2022年12月7日

自动驾驶卡车运输是一个艰难的行业，已经见证了许多知名初创公司的跌跌撞撞和倒闭。最新的例子之一是登拓科技(Embark Technology)，自去年上市以来，该公司的估值大幅下跌。然而，它并不孤单，自动驾驶汽车的衰落并不局限于自动驾驶卡车运输领域。自动驾驶汽车进展缓慢。受自动驾驶汽车进展缓慢影响的不仅仅是卡车运输业。超过1000亿美元投入了自动驾驶汽车，但这些尝试大多都不成功。它在建筑上有一些用途，但即使是在适当的条件下。机器人汽车已经在基本的障碍上挣扎，任何意想不到的情况，如天气、动物和“无保护的左转”都被证明是困难的。有数据表明，即使在更安全的条件下，目前的自动驾驶汽车发生事故的频率也高于人类。这是人类驾驶技术和自动驾驶汽车技术水平之间的鸿沟。 A few startups have done okay, but only a few prominent funding recipients are still afloat. The current autonomous trucking survivors include Kodiak Robotics and Aurora. Kodiak received $165 million in total funding and is still attempting to make headway. On the other hand, Aurora went public by merger with a SPAC, Reinvent Technology, holding an initial market capitalization of around $13 billion. Kodiak Robotics took on debt financing to the tune of $30 million for its latest round. Aurora’s shares have dropped significantly since its peak around a year ago. Some have faltered, including TuSimple, which has seen a significant drop in valuation after various incidents, such as trouble that led to a lawsuit and its legal chief resigning. The company also fired its CEO during an investigation into improper ties to a Chinese startup. Moreover, a major autonomous trucking deal between TuSimple and Navistar just ended. The startup hit a low of around $500 million in market cap from a previous $8.5 billion valuation. Others have failed. Otto, Starsky Robotics, and Peloton Technology have all suffered defeats in autonomous trucking. The companies all shut down over the years, joining a long list of self-driving investments devouring funding with little to no results. Otto sold to Uber in 2016 for $680 million, but the company cut its autonomous trucking division a few years later to focus on cars. Starsky Robotics went under after failing to raise Series B funding. It raised around $20 million while in business. Peloton Technology raised more than $78 million in funding during its run, but it went out of business last year. Safety concerns are a major issue holding companies back. There are plenty of safety issues surrounding self-driving vehicles, which include concerns about autonomous trucking. Even now, trucks that are on the road require “safety drivers” behind the wheel . Combine that with the inability to properly drive in many conditions and there is clear room for improvement before the tech goes anywhere, much less takes over. There is still funding to go around, just not as much. Even now, investors are shelling out funding to autonomous trucking companies, including Warren Buffet . But many have accepted reality, acknowledging that the technology is unlikely to take hold anytime soon. Reality has come knocking, and many companies are not ready for it. Tags