In autonomous and self-driving vehicle news are Baidu, PlusAI, Tesla, Waymo, Mercedes, STEER , TIER IV, AEye, Vueron, WeRide, ADRO, NODAR, Pronto and Aeva.
In this Article
Baidu’s Apollo Go Goes in Abu Dhabi
Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing unit, Apollo Go, has officially launched a fully driverless commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi in partnership with UAE-based AutoGo, marking a major milestone for autonomous driving in the Middle East. The service is now available to the public through the AutoGo app, starting on Yas Island, where users can hail rides in vehicles with no human driver.
The partnership began in March 2025 and quickly progressed from agreement to live public operations within months, supported by Abu Dhabi regulators. After securing one of the emirate’s first permits for fully driverless commercial service in November 2025, the companies committed to scaling the fleet to hundreds of vehicles by 2026, aiming to build Abu Dhabi’s largest driverless fleet.
The service will expand in phases beyond Yas Island to Reem, Al Maryah, and Saadiyat Islands, with the long-term goal of covering the wider Abu Dhabi emirate. Apollo Go brings extensive global experience, with over 240 million autonomous kilometers logged and more than 17 million completed rides, positioning the UAE launch as a key step in advancing Abu Dhabi’s smart city and autonomous mobility ambitions.
PlusAI Strong Metrics
PlusAI announced significant progress in the commercial readiness of its SuperDrive™ autonomous trucking platform, reporting 90.1% Safety Case Readiness, 99.2% Autonomous Miles Percentage, and 79.0% Remote Assistance-Free Trips in the second half of 2025. The gains reflect steady advances in safety validation, system maturity, and operational efficiency as the company targets a factory-built autonomous truck launch in 2027. Trained on over six million real-world miles and supported by simulation, SuperDrive™ is being integrated by OEM partners including Scania, MAN, International, IVECO, and Hyundai, with pilots underway in Texas and public road testing in Sweden, positioning PlusAI for scalable commercial deployment.
PlusAI & IVECO Level 4 Autonomous Trucking Trials in So. Europe
PlusAI and IVECO are expanding their partnership to deploy the first heavy-duty trucks with Level 4 autonomous driving in Southern Europe, working with Spanish logistics firm Sesé and the Government of Aragon. Beginning in 2026, two IVECO S-Way trucks equipped with PlusAI’s SuperDrive™ virtual driver will operate on freight routes between Madrid and Zaragoza under multi-year testing with onboard safety operators. The project marks a major step toward safer, more efficient autonomous freight transport and comes as PlusAI prepares to go public via its planned merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX.
PlusAI and T2 Partner 4 Level 4 Autonomous Trucks in Japan
PlusAI and Tokyo-based T2 Inc. announced a strategic partnership to introduce Level 4 autonomous trucking to Japan, as PlusAI also prepares to go public through a merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX. The collaboration builds on Mitsui & Co.’s investment in PlusAI and T2’s experience operating autonomous trucking programs in Japan, creating a pathway for hub-to-hub self-driving freight services.
The partnership brings together T2’s deep understanding of Japan’s logistics, regulations, and operational needs with PlusAI’s proven autonomous truck technology, which is already being deployed with global manufacturers such as TRATON, Iveco, and Hyundai in the U.S. and Europe. Together, the companies plan to tailor autonomous trucking systems specifically for Japan’s freight environment.
Mitsui’s backing reinforces the long-term commitment to modernizing Japan’s logistics infrastructure. With the country facing severe driver shortages and growing freight volumes, PlusAI and T2 aim to use autonomous trucks to improve safety, reliability, and productivity, helping create a more resilient, AI-powered freight network for Japan.
SEC Clears PlusAI-Churchill IX Merger, Readying 4 Nasdaq Listing
PlusAI, an AI-native autonomous trucking software company, announced that the SEC has declared effective its registration statement for the proposed merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX. The next step is an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for February 3, 2026, where shareholders will vote on the business combination, which will result in PlusAI trading on Nasdaq under the ticker “PLS.”
