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Nvidia is commoditising autonomy.
A slew of autonomous partnership announcements came from Nvidia last week - without going into the details, let’s go over the high level / strategic meaning:
If you take one thing away from this: Nvidia is commoditising autonomy. You can think of it as the Android or Intel-inside of autonomous driving.
Nvidia is building an autonomous technology platform, which includes sensor architecture, safety & simulation tools, cybersecurity, and an autonomous driving engine. Everything you need to develop autonomous driving.
The platform does not (yet?) fully replace the likes of Waymo and Baidu, which are still needed for large scale L4 driving (I like the analogy of Waymo being a driver, and Nvidia the driving school), but
It lowers the barrier of entry - making it simpler for existing and new entrants to be a part of the AV landscape, either OEMs by getting their cars ready for autonomy (BYD, Geely, Isuzu and Nissan all signed up) and by enabling tech players to build on top of the Nvidia platform. WeRide and Kodiak are using Nvidia as infrastructure, and you can expect that new players will enter as technology advances and barriers lower.
Ride-Hailing & Robotaxi 🚙🚕
In the autonomous race Uber has two complementary supply strategies to limit AV-tech suppliers' power: (1) by partnering with everything that moves, Uber increasing supply availability; and (2) by creating their own supply. This was the case with the Nuro-Lucid 20,000 vehicle deal, and is evident again in the Rivian 50,000 vehicle deal:
Uber partners with Rivian to purchase 10,000 fully autonomous R2 SUV robotaxis by 2028, with an option to purchase 40,000 more in the future, targeting 25 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe by the end of 2031. The fleet, obviously, will be exclusive to the Uber network.
The deal is not without its trouble - the R2 has not yet started production (which is planned for June), and also the production line itself is under construction. Furthermore, Rivian has never deployed a robotaxi. From 0 to 10,000, as they say.
The deal sees Uber investing $300M now and up to $1.25 billion in Rivian, pending deal milestones. That - investing in companies Uber partners with - is also a part of Uber’s strategy, to ‘keep tabs’ on everything in mobility.
For a map of Uber’s acquisitions, investments and partnerships, illustrating the reach Uber has in “All Things Mobility”.
WeRide enters Slovakia, the company's 4th European market, after France, Belgium and Switzerland. The roll out, planned to begin in mid-2026, will see WeRide introducing its wide portfolio: robotaxi, robovan, robobus and robosweeper.
Kakao launches autonomous taxi service in Gangnam, South Korea, using ITS OWN proprietary autonomous driving technology. The service, operating weekdays from 10pm to 5am, is free for the first month. Kakao is currently in a hiring push for autonomous / AI engineers.
MOIA publicly “PR” launches in the US. In early 2025 the company partnered with Uber to launch a commercial ‘human-driven’ service in Los Angeles planned to begin in late 2026, with an autonomous service expected in 2027. By the timing of this specific PR, it seems the plan is on track.
Bolt is initiating an “Autonomous Fleet Alliance”, bringing fleet operators, AV-Tech companies and OEMs into the mix. The strategy makes sense: assure the presence of fleet operators required for launch in multiple cities. Watch this space.
Avis is growing its autonomous fleet operations team - hiring a new lead and people in Dallas, where it partnered with Waymo.
DiDi reports on Q4/25:
Revenue up 10.5% to ±$8.5 billion (58.4 billion yuan)
Revenue from Didi's China Mobility segment, its core business, increased 9% to ±$7.5 billion (51.7 billion yuan)
International revenue up 47% to ±$640M (4.4 billion yuan); Int’l revenue make roughly 7.5% of total revenue
Net loss of $43.5M (300 million yuan, versus 1.3 billion yuan YoY), as the company continues its push into Latin America.
InDrive in 2025: revenue up 31% to $600M & more:
In Algeria, Yassir acquires Paris-based adtech company Kawarizmi as part of its strategy to build an integrated retail media and advertising ecosystem. Cabify partners with Incognia for fraud prevention. In Kenya, the government is considering price-setting for ride-hailing (the same as taxis). In Wiltshire, UK, since the start of the pandemic, the number of licensed drivers has fallen by 21%, with many leaving for delivery jobs. Enter Uber. In London, Gett wins Royal Albert Hall. In Helsinki, Bolt launches a “Women for Women” category - enabling women passengers the opportunity to request a female driver. In Namibia, Yango is working with the government to approve drivers - the platform currently has 296 ‘licensed’ drivers In Punjab, India, Yango receives operator license. Wheely, chauffeur service, expands to the US. “Time to Zig”. CGD Taxi rebrands as “Zig by ComfortDelGro”. A hug shifts from the formerly known ComfortDelGro Taxi and CDG Zig. In the US, the NHTSA announces it will reduce regulations for autonomous vehicles - prepare for easier regulation on taking the wheel and pedals away and for national regulation.
A lot going on in autonomy. This is the best map to track it all. Initiated by Jackson Lester, since he joined Waymo it is maintained by UC Berkeley's Institute of Transportation Studies.
