Federal Exemption Clears Warning-Device Roadblock for Self-Driving Trucks

Under federal rules, a human driver of a traditional big rig who runs into trouble must pull over, activate hazard lights, and physically place reflective warning triangles on the road within 10 minutes to alert other road users. A self-driving truck has no human driver to deploy those devices. Aurora challenged the requirement in court. After a court denied its request for an exemption, the company escalated the fight to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, according to TechCrunch. Companies had a temporary waiver while awaiting a decision.

With the FMCSA's five-year exemption, Aurora and other self-driving truck developers can use high-visibility, cab-mounted warning beacons instead. Daniel Goff, vice president of external affairs at Kodiak AI, said the exemption will help the industry "usher in an autonomous era of freight movement on U.S. roads, one that can save lives and improve the efficiency of goods delivery," according to TechCrunch. Gerardo Interiano, Aurora's head of government relations and public affairs, said the decision underscores the government's recognition of the economic and community benefits of autonomous trucking. He described the beacons as a "critical, 21st-century solution that enhances roadside safety by immediately alerting other road users without ever needing to put a person in harm's way." TechCrunch also raised the question of whether cab-mounted warning beacons could eventually become standard equipment across the entire trucking industry.

The same newsletter reported that Redwood Materials, the battery-recycling company started by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, has continued a restructuring to focus more on energy storage. The first stage involved laying off around 135 employees, or 10% of its workforce. Over the last few weeks, Redwood's vice presidents of engineering, operations, treasury, and external affairs have all left the startup, according to what a source told TechCrunch.

Waymo turned to debt financing for the first time, raising $5 billion, TechCrunch reported. PIMCO, Blackstone, and Sixth Street were the lead lenders. Other lenders included Capital Group, Loomis Sayles, T. Rowe Price, Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management & Research Company, HPS Investment Partners, and Oaktree. The debt financing comes as Waymo accelerates commercial expansion in existing cities while pushing into new markets in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Bloom raised $3.6 million to become the "Alibaba" of American manufacturing, according to TechCrunch. The seed round was led by SNAK Venture Partners and included Flyover Capital, Mana Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Invest Detroit Ventures, and the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund.

Flai, a startup that developed AI software for dealerships, raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by Base10 Partners. The round included funding from dealers Friedkin Group and Findlay Automotive, Toyota's venture arm, Y Combinator, and First Round Capital.

Parallel Systems, a startup developing a rail vehicle capable of moving several tons of freight as far as 500 miles without an operator, raised $100 million in a Series C round led by AVP, with participation from Hillspire, Agility Global, Cobalt Capital, Anthos Capital, Congruent Ventures, and Riot Ventures, according to TechCrunch.