The company, founded in Silicon Valley in 2016, develops SuperDrive™, a Level 4 autonomous driving system for commercial trucks. PlusAI has logged millions of real-world miles across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, using AI models to replace traditional hand-coded autonomy stacks. Partnerships with truck OEMs including TRATON, IVECO, and Hyundai support large-scale deployment.
Recent milestones include customer fleet trials in Texas, Level 4 development using NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Hyperion, successful driverless safety maneuver validations, and the launch of Southern Europe’s first autonomous trucking program with IVECO. PlusAI aims to begin commercial production of SuperDrive™-enabled trucks in 2027.
Family Sues Tesla After Autopilot Crash
The family of Jeffrey Nissen Jr., a 28-year-old motorcyclist from Stanwood, Washington, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tesla after a Model S operating on Autopilot struck him from behind while he was stopped in traffic on April 19, 2024, killing him. Police say the Tesla’s driver, Carl Hunter, did not realize he had hit Nissen and continued forward, pinning him under the car. Nissen was pronounced dead at the scene, and Hunter was later arrested and charged with vehicular homicide.
Investigators reported that Hunter admitted he was relying on Tesla’s Autopilot and may have been looking at his phone at the time of the crash. The lawsuit alleges that Tesla’s driver-assist system failed to detect Nissen’s motorcycle and that the company has long known its technology struggles with smaller vehicles. It further claims Tesla misled consumers by overstating Autopilot’s capabilities and encouraging drivers to place unsafe levels of trust in a system that still requires full human supervision.
The complaint also cites research on “alarm fatigue,” arguing that Tesla’s frequent alerts can cause drivers to tune out or disable warnings, increasing the risk of catastrophic mistakes. Attorneys for Nissen’s family say Tesla failed to adequately warn drivers, ignored a history of similar crashes, and continued to market Autopilot in a way that invites distraction. The family says the lawsuit seeks accountability and changes that could prevent future deaths caused by overreliance on automated driving systems.
Waymo Pays Humans About $20 to Close Doors
Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous taxi operator, has begun paying people roughly $20–$24 to close the doors on its robotaxis when riders fail to latch them properly, a quirky side effect of real-world deployment of driverless technology. Because the robotaxis are programmed not to move unless all doors are fully closed, a slightly ajar door can leave a vehicle stranded. Waymo uses a roadside assistance app called Honk—often described as an “Uber for towing”—to dispatch local contractors who go to the vehicle’s location and close the door so the ride can continue.
Tow operators in Los Angeles have taken on these jobs regularly, sometimes handling multiple assignments a week, and report earning between $22 and $24 for door-closing tasks and more for towing when vehicles run out of battery or become stuck elsewhere. While the pay may sound attractive, some say the compensation doesn’t always cover fuel and labor costs.
Waymo acknowledges the issue, says such incidents are relatively rare, and is exploring future robotaxi designs with automatic sliding doors to eliminate this human dependency.
Mercedes Temporarily Shelves Level 3 Drive Pilot
Mercedes‑Benz has paused the rollout of its Drive Pilot Level 3 autonomous driving feature, which allowed hands‑free, eyes‑off driving under limited conditions on certain highways in Europe and parts of the U.S. The automaker said demand has been low and the system’s narrow operational design and high development costs made it less practical for customers, leading it to remove the feature from the updated S‑Class lineup. Mercedes plans to focus instead on a new Level 2++ assist system that requires driver attention but offers broader usability. The company may revisit Level 3 capabilities in future iterations when regulatory and technological conditions improve.
STEER Tech & KINEXON Partner
STEER Tech and KINEXON announced a strategic partnership to improve autonomous vehicle (AV), automated mobile robot (AMR), and automated guided vehicle (AGV) operations in industrial depots and warehouses. The collaboration integrates STEER Tech’s autonomous driving and fleet management software with KINEXON’s real-time location tracking and sensor systems, creating a high-precision platform for navigating complex indoor environments. Their combined systems are already operating at active sites in the United States.
By merging KINEXON’s real-time tracking data with STEER Tech’s autonomy stack, the solution improves vehicle localization, route planning, and fleet coordination. This allows vehicles to move more safely, avoid obstacles, and work more efficiently in dynamic spaces such as warehouses, factories, and logistics hubs.