#movingpeople is a part of Mobility Business - a consultancy focused on Innovation, Growth and Autonomy in the Mobility industry.
Autonomous Shuttles, DRT & Bus-Based Mobility 🚍🚌
BusRight, school bus routing and technology startup, raised more than $30M.
Events to watch our for:
Car Sharing/renting 🚗
GreenMobility FY2025 financial report, key takeaways:
Revenue up 20% to ±$23.9M (DKK 153.9 million)
EBITDA up 57% to ±$8.4M (DKK 54.0 million); EBITDA margin of 35.1% vs. 26.9% in 2024
Operating Profit: ±$4M (DKK 26.2 million, vs. DKK 10.6 million in 2024)
Net profit for the year: ±$3.84M (DKK 33.2 million vs. a loss of DKK 18.6 million in 2024)
For 2026, the company expects revenue growth of 8-12% and EBITDA growth of 12-16%
SOCAR expands premium car-sharing service 'Black Label'.
Micromobility 🚲🛴
Nextbike reports 32% increase in 2025 revenue, to €82.2M (from €62.2M). The company has >115,000 bikes in >400 cities in >20 countries. Plans for 2026 include expansion in Germany, Poland and Spain, with public transport integration as a key focus.
Dat Bike, electric motorbike maker, raises $4M to expand production and distribution.
Leeds joins the UK’s national e-scooter trial programme, with Berylintroducing a fleet of 100 e-scooters, expanding on its existing LNER Beryl Bike scheme that has operated in the city since 2023.
Delivery - bikes to cars, bots & drones 🍽🧺
Grab acquires Delivery Hero’s foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan in cash for $600M. This marks Grab’s entry into their 9th market, and the first full-scale footprint outside Southeast Asia.
Amazon acquires Zurich-based Rivr, maker of a stair-climbing delivery robot. You might recognise this robot; it featured on the cover of #movingpeople a month ago, when the company launched a UK pilot with Just Eat. No details on the deal; back in 2024 the company was valued at $100M. Also Amazon adds 1-hour and 3-hour delivery options in the US.
Eternal infuses ±$48M (Rs 450 crore) into Blinkit amid intensifying quick commerce battle. Funds will be used to increase dark store count to 3,000 by March 2027, from circa 2,000 stores today.
AV Freight, Industrial & Logistics 🚛🚜
Kodiak expanded commercial autonomous freight operations to the Dallas <> El Paso corridor, a 600+ mile route.
Einride signs MOU to establish a testbed corridor for autonomous freight operations in Texas.
GXO partners with KION to pilot autonomous vehicles in warehouse operations.
BringAuto autonomous sweeper.
I love meeting new people and learning about innovation in mobility. Let’s get-to-know / catch up.
In other news 📰
In Singapore, CDG raises prices as fuel prices go up. In Australia, DiDi raises prices as fuel prices go up. This has to do with the closing of the Strait of Hormuz - and I bring you two charts on that:
Tanker Traffic In The Strait Of Hormuz:
Price of gasoline in the USA:
Rivian spinout Mind Robotics, industrial robotics, is valued at $2 billion in Series A funding round. The unit, focusing on traditional robot design (not humanoids) was spun out of Rivian back in November.
Advanced Navigation, an Australian startup developing navigation and autonomous systems, raised $110M.
Arc Boat Company, US electric boat startup, raised $50M.
Uber Boat expands its UK footprint with the circa $15M acquisition of The Portsmouth Harbour Ferry Company.
Zenobē acquired Revolv, a San Francisco-based fleet charging startup, for an undisclosed amount.
Havoc, all domain collaborative autonomy - sea, air & land, acquires heavy-lift drone-maker Mavrik and industrial vehicle autonomy startup Teleo.
DoorDash launches ‘Tasks’ - an AI learning app, that pays couriers to submit videos to train the AI. For example, washing dishes.
Times are a changing. The MaaS Alliance is reborn as the Mobility Alliance, building a neutral platform for collaboration with an extended focus that covers transport authorities, operators, technology providers, mobility service providers, and research institutions.
People 🧑🤝🧑
Andy Tipping is the new Director of Vehicle Integration @ Wrightbus.
Conrad Richardson is the new Principal Consultant – Asia-Pacific @ PTV Group.
Erwin Coffy is the new VP Business - Country Head France & Global Marketplace Performance @ BlaBlaCar.
Heather Salem is the new Director, Grants, Billing, and Project Controls @ San Mateo County Transit District.
Jan Eller is the new Director Strategy @ Via.
Maria Luiza Niculescu-Aron is promoted Senior General Manager @ Bolt.
Murielle Osias is the new Head of Business Development Transport - Europe @ Ardent.
Tim Aylen is the new Business Development Manager @ Optimo Energy.
Congrats and good luck!
Thank you for reading #movingpeople. If you like what you're reading, please share it with your friends and colleagues so they can benefit from it too.
