Otto, founded by ex-Googlers, is bringing self-driving technology to trucks

Self-driving cars are very much a part of the future of tech, with Google, Uber, Apple and plenty of other top names working to develop autonomous vehicles. That's where Otto, a startup that has come out of stealth, is aiming to shape the future. Founded by former Googlers Anthony Levandowski, Lior Ron, Don Burnette, and Claire Delaunay, Otto wants to "rethink" the commercial trucking industry. In a Medium post, Levandowski, who lead Google's self-driving car efforts, and Ron, formerly with Google Maps and Motorola, explained that not only do trucks account for an oversized slice of pollution in the U.S. -- 28 percent of road pollution despite making up just one percent of all traffic, they claim -- but they cause a large number of fatalities, are inefficient and, to top it off, there's an increasing shortage of drivers. That creates the perfect storm for a tech-based solution, Otto's founders believe.