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Austin to experience Waymo’s revolutionary robotaxi service before the year’s end

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Waymo will begin offering a robotaxi service to the public in Los Angeles this week and in Austin by the end of the year, the company’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakan said Wednesday at SXSW. Opening up a robotaxi service means the public will be able to hail a ride in a driverless car via the Waymo One app. Austin will become the fourth city where Waymo operates a commercial driverless service. Waymo also operates a robotaxi service in Phoenix, San Francisco and soon Los Angeles. Unlike Texas, regulators in California require companies hoping to deploy commercial robotaxi services to attain a number of permits.

“Major Accomplishments and Setbacks in the World of Automated Vehicles: Waymo Secures Vital Robotaxi License, Fisker Implements Additional Layoffs, and Hopes for Apple Car Diminish”

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I was in Los Angeles earlier this week where I interviewed Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana on stage at our StrictlyVC LA event. The approval removes the last barrier for the Alphabet company to charge for rides in these expanded areas. Yup, that’s right the Apple ended plans to build and sell an autonomous electric car. Electric vehicles, batteries & chargingXiaomi showed off its first electric car, the SU7, at Mobile World Congress. I’ve taken numerous rides in Waymo robotaxis, but never one in Los Angeles.

Waymo Begins Charging for Robotaxi Rides on LA and San Francisco Freeways

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Waymo received approval Friday afternoon from the California Public Utilities Commission to operate a commercial robotaxi service in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Peninsula and on San Francisco freeways. Importantly, it opens up new territory for Waymo in one of the country’s largest cities and unlocks a route to the San Francisco Airport. Waymo has operated a commercial service 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the city of San Francisco since receiving approval from the commission in August. Waymo is also allowed to give people free driverless rides in parts of Los Angeles. Until today’s approval, it was not able to charge for rides in Los Angeles.

Jesse Lyu from Rabbit Makes a Leap to StrictlyVC LA, Landing on Leap Day

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We’re announcing an exciting addition to our speaker lineup for StrictlyVC Los Angeles on February 29. Lyu is an entrepreneur renowned for his work in human-machine interaction. With rabbit, he leads a team dedicated to crafting intuitive experiences that redefine the way we interact with technology. Faraz Fatemi, partner at Lightspeed Venture PartnersFaraz joined Lightspeed as a Partner in 2022 and is focused on investments in consumer platforms. If you’re interested in learning how your brand can partner with StrictlyVC, head to our sponsorship form and someone from the team will respond shortly.

“Powerfoyle Revolutionizes Urbanista Headphones with Cutting-Edge Solar Technology”

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The Swedish startup is announcing a number of partnerships that bring its Powerfoyle flexible solar cell tech to various products. Ahead of the big event in Vegas, the company has announced a pair of headphones fueled by Powerfoyle tech. There’s the over-ear Urbanista Los Angeles, which the company promises will deliver “virtually infinite playtime,” and the latest version of its Phoenix earbuds. This is the second-generation Los Angeles product, following a pair released in 2021 that was among the first products on the market to integrate Exeger tech. The company’s new Peltor brand headset also features a Powerfoyle cell built into its headband.

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