In autonomous and self-driving vehicle news are May Mobility, Grab, Nexar, Nauto, Apera AI, Aptiv, Pony.ai, Leopard Imaging, onsemi, KargoBot, Raytron, Uber and WeRide
In this Article
May Mobility & Grab Autonomous Ride-Hailing in Southeast Asia
May Mobility, a U.S.-based autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company, has entered a multi-year partnership with Grab Holdings, Southeast Asia’s leading superapp, to introduce autonomous ride-hailing services across the region. As part of the deal, Grab will invest in May Mobility, marking a major step in the AV company’s global expansion beyond the U.S. and Japan.
The collaboration will integrate May Mobility’s autonomous driving technology into Grab’s ecosystem—including fleet management, routing, and vehicle matching—combining May’s AV expertise with Grab’s deep local knowledge. Grab will also offer training and transition opportunities for driver-partners interested in AV-related roles.
May Mobility will leverage Grab’s high-precision GrabMaps platform to adapt its vehicles to Southeast Asia’s complex road environments. GrabMaps’ real-time, AI-powered updates and hyperlocal data will help accelerate safe AV deployment. May Mobility’s AI-driven Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) system, capable of analyzing thousands of driving scenarios per second, will enable quick adaptation to local driving conditions such as left-hand traffic.
This marks May Mobility’s third major ride-hailing partnership, following recent integrations with Lyft in Atlanta and Uber. The partnership highlights both companies’ shared goal of advancing safe, scalable, and community-focused autonomous mobility solutions in one of the world’s most dynamic transportation markets.
Nexar Launches BADAS
Nexar has introduced BADAS (Beyond ADAS), a foundation model for vehicle safety and autonomy trained on the industry’s largest real-world driving dataset—over 10 billion miles and 60 million annotated edge-case events from 350,000+ connected devices.
Key Points:
- Real-world advantage: Unlike lab or simulation-trained models, BADAS learns from actual driving scenarios, demonstrating superior performance in collision prediction and driver behavior modeling
- The Nexar Stack: A multi-layered system that transforms crowdsourced road data into deployable AI through sensor networks, data processing, predictive models, and real-time safety solutions
- Industry shift: Nexar is positioning itself as an AI infrastructure provider, offering technology that enables automakers, insurers, and fleet operators to build and validate safety systems based on real-world experience
- Interactive demo: Available at nexar-ai.com/badas to showcase the model’s predictive capabilities
The company argues that traditional approaches have failed to improve road safety because they lack exposure to the full spectrum of real-world driving behavior—the “long tail” of rare, unpredictable events that simulations cannot replicate.
Nauto’s Predictive Risk Fusion Faster Collision Alerts in VTTI Study
Nauto Inc., a leader in AI-driven fleet safety technology, announced results from a December 2024 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), validating the performance of its Predictive Risk Fusion system. The technology simultaneously analyzes driver behavior and external road hazards in real time, providing predictive collision alerts faster and more accurately than conventional systems.
In daytime testing, Nauto achieved up to a 90% alert success rate for distracted driving, with 87% of alerts issued before the swerve zone and 10% faster warning times when drivers were distracted. VTTI found that Nauto’s system often alerted distracted drivers more quickly than attentive ones, granting extra reaction time to avoid collisions.
Drawing on over 6 billion AI-monitored miles, Nauto reports its technology can reduce collision losses by up to 80%. CEO Dr. Stefan Heck emphasized that every fraction of a second gained helps drivers prevent crashes and lowers fleet insurance costs. The findings position Nauto’s Predictive Risk Fusion as a leading predictive safety solution for commercial fleets.
Apera AI Expands 4D Vision Capabilities
Apera AI, a leader in 4D Vision for industrial robotics, announced the release of Vue 9.51, major enhancements to its Forge simulation platform, and new VuePort L and LT camera models. The updates aim to make vision-guided robotic (VGR) automation faster, more accurate, and easier to deploy at scale.
Vue 9.51 introduces improved robot calibration with detailed accuracy histograms, a new single-rack de-racking pipeline for tool-mounted cameras, and enhanced part selection tools. Forge now enables direct deployment of AI-trained assets to vision controllers, adds CAD optimization tools, and supports .STP files, bridging the gap between simulation and real-world automation.
The new large-format VuePort cameras provide expanded fields of view for big parts and large-scale automation projects. Apera also launched a new online documentation hub for 24/7 customer support. Together, these updates reinforce Apera’s mission to eliminate “robot blindness” and bring human-level visual intelligence to manufacturing robots.
Aptiv Launches Gen 8 Radars
Aptiv unveiled its eighth-generation radar technology, engineered to power next-generation advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving. Built on proprietary antenna and silicon designs, the Gen 8 radars deliver long-range, high-resolution 4D sensing for enhanced perception, even in complex urban or low-visibility conditions.
