Pour one for a cruise and why the vehicle’s autonomous tests dropped 50%

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We knew that this day was coming: Cruise is dead – at least as a robotxy company. General Motors completed its acquisition of GM Cruise Holdings LLC; The cruise is already a subsidiary of GM’s fully possession.

The result is a 50% staff reduction – These are about 1000 people. The next step is to integrate other GM staff, where they will work to improve the modern system to assist the driver of the car manufacturer.

Among my many questions about whether GM will successfully retain the rest of the talent, most of which have told me that they are engineers. And will this fresh talent become an improved advanced driver support system marked as a super cruise and possibly personal autonomous vehicles?

I am not convinced that the acquisition of talent-which were inspired and loyal to the current co-founder and CEO of CRUZ-is a good match. But hey, I’ve been wrong before.

Over the years I have talked to many cruise engineers, and every time I leave, thinking, “Well, there is a real believer.” I have not met every cruise employee, but those who have broadcast faith in the mission of autonomous vehicles and seemed excited that they were working for long hours to achieve it.

For all current and former cruisers there, stretch your hand. I would be glad to talk about the first days with you. Send me an email to kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.comS

Ladder

A few more small birds came to us Cruise In recent days. Much of the communication was focused on the upcoming abbreviations, which I addressed above. But I thought it was an interesting nourishment from sources who shared how they thought – at least for a while – Cruz could restart his Robotaxi operations.

One of the indicators was the luck of sources who told us that Cruz was ready to implement a modernized sensor solution, internally called Project Rhino, who would decide for the incident on October 2, creating additional visibility and awareness under the car. The incident referred to an event in 2023, when a pedestrian, which was originally struck by a man driven by man, crashed and then dragged by one of the company’s robotaxis.

You have advice for us? Send an email to KIRSEN KOROSEC to kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.comSean O’Kain at Sean.okane@techcrunch.comor Rebecca Belen on rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.comS Or check These instructions To learn how to contact us through encrypted messages or Secondrop applications.

Deals!

Just a bunch of offers this week!

Intuition Acquired Episys Science Inc.A company that has developed autonomy software for national security, including Uncrewed Aerial Systems, Surface Warfare, Marine Tracking and Command and Control of Battle Management. The conditions were not disclosed. The attached intuition is probably the most famous as Autonomous vehicle software company; Recently, it has become more deeply in defense.

GenlogLaunch, developed software to intelligence, raised $ 14.6 million In a series of funding round, led by Venrock and HOF Capital. Steel Atlas, Autotech Ventures, Venture 53, Titletowntech, Plug and Play Ventures and Heartland Ventures also participated in the circle.

PremiseStartup who says he builds a strip of EV loading, raised $ 15 million In a circle of seeds led by Union Square Ventures, the company said exclusively to TechCrunch. The circle also included investments from congruent endeavors, Jetstream and Powerhouse Ventures.

Remarkable readings and other treats

Adas

We covered Tesla profit in the edition of last week but wanted Flag this article by Sean OkainWhich reminds us of all the promises that Elon Musk has made around his full self -government software and recent admission that some of his vehicles will actually need to upgrade hardware.

Autonomous vehicles

Thehe California Department for Motor Vehicles released data showing a A 50% drop in the vehicle’s autonomous test milesS Yes, the end of the cruise is partially responsible. But there are other factors in the game. Here’s what else is happening.

Guar its partner with Volvo autonomous solutions to jointly develop and Unleash autonomous trucksS Reminder: Volvo also has a deal with Aurora.

Waymo is now Display Uber app in Austin. So far, this is not turning into Waymo that gathers people. But soon I will.

Electric vehicles, charging and batteries

Thehe Chicago Auto Show is in progress and while most – as Subaru Forester Hybrid -there was also an EV for light hybrids or vehicles with an internal combustion engine. Stellantis revealed fully the electric 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S Limited Trim It starts at $ 66,995 and has an approximate range of 294 miles.

Ford He reported a profit this week and Welp, his business EV lost about $ 5 billion in 2024. But this was not the only thing that caught my eye. Instead The CEO of the CEO Jim Farley on the tariffsS

Scout enginesVolkswagen’s rotation that plans to produce all -electric and expanded electric trucks and SUVs was tried by a group of VW and Audi dealers In Florida, because of his plan to sell directly to consumers.

A ride and concert economy

Lyft its partner with AI Startup Anthrop yes Build AI helper This processes the initial reception for customer service requests for both riders and drivers.

Space and future of flight

It’s An interesting feature At the start -up called Circular fuelsWhich will make diamonds on its way to creating electronic (power planes.

This week’s wheels

This week we will hear from TechCrunch reporter Rebecca Bellen and her time to drive 2024 to be noriS (Please note that the photo above is from the 2025 model.)

I hired 2024 Kia ​​Niro over the weekend to drive a few hours north of New York.

This is sweet, Zippy SUV, but I have been fighting in two areas needed to travel: battery life in winter and location of the volume button/button.

It only took about an hour and a half of driving, or about 70 miles to allow the battery to pass from a completely charged to half empty.

This kicked my anxiety into the gear, as I was not sure where in the blackberry sticks I would be able to find a charger. In the end, I found a lone EVgo charger in Planet Fitness Parking. “Marsha” was advertised to charge at 50 kW, but in the end, dropping my battery at a shocking pace of 17 kW. Let’s just say, I sat in this parking lot for a while.

The volume or knob button was also absent. This is my biggest pet with software defined vehicles: the sensor-shaped craze instead of tactile buttons that you can manipulate while driving so you don’t have to take your eyes off the way. Neither I nor any of my passengers did not understand how to adjust the volume without using the wheel button.

Finally, I just lost “kia niro olume” and sure enough I found a Reddit Post That I could write myself. Obviously one has to touch the “button” over the orange fan to change from the climate control mode and then one can use the left temperature button to change the volume. Incredibly.

What is the “wheels for this week”? This is a chance to learn about the various transport products we are testing, whether it is an electric or hybrid car, an electronic bicycle or even driving in an autonomous vehicle.