The partnership focuses on four main goals: seamless system integration, real-time fleet optimization, improved safety through tracking and collision avoidance, and easy scalability across large facilities. Both companies say the technology offers a powerful alternative to GPS indoors, giving operators better visibility, higher safety, and more reliable autonomous operations.
TIER IV Licenses Quadric Chimera SDK
Quadric announced that Japan-based autonomous driving company TIER IV has licensed its Chimera AI processor software development kit (SDK) to evaluate and optimize future versions of Autoware, the open-source autonomous driving software originally developed by TIER IV. The move allows TIER IV to test how Autoware can run more efficiently on next-generation AI processor architectures.
By using Quadric’s Chimera SDK, TIER IV can model and tune automotive network workloads, helping improve performance, efficiency, and scalability for future autonomous vehicle systems. Quadric’s CEO said the partnership highlights Chimera’s value as a development and optimization tool for advanced automotive AI platforms.
Overall, the agreement strengthens Autoware’s ecosystem by giving its creators a powerful new way to evaluate how their software will perform on future AI hardware used in self-driving vehicles.
AEye & Vueron Partner to Expand OPTIS 3D Sensing
AEye announced a strategic partnership with Vueron to integrate Vueron’s real-time 3D perception software into AEye’s OPTIS ecosystem, strengthening its full-stack 3D visual awareness platform. The collaboration combines AEye’s long-range Apollo lidar — capable of detecting objects up to one kilometer away — with Vueron’s dynamic perception technology to deliver more intelligent, scalable sensing across multiple industries.
By bringing Vueron into OPTIS, AEye is expanding the platform beyond automotive into areas such as intelligent transportation systems, mining, rail safety, and perimeter security. The combined system provides real-time detection and analysis, enabling safer and more reliable operation of vehicles and infrastructure in complex, dynamic environments.
The companies say the partnership unlocks new use cases for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving while also extending OPTIS into critical infrastructure and transportation markets, offering a powerful solution for long-range, high-performance 3D sensing.
WeRide Brings Robotaxi Booking to WeChat
WeRide has launched its Robotaxi booking service directly inside WeChat through a new Mini Program called “WeRide Go,” allowing users in Guangzhou and Beijing to request driverless rides without downloading a separate app. By embedding Robotaxi access into China’s most widely used digital platform, WeRide makes autonomous rides as easy to book as any everyday service on WeChat.
The integration dramatically lowers the barrier for trying Robotaxis and helps normalize autonomous mobility in daily life. With WeChat’s massive user base, the move is expected to increase ride volumes, improve customer retention, and strengthen public trust in WeRide’s technology.
WeRide already operates more than 1,000 Robotaxis with fully driverless service in major Chinese cities and Abu Dhabi. By expanding access through WeChat, the company is positioning itself for large-scale commercialization as it works toward deploying tens of thousands of Robotaxis by 2030.
Tesla FSD will be Monthly Only Starting 2/14
Tesla has announced that it will stop offering its Full Self‑Driving (FSD) software as a one‑time purchase and will transition entirely to a subscription‑only model starting February 14, 2026. Previously, buyers could pay a lump sum (around $8,000 in the U.S.) or subscribe monthly (about $99/month), but after mid‑February the only way to access FSD will be through the monthly subscription.
The move reflects a shift in Tesla’s software strategy — framing FSD as a recurring service rather than an owned feature — and arrives amid slower adoption of the standalone package and broader ambitions for data collection and autonomous development. Musk confirmed the change on social media, though detailed reasoning for the shift has not been fully explained.
ADRO Unveils AOX
ADRO Inc. introduced AOX (Aerodynamic Optimization eXperience) at CES 2026, an AI-driven platform that accelerates automotive aerodynamic design by combining artificial intelligence with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The platform enables real-time airflow visualization and evaluation during early vehicle development stages, allowing engineers to explore design trade-offs more efficiently before committing to expensive simulations or physical testing.