The lineup includes new front-facing and dual-mode corner radars offering over 300-meter detection range, a 30% performance boost, and expanded vertical and horizontal fields of view. These advances enable improved classification of static and dynamic objects, real-time drivable space estimation, and support for AI-driven decision-making in features like Navigation on Autopilot.
Aptiv also introduced the PULSE Sensor, which fuses radar and camera data to replace multiple ultrasonic sensors, simplifying vehicle design while increasing accuracy. Backed by 25 years of radar expertise, Aptiv’s Gen 8 portfolio marks a major leap toward software-defined vehicles, offering scalable, cost-efficient, and intelligent sensing solutions for both automotive and industrial applications.
Pony.ai Rolls Out 300th ARCFOX Alpha T5 Robotaxi
Pony.ai has reached a major production milestone with the rollout of its 300th ARCFOX Alpha T5 Robotaxi, jointly manufactured with BAIC Group. The milestone underscores the company’s progress toward mass deployment and commercialization of Level 4 autonomous vehicles. Introduced at the 2025 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference, the Alpha T5 features Pony.ai’s Gen-7 autonomous driving system, offering 24/7 all-weather operation.
The Gen-7 platform reduces system costs by 70% through automotive-grade integration while enhancing safety with over 55 million kilometers of testing and a performance record estimated to be ten times safer than human driving. Pony.ai plans to expand commercial Robotaxi operations across major Chinese cities and into international markets such as the Middle East and Europe. With continued production momentum, the company aims to reach 1,000 vehicles in its fleet and achieve economic break-even by the end of 2025.
Leopard Imaging onsemi Hyperlux™-Based Camera Solutions
Leopard Imaging Inc., a global leader in embedded AI vision technology, has unveiled a comprehensive lineup of camera solutions built on onsemi’s Hyperlux™ ID, LP, and LH image sensor families. The new portfolio delivers next-generation imaging performance for automotive, industrial, robotics, AI, and commercial applications—combining wide dynamic range, superior low-light capability, and energy efficiency.
The Hyperlux ID iToF cameras provide high-resolution 3D depth sensing up to 10 meters, ideal for automation, drones, and robotics. The Hyperlux LP series emphasizes low power consumption and high dynamic range for computer vision, smart retail, and edge AI systems. Meanwhile, the Hyperlux LH family focuses on embedded HDR and exceptional low-light performance for surveillance and intelligent vision use cases.
Leopard Imaging’s new camera modules support multiple interfaces, including MIPI, GMSL2, and USB 3.0, offering flexible integration for developers and OEMs. The company also introduced plug-and-play USB 3.0 cameras featuring onsemi’s integrated ISP for superior color accuracy and exposure control. Together, these releases position Leopard Imaging at the forefront of next-generation AI vision and imaging innovation.
KargoBot Integrates Raytron Thermal
KargoBot has partnered with leading infrared imaging company Raytron to integrate advanced thermal cameras into its autonomous robotrucks, addressing key safety challenges posed by large commercial vehicles. Trucks’ massive size, limited visibility, and long braking distances demand ultra-reliable perception systems—especially in poor weather or low-light conditions.
Raytron’s automotive-grade thermal cameras detect heat signatures rather than visible light, ensuring robust performance in darkness, fog, dust, and glare. Unlike traditional cameras, LiDAR, or radar, thermal imaging excels at identifying pedestrians, animals, and other vulnerable road users, providing critical extra reaction time in high-risk scenarios.
During an April 2025 pilot test, KargoBot’s L4 autonomous convoy successfully traveled 98 kilometers from Ordos to Baotou, demonstrating the system’s reliability in challenging environments. The Raytron thermal module proved essential in detecting obstacles through dust, identifying moving hazards in low light, and maintaining stability during sudden lighting changes.
Raytron, a global leader in infrared technology spanning SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR, continues to advance perception capabilities for autonomous and industrial applications. Its collaboration with KargoBot underscores the growing importance of thermal imaging in achieving safe, all-weather autonomous trucking.
Uber and WeRide Autonomous Robotaxi Service in Riyadh
Uber and WeRide have begun offering autonomous robotaxi rides in Riyadh, marking the first public deployment of self-driving vehicles on the Uber platform in Saudi Arabia. Riders traveling between Roshn Front and Princess Noura University can select a WeRide GXR robotaxi for their journey. Initially, each vehicle will include a human operator before transitioning to fully driverless operations.
The initiative is backed by the Transport General Authority and follows an earlier pilot phase inaugurated in July by Saudi Transport Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser. WeRide’s robotaxi holds Saudi Arabia’s first autonomous driving permit and successfully completed the regulatory sandbox for autonomous vehicle trials. The launch in Riyadh follows WeRide’s rollout on Uber in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2024.
Uber’s Sarfraz Maredia highlighted the milestone as a key step in expanding autonomous mobility across the Middle East, emphasizing safer and more sustainable transportation. WeRide’s Jennifer Li added that the partnership supports the Kingdom’s journey toward smart, green, and efficient urban mobility, reflecting the company’s broader global expansion in autonomous technology.