TechCrunch Mobility: Zoox prepares for launch and Uber’s AV empire | TechCrunch

The autonomous vehicle industry reached a notable milestone as Amazon's Zoox received approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin charging passengers for rides.

This critical regulatory exemption allows Zoox to run a commercial fleet of up to two thousand five hundred driverless vehicles that lack traditional human controls, such as steering wheels and pedals, for a period of two years. This development is seen as a major operational breakthrough, transitioning the company from experimental demonstrations to commercial deployment. It also establishes a regulatory precedent that could benefit competitors like Tesla as they seek to launch purpose-built robotaxis without conventional controls in the near future.\n\nBeyond Zoox, the broader smart transportation and mobility sector experienced significant corporate and financial activity. This is highlighted by a massive two hundred fifty million dollar Series C funding round for Dubai-based fleet operator Moove, which manages autonomous vehicles for Waymo and plans further global expansion. Meanwhile, former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick's new automation venture, Atoms, secured a strategic partnership with Joby Aviation to develop regional transit hubs for air taxis. Other notable news includes Nvidia releasing an open-source AI model tailored for self-driving applications, and joint plans by Tesla and SpaceX to construct a multi-billion-dollar semiconductor manufacturing facility in Texas. However, the sector still faces friction, as demonstrated by a Teamsters lawsuit against California's transit regulators over driverless trucking rules, alongside ongoing legal challenges for existing ride-hailing platforms.