In a deal underscoring the growing importance of software in vehicles, Aptiv will spend $4.3 billion to acquire the software firm Wind River from a hedge fund, TPG Capital of Fort Worth, TX. "The automotive industry is undergoing its largest transformation in over a century, as connected, software-defined vehicles increasingly become critical elements of the broader intelligent ecosystem," says Kevin Clark, Aptiv president and CEO. "With Aptiv and Wind River's synergistic technologies and decades of experience delivering safety-critical systems, we will accelerate this journey to a software-defined future of the automotive industry," says Clark (pictured, below left). "In addition, we are committed to further strengthening Wind River's competitive position in the multiple industries it serves." Aptiv will finance the $4.3 billion transaction through a combination of cash and debt. The acquisition is expected to close mid-year 2022 and is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Motional, the autonomy-focused joint venture from Hyundai and Aptiv, has chosen its next robotaxi -- and it's entirely what you'd expect. The company has revealed that its first commercial robotaxi will be based on the Ioniq 5, adding self-driving hardware (cameras, LiDAR and radar) to the brand new EV. It'll also include in-cabin interfaces to give passengers some options during their ride, such as asking for an extra stop. The crossover includes "safety redundancies" to keep critical systems running. Motional can also take remote control if the robotaxi doesn't know how to handle a given situation -- likely necessary when this is a Level 4 self-driving car that can't quite operate autonomously under all conditions.

Signs of very early-stage commercialization are emerging from the corporate science projects that want to remove human drivers from vehicles. Alphabet's Waymo seems furthest ahead with its "robotaxi" project in the suburbs of Phoenix Customers used to have to sign a nondisclosure agreement to hail a ride with no backup driver, but Waymo opened the service up in October. Motional, a $4 billion joint venture between South Korean car giant Hyundai and automotive supplier Aptiv, said last month that it will take safety drivers out of its taxis that operate on the Lyft LYFT 3.77% platform around Las Vegas "in the coming months." Cruise Automation, the driverless-car business controlled by General Motors, GM 1.92% has said it would remove backup drivers from its cars by the year-end. Cruise runs vehicles around busy San Francisco, but without passengers or cargo.

Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv, plans to start testing fully driverless cars in Nevada. The state is allowing the company to trial autonomous vehicles without having a safety driver behind the wheel. "The coming months will see the completion of a rigorous, self-imposed testing and assessment period, where we have studied the performance and safety of our vehicles across many thousands of miles and scenarios, on both public and private roads, in close partnership with one of the world's most respected safety assessors," Motional president and CEO Karl Iagnemma wrote in a blog post. "This process will include fully-driverless testing, on closed courses, this year." If all goes well with the closed-course tests, Motional plans to put driverless cars on public roads in Nevada in the coming months.

Our real-world mobility solutions are driving us toward a safer, greener and better connected future. Aptiv is providing the "brain" and "nervous system" for vehicles that will change the face of mobility for people worldwide. Aptiv's Autonomous Mobility team is focused on developing, and commercializing autonomous vehicles and systems that enable point-to-point mobility via large fleets of autonomous vehicles in challenging urban driving environments. With talented teams working across the globe, from Boston to Singapore, Aptiv was the first company to deploy a commercial, point-to-point autonomous ride-hailing service based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In November 2017, Aptiv acquired autonomous vehicle software startup nuTonomy, an integral part of Aptiv's Autonomous Mobility team.

A year ago, Lyft submitted a report to the California Department of Motor Vehicles that summed up its 2018 autonomous vehicle testing activity in a single, short paragraph. "Lyft Inc. did not operate any vehicles in autonomous mode on California public roads during the reporting period," the letter read. "As such, Lyft Inc. has no autonomous mode disengagements to report." The 2019 data tells a different story. Lyft had 19 autonomous vehicles testing on public roads in California in 2019, according to data released earlier this week by the CA DMV.

At Aptiv, we believe that our mobility solutions have the power to change the world. Our Autonomous Mobility team is focused on developing and commercializing self-driving cars and systems that enable point-to-point mobility in challenging urban driving environments. With talented teams working across the globe in Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, and Singapore, Aptiv is the first company to deploy commercial robotaxis to the public. Today, Aptiv has provided over 80,000 autonomous rides to members of the public passengers in Las Vegas -- the world's largest public deployment of self-driving vehicles. In September 2019, Aptiv announced a 50/50 joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group, bringing together HMG and Aptiv's advanced engineering and R&D capabilities, our global footprint, and shared commitment to advancing autonomous driving technology.

Our Autonomous Mobility team is focused on developing and commercializing self-driving cars and systems that enable point-to-point mobility in challenging urban driving environments. With talented teams working across the globe in Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, and Singapore, Aptiv is the first company to deploy commercial robotaxis to the public. Today, Aptiv has provided over 80,000 autonomous rides to members of the public passengers in Las Vegas -- the world's largest public deployment of self-driving vehicles. In September 2019, Aptiv announced a 50/50 joint venture with Hyundai Motor Group, bringing together HMG and Aptiv's advanced engineering and R&D capabilities, our global footprint, and shared commitment to advancing autonomous driving technology. Come work with leading engineers, research scientists, marketers and business development experts, all while enabling the future of mobility!

PITTSBURGH/DETROIT (Reuters) - Sky's the limit optimism about self-driving cars is giving way to tougher questions about how expensive automotive artificial intelligence will ever make a profit. Those are questions the founders of Argo AI - and automaker partners Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) - are betting they can answer by taking a different road than more highly valued rivals. The self-driving systems developer led by Bryan Salesky, who got his start developing automated vehicles for a Defense Department sponsored competition 12 years ago, is at the center of a multibillion-dollar bet by its auto giant partners that autonomous vehicle technology must be good for more than replacing taxi drivers. "I hate the word robotaxi," Salesky said in a rare interview at Argo's Pittsburgh headquarters. "There are so many applications and businesses to be built, and (try to) understand which ones are more profitable than others."

PITTSBURGH/DETROIT (Reuters) - Sky's the limit optimism about self-driving cars is giving way to tougher questions about how expensive automotive artificial intelligence will ever make a profit. Those are questions the founders of Argo AI - and automaker partners Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) - are betting they can answer by taking a different road than more highly valued rivals. They are steering away from building a robotaxi fleet and focusing instead on getting paid by the mile by customers that will use robot vehicles for multiple purposes, including delivering goods or transporting groups of people in vans. The self-driving systems developer led by Bryan Salesky, who got his start developing automated vehicles for a Defense Department sponsored competition 12 years ago, is at the center of a multibillion-dollar bet by its auto giant partners that autonomous vehicle technology must be good for more than replacing taxi drivers. "I hate the word robotaxi," Salesky said in a rare interview at Argo's Pittsburgh headquarters.