Demonstrated using real vehicle data—including a performance-optimized Porsche GT3 and an efficiency-focused truck model—AOX bridges digital aerodynamic analysis with practical design decisions across diverse vehicle segments. Built on ADRO’s physical vehicle development expertise, the platform complements rather than replaces existing CFD workflows, addressing gaps between simulation outputs and real-world manufacturing constraints.
A public beta launch is planned for the first half of 2026, with pre-registration available on the AOX website.
NODAR Launches Software-Only 3D Perception Products
NODAR, a specialist in ultra-wide-baseline stereo vision technology, announced the availability of its 3D perception solutions as software-only products for the first time. Previously offered exclusively through integrated development kits, NODAR’s patented stereo vision algorithms are now available via the NODAR SDK as licensable software, allowing OEMs and developers to deploy long-range 3D perception without hardware constraints.
The software suite includes Hammerhead™ Stereo Vision, which generates high-density, long-range 3D point clouds with centimeter-level accuracy, and GridDetect™ 3D Object Detection, an optional add-on for object detection, tracking, and collision avoidance. Both products support applications across automotive, agriculture, robotics, rail, marine, aviation, and industrial sectors.
Key advantages include compatibility with custom stereo cameras, flexible deployment on x86 or ARM platforms with NVIDIA GPUs, reliable performance in challenging conditions (dust, fog, low-light), and reduced system costs using commodity hardware. The SDK includes C++ and Python libraries with zmq and ROS2 integration.
The NODAR SDK is available with a 14-day free trial at nodarsensor.com/sdk, with production licenses purchasable through NODAR’s online store.
Heidelberg Materials Hauls Using Pronto
Pronto.ai announced that Heidelberg Materials has autonomously transported over two million tons of limestone in under eight months at its Lake Bridgeport quarry in Texas, marking a major milestone in aggregates industry automation. The achievement represents North America’s first fully autonomous production fleet operating mixed-OEM equipment—simultaneously running Caterpillar 775G and Komatsu HD605 trucks on a single autonomous haulage system (AHS).
The deployment showcases Pronto’s AI-first, vision-only approach that uses cameras and artificial intelligence to navigate quarry environments without lidar, radar, or rigid pre-mapping. Key capabilities include dynamic zone management allowing trucks to autonomously adapt to changing loading and dumping points, and a safety system using lightweight “Rover” transponders to coordinate autonomous and manned vehicles.
“True scalability in the aggregates industry requires the ability to automate the iron you already own,” said Anthony Levandowski, Pronto CEO. “We have unlocked the ability for Heidelberg Materials to optimize their fleet strategy independent of their AHS platform.”
The technology addresses operational efficiency, safety, recruiting challenges, and sustainability goals through optimized driving patterns that reduce fuel consumption and extend tire life. Following this validation, Heidelberg Materials is proceeding with a global rollout of Pronto AHS to over 100 trucks across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific operations, as announced in their February 2025 agreement.
Aeva High-Power Optical Amplifier
Aeva (Nasdaq: AEVA) announced development of a high-power semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) delivering industry-leading performance for AI data centers and FMCW LiDAR applications. The technology addresses critical challenges in AI infrastructure, including power efficiency, thermal management, and high-bandwidth data transmission as workloads scale rapidly.
The new SOA supports next-generation AI data center architectures such as Co-Packaged Optics (CPO), External Laser Small Form-Factor Pluggable (ELSFP), and high-bandwidth parallel optical channels. Produced in modern semiconductor fabs, the technology enables high yield, reliability, long-term stability, and cost-effective scaling.
Technical Performance:
- Optical output power exceeding 28 dBm
- Wall-plug efficiency greater than 20% at temperatures up to 50°C
- Enables lower system power dissipation and reduced costs
- Improves reliability in large-scale AI deployments and advanced multi-beam FMCW LiDAR systems
“This new high-power SOA reflects Aeva’s deep expertise in photonics and semiconductor design and has the potential to enable a new class of scalable architectures across both AI data centers and FMCW LiDAR applications,” said Pradeep Srinivasan, VP of Photonics at Aeva.
The development extends Aeva’s vertically integrated photonics platform beyond sensing into AI infrastructure and autonomous systems. Technical results will be presented at the SPIE Photonics West Conference on January 19, 2025.