TechCrunch Mobility: Waymo makes its defense

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Earlier this month, Waymo chief safety officer Mauricio Peña testified before the Senate Commerce Committee as part of a hearing to talk about autonomous vehicles.

Much of the questioning fell under the standard “let’s educate the public” category. But it was Sen. Ed Markey’s questions about overseas workers, and Peña’s response, that everyone paid attention to.  

Peña, when asked about human workers who assist with Waymo vehicles’ navigation or emergencies, revealed that the company has remote guidance workers based overseas in the Philippines. This sparked some quick ire from Markey, who admonished Peña on how the company could rely on people without U.S. driver’s licenses to assist its vehicles on U.S. roads, among other criticisms.

Waymo formulated a response in a blog post written by Waymo’s head of global operations Ryan McNamara, which was published Tuesday. It has also shared the letter it sent to Markey’s office.

The post and letter do provide fresh insight about its remote-assistance operations. For instance, Waymo stresses it does not employ people who “remotely drive” the robotaxis. Instead, the self-driving systems are the ones in charge.

Remote assistance (RA) workers are there to respond to specific requests for information that the Waymo self-driving system asks for. The company also has Event Response Teams, or ERTs, people who are certified for more complex tasks and are exclusively based in the United States. This team responds to collisions, interfacing with law enforcement and the rider, collecting data for regulatory reporting, and coordinating towing, Waymo says.

We also now know that Waymo has about “70 Remote Assistance agents on duty worldwide at any given time.” These folks are based in Arizona, Michigan, and in two cities in the Philippines, a detail that, again, has raised the ire of some lawmakers.

To give you a sense of what that means, consider that Waymo has a fleet of 3,000 vehicles and every week its vehicles drive over 4 million miles and provide over 400,000 rides. So, very few workers are monitoring lots of robotaxis.

I have argued for years that AV companies need to do a better job of explaining what happens behind the scenes, particularly when it comes to remote guidance. Most companies, many of which no longer exist, avoided the topic like a plague, perhaps in an effort to make its tech seem more magical and innovative. Turns out, mystery breeds mistrust.

While the debate over remote guidance operators plays out, Waymo continues to press into new markets. With one exception.

New York governor Kathy Hochul withdrew a proposal that would have amended vehicle and traffic laws to effectively legalize robotaxis in the state outside of New York City. Hochul spokesperson Sean Butler told me: “Based on conversations with stakeholders, including in the legislature, it was clear that the support was not there to advance this proposal.”

One more thing before we jump into the rest of the news. Mobility readers sure don’t believe the Rivian R2 will be priced at $50,000 or below. Last week, I polled you all and asked: “What will the starting price of the Rivian R2 launch edition be?” I gave three options, under $50,000, above $60,000, and above $70,000. More than 54% picked “above $60,000,” with the remaining two options split on the matter.

To participate in our polls, sign up for the Mobility newsletter here.

A little bird

Senior reporter Sean O’Kane got the scoop from some little birds about layoffs at Lucid. Here’s what we know. Lucid is laying off 12% of its workforce, according to an internal memo that TechCrunch has viewed. We don’t have an exact figure on workers affected, but it is likely hundreds. 

Lucid has not filed its 2025 annual earnings yet, which would disclose how many employees it had at the end of the year. The company reported having 6,800 full-time employees globally at the end of 2024. 

Since our report came out, O’Kane has learned a bit more. Affected employees found out early Friday morning, with a few learning that something was amiss when they lost access to Microsoft Teams. They are technically being placed on a 60-day “administrative leave” and won’t be officially laid off until late April.

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Deals!

Amari AI, a startup that uses AI tools to help custom brokers modernize and navigate President Trump’s trade policies, raised $4.5 million of funding co-led by preeminent early-stage firms First Round Capital and Pear VC. The startup says it has already collected more than 30 customers and helped those firms move more than $15 billion of goods.

Kavak, the Mexico-based online used car dealer, raised $300 million in an equity round led by Andreessen Horowitz, which put in $200 million. Other investors included WCM Investment Management, which co-led the round, and Foxhaven Asset Management.

LanzaJet, a next-gen fuels technology company and fuels producer, raised $47 million in the first close of a targeted $135 million equity round. The company said its pre-money valuation is $650 million. The was co-led by IAG and Shell, with participation from Groupe ADP, LanzaTech, and Mitsui.

Metafuels, a sustainable aviation fuel startup based in Switzerland, raised $24 million in a Series A round led by UVC Partners. Other investors included Energy Impact Partners, Contrarian Ventures, RockCreek, Verve Ventures, and Fortescue.

Notable reads and other tidbits

Ford is working hard to make shareholders forget about the $19.5 billion hit it took late last year. Instead, it wants them to see a tech-forward and nimble company building a future profitable product that will usher in a new era. The company, which has promised to deliver an EV truck that starts at $30,000 and can compete with Chinese automakers without undermining profit margins, shared how it plans to hit that goal. Will a combination of 3D-printed Lego-like parts, Formula 1 thinking, and a bounty program be enough?  

AI data center fever has spread. Just take a look at Redwood Materials for proof. The battery recycling and materials startup launched an energy storage business last year with a focus on AI data centers. The business, Redwood Energy, is now the fastest-growing unit within the company. Read my full story to understand what that means. 

Rivian is launching a companion app that will let owners perform basic tasks such as locking and unlocking doors, venting windows, and triggering the vehicle alarm using their Apple Watch. The company released a broader software update with a number of other new vehicle features as well.

Tesla lost its bid to overturn a jury’s $243 million verdict in a fatal Autopilot crash trial. Reminder: Tesla could have settled this case for $60 million. The company did score a win, however, with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The state agency said it will not suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses for 30 days because the EV maker has stopped using the term “Autopilot” in the marketing of its vehicles in the state.

One more thing …

I periodically test vehicles to keep pace with the latest in-car tech, EVs, and hybrids — or software updates in them. Coincidentally, I had a Lucid Air Touring sedan this week. 

It’s been at least a year since I was behind the wheel of an Air. And I’ve been anxious to try the company’s hands-free driver-assistance system that launched last July. My past experiences with the company’s advanced driver-assistance system, called Dream Drive, has left me unimpressed. My vehicle would often ping-pong in the lane (meaning it had trouble centering itself) or would stay too close to the edge, which put me uncomfortably close to the big rigs I passed on the highway. 

I am happy to report that Lucid appears to have fixed these issues. Engaging the hands-free system was straightforward and it didn’t allow me to abuse it for long. As you see in the picture above, if I put a phone in front of my face, a warning was almost immediately triggered.