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It’s been a minute, guys! As you may recall, the newsletter took a short holiday break. We’re back and well into 2026. And a lot has happened since the last edition.
I spent the first week of the year at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And while I wrote about this last January, it bears repeating: American automakers have left the building.
What has filled the void at the Las Vegas Convention Center? Autonomous vehicle technology companies (Zoox, Tensor Auto, Tier IVand Waymorenamed Zeekr RT, to name a few), Chinese automakers like it Geely and GWMsoftware and car chip companies and lots of them Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang he calls “natural artificial intelligence”.
The term, sometimes called “embedded artificial intelligence,” describes the use of artificial intelligence outside of the digital world and into the real, physics-based world. Artificial intelligence models, combined with sensors, cameras and motorized controls, allow this physical thing – humanoid robot, drone, autonomous forklift, robotaxi – to detect and understand what is in this real environment and make decisions to operate within it. And it was everywhere, from agriculture and robotics to autonomous vehicles and drones, manufacturing and wearables.
Hyundai it had one of the busiest and longest exhibits with an almost constant line wrapped around the entrance. The Korean automaker didn’t show cars. No, they were robots of various forms, including the humanoid robot Atlas, courtesy of his subsidiary Boston Dynamics. There were also innovations that emerged Hyundai Motor Group Robotics LABincluding a robot that charges electric autonomous vehicles and a four-wheeled electric platform called the Mobile Eccentric Droid (MobEd) that goes into production this year. It seems everyone was embracing and showcasing robotics, especially humanoids.
The hype surrounding humanoids, specifically, and natural AI, in general, has been palpable. I asked Mobileye co-founder and president Amnon Shashua On this because his company just bought his humanoid robotics startup for $900 million: “What do you say when people tell you humanoid robots are all hype?”
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“The Internet was also a hype, remember 2000, the Internet crisis,” Shashua said. “That’s not what it meant [the] the internet is not a real thing. Hype means that companies are overvalued for a certain period of time and then collapse. It does not mean that the domain is not real. I believe the humanoid area is real.’
Some notable stories from CES:
Nvidia Launches Alpamayo, Open AI Models That Let Autonomous Vehicles ‘Think Like Humans’
This is Uber’s new robotaxi from Lucid and Nuro
Mobileye acquires humanoid robot startup Mentee Robotics for $900 million
Now to the other non-CES and latest news…
A little bird
President Trump made comments this week at a Detroit Economic Club meeting about welcoming Chinese automakers to the United States that didn’t sit well with many in the auto industry, according to insiders I spoke with. Specifically, I’ve been told that Alliance for Automotive Innovation (the industry lobby group) is “trembling,” one DC insider told me.
“If they want to come and build a factory and hire you and hire your friends and neighbors, that’s great, I love that,” Trump said. according to reporters attending. “Let China in, let Japan in.”
A few notes. Japanese companies like Toyota are already very much in the United States. The biggest obstacle, beyond protests from US automakers’ boards, is existing law. In 2025, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued a rule that restricts importation and sale certain connected vehicles and related hardware and software connected to China or Russia. This effectively bans the sale of Chinese vehicles in the country.
Avery Ashwho is its CEO SAFEa nonpartisan organization focused on securing U.S. energy, critical materials and supply chains weighed the risks of allowing Chinese automakers to sell their vehicles in the United States. Side note: Ash was on my podcast, the Autonocastwhich touches on some of this subject.
“Welcoming Chinese automakers to build cars here in the U.S. will overturn these hard-won achievements and put Americans at risk.” he said. “We’ve seen this strategy fail in Europe and elsewhere — it would have potentially devastating effects on our auto industry, ripple effects across our entire defense industrial base, and make every American less safe.”
Meanwhile, Canada is opening the door to Chinese automakers. Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney announced that his country will reduce the 100% import tax on Chinese electric vehicles to just 6.1%, reports Sean O’Kane.
“Have a tip to share in the Little Bird section? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07 or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Offers!
Budget body Employee agreed to buy the rival Sun Country Airlines for approx $1.5 billion in cash and stock.
Containerswhich sells software services to OEMs and auto retailers, was acquired by a group of investors led by Wavecrest Growth Partners and Radian Capital. Automotive Ventures and automotive executives David Metter and Devin Daly also participated. Terms were not disclosed.
Provider of long-distance buses and trains Flix acquired the majority stake of the European airport transfer platform Flibco. Luxembourg company SLG will retain part of the ownership of Flibco. Terms were not disclosed.
JetZerothe Long Beach, California startup developing a mid-sized triangular aircraft designed to save fuel has raised $175 million in a Series B round led by B Capital, Bloomberg reported.
Joby Aviationa company developing electric air taxis, they reached an agreement to purchase a 700,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio, to support its plans to double production to four aircraft per month by 2027.
Illuminated has reached an agreement to sell its lidar business to a company called Quantum Computing Inc. for just $22 million. If that seems low, you’re right. Luminar’s valuation peaked in 2021 at $11 billion.
Notable reads and other items
Bluspark Globala New York-based shipping and supply chain software company, did not realize that its platform was vulnerable and open to anyone on the Internet. Here’s how a security researcher (and TechCrunch) fixed it.
THE Federal Trade Commission finalize a prohibiting command General Motors and the OnStar telematics service from sharing certain consumer data with consumer reporting agencies. Read the full story on what that means.
InDrivethe company that started as a transportation platform that allows users to set the price is diversifying and starting to execute its “super app” strategy. This means more in-app advertising in its top 20 markets and expanding grocery delivery in Pakistan. Read the full story here.
Kineticthe self-driving car company majority owned by Hyundai, has restarted. When Motional went out of business last year, I wasn’t sure it would survive. Other AV companies with big backers saw their funding disappear immediately, so it was certainly plausible. But the company is here with a new approach based on artificial intelligence. Before you roll your eyes at this term, read my article, which includes a test drive and an interview with CEO Laura Major. Then feel free to hit up my inbox with your thoughts.
New York Governor Kathy Hotchul plans to introduce legislation that would effectively legalize robotaxis in the state with the exception of New York City. No details on this yet; I’m told all will be revealed in her executive budget proposal next week. What we do know is that the proposal is designed to expand the state’s existing AV pilot program to allow “limited deployment of commercial autonomous passenger vehicles for hire outside of New York.” My article digs into what he shared and gives an update on Waymo’s license in New York.
Tesla is dropping the one-time fee option for its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software and will now sell access to the feature via a monthly subscription.
On-demand drone delivery company Wing takes its service to another 150 Walmart stores as part of an expanded partnership with the retailer.
