Some of the highlights we've already pointed out include public offerings, new office openings, changes in city politics and more -- and it seems like our readers agree. Taking a look at our best-read stories out of Pittsburgh in 2021, we see a range from in-depth features to news summaries to short pieces about major company announcements. Dominating the list is one of the city's favorite tech sectors -- autonomous vehicles -- followed by interests in the growth of life sciences as well as equitable initiatives around the tech industry. Note: To formulate our best-read roundups each year, we remove our curated RealLISTs, as they're often our most read stories but don't tell us a ton about trends. But it is notable that readers love to know who won in our inaugural Techncial.ly

Aurora, the startup that was founded by the former head of Google's self-driving car project, has officially begun trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol "AUR." It's a significant milestone for the AV industry, which has struggled with overinflated expectations, missed deadlines, shuttered businesses, and a host of technological challenges. Last summer, Aurora announced that it would go public through a reverse merger with a special acquisition company, or SPAC, called Reinvent Technology Partners Y. Upon closing this deal, Aurora said it has $1.8 billion in "gross proceeds and cash in hand," which will help its quest to become a provider of self-driving hardware and software to companies in the trucking and ride-hailing industries. "This is a thrilling moment," said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora, at an event celebrating the company's public listing. We're working to launch an incredible product in trucking.

Embark Trucks Inc. is merging with a special-purpose acquisition company to go public in a deal that values the self-driving truck startup at about $5.2 billion, the companies said. Founded in 2016, Embark says it is the oldest U.S. self-driving truck software firm and aims to partner with shippers to bring down carrier costs and make roads safer. The company has partnerships with a number of transportation companies and brands, including beer seller Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, technology firm HP Inc. and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., the largest truckload carrier in North America. Embark currently has a small developmental fleet running some routes out of Southern California. The company hopes to fully commercialize its technology and to license it so that carriers can operate a large number of their trucks using Embark's software without needing any human drivers in the years ahead.

Bright Machines is nearing a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company to go public in a deal that would value the manufacturing-automation business at about $1.6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The creator of a platform that uses artificial intelligence and robotics to automate tasks in electronics manufacturing, Bright Machines is close to a deal with SCVX Corp., the people said. The merger could be announced as soon as this week. Founded in 2018, Bright Machines says that its "microfactories" can be programmed to complete electronics-manufacturing tasks and continue improving as they repeat them. They make supply chains more efficient, removing the need for as many human workers and saving resources in many technology-dependent industries, the company says.

Berkshire Grey shareholders Khosla Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Canaan Partners and SoftBank Group Corp. will roll 100% of their equity into the combined company, the companies said Wednesday. Berkshire Grey, founded in 2013, develops systems that use artificial intelligence, mobile robots and scanning, gripping and sensing technology to pick orders and speed goods through distribution centers. The business had $35 million in revenue last year and expects to generate $59 million in revenue in 2021 and become profitable in 2024. Top news and in-depth analysis on the world of logistics, from supply chain to transport and technology. Its customers include Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and FedEx Corp.