Autonomous truck manufacturer Waabi has welcomed a significant personnel change, appointing Lior Ron, a seasoned expert in the autonomous driving industry and former CEO of Uber Freight, as Chief Operating Officer. This move aims to prepare for the commercial expansion of the company's planned driverless truck service on public roads later this year.
At the same time, Rebecca Tinucci, who worked for six years in Tesla's charging network development department, will take over as CEO of Uber Freight. Ron will continue to serve as Chairman of Uber Freight.
Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Waabi, told TechCrunch, "Ron will lead the market expansion strategy, expand key partnerships, and truly take Waabi from the stage we have been in to large-scale commercialization. He has demonstrated the ability to scale a startup to a $5 billion revenue company."
Deep Ties, Jointly Advancing Autonomous Driving Commercialization
Urtasun and Ron have a deep collaborative history. Ron previously co-founded the autonomous truck company Otto, which was acquired by Uber in 2016. He worked with Urtasun at Uber, where she served as Chief Scientist and led the ride-hailing company's autonomous research from 2017 to 2021.
Uber Freight is a digital marketplace platform connecting shippers with carriers, and the company is committed to integrating autonomous trucks into its platform through collaborations with startups such as Aurora Innovation and Waabi. Ron stated that his departure will not affect Uber's partnership with Waabi.
During his time at Uber Freight, Ron regularly met with chief supply chain officers and major carriers, and he said these customers were "eager" to get autonomous trucks. He added, "If the most impactful thing in the next decade is autonomous driving, and if the timing is right, then for me, what really matters is partnering with the company I believe has the capability to lead this transformation."
"AI-First" Strategy Creates Competitive Advantage
Urtasun claims that Waabi's "AI-first" approach to autonomous driving allows it to accomplish more work with fewer resources and in less time than its competitors. Considering this is a capital-intensive industry, where several promising startups such as TuSimple and Embark have failed, efficiency could be a major advantage.
Since its establishment in 2021, Waabi has raised a total of $287.7 million, mostly from its $200 million Series B round in 2024. Urtasun claims the company does not need to raise funds again to enter the next growth phase.
The company's main competitor is Aurora, which launched its first commercial autonomous truck route in the United States this year and has raised nearly $3.46 billion through venture capital and an initial public offering.
Virtual Simulation Technology Accelerates Commercial Trials
Waabi can quickly launch commercial pilot projects because it conducts most of its training, testing, and validation in Waabi World. This is a closed-loop simulator that can both virtually test autonomous driving software and provide real-time instruction. Recently, Waabi introduced its simulator to test tracks, overlaying virtual environments onto real driving conditions, simulating scenarios such as accidents and construction zones without actual risk.
Urtasun said, "At the beginning of the year, we reached a fully functional state, which basically means we have all the necessary conditions to remove the driver. We are now focused on final performance improvements and verification. We plan to launch our driverless service by the end of the year, marking the start of commercialization."
The startup plans to launch its service in Texas, which has become the hub of autonomous freight in the United States, but has not yet revealed which routes it will operate or with which startup partners. The company is collaborating with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to develop and deploy customized autonomous vehicles.
Ron said, "Waabi will lead technological development and expand autonomous driving at a speed beyond expectations." He added that he is excited about the prospect of integrating the technology into customer operations. Part of this includes enabling Waabi's trucks to directly drive into customer warehouses, eliminating the need to build terminals for hybrid setups.