. $12.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Germany’s BikeLeasing Group. Other investors include Blackhorn Ventures, Yamaha Motor Ventures, Proeza Ventures, and Somersault Ventures.

Notable reading and other tidbits

aurora added one 600 miles of driverless routes From Fort Worth, Texas to El Paso, it’s the company’s second for self-driving trucks. The company has revealed details about its next generation hardware.

India, market Blablocker Once away, Now his biggest.

General Motors is Thousands of workers were laid off Across the US are multiple electric vehicle and battery plants.

shine The board is facing a new round of struggles since ousting its founder and CEO, Austin Russell. A new regulatory filing warns that it will Run out of cash in early 2026 and has announced a 25% reduction in its workforce. The company also said its CFO has left.

Nvidia Made a bit of transportation news this week with a partnership stellar, Uber, And Foxconn from Jointly develop autonomous vehicles. The news was part of a wider announcement around Nvidia’s new Drive AGX Hyperion 10 Autonomous Vehicle Development Platform and Nvidia Drive software, which will be used by several automakers, suppliers and robotaxi companies. is on that list Lucid, Mercedesand Stellantis. The platform is part of Uber’s goal to have 100,000 autonomous vehicles in its global fleet over time starting in 2027.

Wave’s Alex Kendall told me backstage at TechCrunch Disrupt that he was really excited about Hyperion and that he, Uber CEO Dara KhasrowshahiAnd Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Automakers are encouraged to use it. “What we’d like to see is more manufacturers building vehicles with the Hyperion architecture, because it unlocks everything we’re trying to do.”

Uber Pick San Francisco to launch a premium robotaxi service that will use Lucid Motors’ all-electric Gravity SUV equipped with self-driving technology developed by Nuro in 2026 — a move that puts the ride-hailing giant in direct competition with Waymo. Reminder: Uber is partnering with Waymo in other cities.

guar A description to share The new autonomous truck Created in partnership with Volvo during TechCrunch Disrupt 2025.

One more thing…

In last week’s newsletter, we conducted a poll, digging deep into the question of the business model for autonomous vehicles, asking: What is the best business model for “long haul” applications of autonomous vehicle technology?

I offered two choices: self-driving Class 8 trucks traveling more than 500 miles on highways or mid-mile delivery, which are autonomous trucks traveling between warehouses and distribution centers.

Readers, you overwhelmingly chose the big rig option with 62.5% of the votes. (Remember, if you want to participate in our poll, sign up for the Mobility newsletter here.)

Let me leave you with one more shot. This photo is of me and the senior reporter Sean O’KaneA bit of a full-circle moment for us. O’Kane, with a little help from me, spent months working out a big scoop on how Jeff Bezos had support A little-known startup called Slate. Since then, Slate has shared plans to build an inexpensive electric truck and has gotten a lot of attention for it.

Slate CEO Chris Burman not only came to our stage for an interview, he also brought a TechCrunch-wrapped truck.