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I have often remarked, both here and on the Equity and Autonocast podcasts, that the autonomous vehicle sector resembles the fervor of 2016, particularly regarding the excitement surrounding it. However, a recent discussion with Puneeth Meruva, a partner at Trucks VC, has prompted me to reconsider this analogy. There are indications that 2026 may be even more dynamic — at least by certain metrics — than the exuberant deal-making periods of 2016 and 2017.
Trucks VC, which focuses on early-stage investments, has received pitches from 81 new autonomous vehicle startups thus far in 2026 — representing a two-thirds increase compared to last year and surpassing the boom years of a decade ago. The venture capital firm asserts in a recent blog post that we are currently experiencing a second, even more significant wave of autonomous vehicles, driven by technological advancements. Indeed, I am referring to AI.
“For a long time, AV companies were striving to transition from AV 1.0 to AV 2.0, which is essentially the holy grail of end-to-end architecture for autonomous vehicles,” Meruva explained. “I believe that the foundational models now offer a technical framework that enables these end-to-end systems.” These foundational models excel at generalizing across various environments and scenarios, potentially reducing costs and accelerating deployment for autonomous vehicles. The emergence of robust open-source models, such as Nvidia’s Alpamayo and Qwen’s general-purpose vision-language-action models, has further simplified the startup process. The entry barriers have never been lower.
Meruva noted that Trucks is consistently observing startups launching within just a few months and with less than $1 million in funding raised. (While he refrained from naming specific companies, the firm has invested in several of them.) Among the 81 startups that pitched to Trucks VC, I initially assumed that most would focus their AV technology on sectors like construction, warehousing, agriculture, and mining. While those areas were indeed represented, I was surprised by the increasing number of startups proposing pure-play robotaxi services. Many of these companies are positioning themselves as direct competitors to Waymo.
As unconventional as that may seem, Meruva believes there is ample opportunity for smaller players. “In this landscape, smaller, niche autonomy companies can compete — they may not be vying with Waymo on a global scale, but they could be contending in specific regions or for particular types of routes,” he stated.
Furthermore, Meruva anticipates that the momentum will not diminish. He expects even more autonomous vehicle startups to approach the firm in the coming year.
Regular followers of this newsletter are aware that we have been closely monitoring Slate Auto, having originally reported on Jeff Bezos’ investment back in April 2025. However, this week, our attention was drawn to the company from which it was spun off.
Re:Build, a manufacturing accelerator based in Massachusetts, has secured $2.1 billion to “enhance Re:Build’s capacity to manufacture hard tech products and launch new industrial startups.” The investment was spearheaded by General Catalyst and JPMorgan Chase’s Strategic Investment Group, with other investors remaining undisclosed. Co-founded by Jeff Wilke, former CEO of Amazon’s commercial division, the company has positioned itself as “America’s answer to Shenzhen.”
In other developments, Bedrock Robotics has raised $600 million in a funding round that values the autonomous vehicle technology startup at $4.1 billion. The Series C round was co-led by CapitalG and Emergence Capital, with participation from new investors such as the US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Bessemer Venture Partners, and Temasek, alongside existing investors including 8VC, Georgian, Valor Equity Partners, Xora, Eclipse, Perry Creek Capital, and Nvidia.
DoorDash has announced its agreement to acquire Instacart for $17 billion. Meanwhile, DoorDash reported in its third-quarter earnings that it has received only a few hundred orders from AI agents thus far.
PreScalar, a San Francisco-based startup focused on developing software and testing infrastructure for factories, has raised $7 million in seed funding, co-led by Dynamo Ventures and BMW i Ventures, with additional participation from Blue Wire Capital, Uplift Ventures, and Antler. The startup was established last year by a trio with previous experience at Cruise, Google, Rivian, and Waymo.
Elroy Air, a startup working on autonomous heavy-cargo drones for defense, rapid response, and commercial logistics, has appointed Jeremy Hux as its CFO in anticipation of going public. Ford has unveiled two new EV chargers that will enable its upcoming Fathom pickup truck to function as a battery capable of supplying power to homes or the grid. Meanwhile, GM is now embracing hybrid technology, marking a significant shift in its strategy. The U.S. automaker is also attempting to move beyond the controversy surrounding the sale of driver data from several years ago. GM has agreed to a $220 million settlement with 36 states (following earlier settlements with California and the Federal Trade Commission) to resolve allegations of illegally selling private driving behavior and location data to data brokers.
Kodiak AI is set to deliver 75 self-driving trucks to freight company DTL Transport starting in 2028, marking the company’s first binding commercial agreement for driverless big rigs to operate on public highways. Rivian has reported its third-quarter earnings, revealing several noteworthy developments. For instance, the new R2 has performed well enough for the company to increase its 2026 delivery forecast by a few thousand vehicles. Rivian, which had previously anticipated delivering between 65,000 and 70,000 EVs this year, has raised that lower estimate to 67,000. Additionally, a $5.8 billion joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen Group is set to expand to include AI assistants, although there is no indication yet if VW will invest further in Rivian.
Tesla is collaborating with Turo to enhance the adoption of Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Waymo and Toyota have formalized a manufacturing partnership, moving beyond preliminary discussions. Toyota will produce AV-ready bZ4X vehicles and integrate Waymo’s self-driving technology at its factory in Japan. These vehicles are intended for robotaxi services in Japan, the U.K., and other international markets. Notably, the companies have suggested that this partnership could eventually lead to a licensing agreement allowing Waymo’s AV technology to be incorporated into privately owned vehicles.
Lastly, a reminder for founders, investors, and builders located in and around the Boston area: The Founder Summit — a one-day event in Boston — is scheduled for November 4. I will be in attendance! This event is specifically designed for startup founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and investors. Participants can expect insightful discussions led by VCs and seasoned founders, along with ample networking opportunities.
For my hinews Mobility readers, here is a 30% discount on tickets. Click this link and use the code mobility30.
