Autonomous vehicle platform startup Nuro is moving beyond just building autonomous shuttles and into robotaxis and personal autonomous vehicles.
Nuro is a platform company that does not build its own vehicles but will license its autonomous driving technology to outside companies — whether it be for use in robotaxis or advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in future vehicles.
The company is using Nvidia’s Drive Thor combined with Arm Neoverse technology, which Nuro signed an agreement for earlier this year. This will allow Nuro to develop AI-powered self-driving software for up to Level 4 autonomy for person autonomous vehicles and mobility platforms. Nuro is also developing its Nuro AI platform that will consist of scalable and performance tools to support Nuro Driver.
Nuro, which has been partnering with companies like Chipotle and 7-Eleven for delivery of goods, has been working to deliver groceries and household items in both California and Texas for years. The development of robotaxis will allow it to move humans now.
"It's not a question of if, but when L4 autonomy will become widespread. We believe Nuro is positioned to be a major contributor to this autonomous future where people and goods mobility are free flowing, representing a significant increase in the quality of life for everyone," said Jiajun Zhu, co-founder and CEO at Nuro.
Nuro has previously concentrated its efforts into autonomous shuttles for food delivery. Last year, Nuro’s first generation R1 shuttle was added to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History as part of Earth Day 2023. It has since rolled out its second and third generation food delivery shuttle.
"Advancements in AI throughout the vehicle mean OEMs need an entirely new level of safety-enabled compute performance to deliver the benefits of autonomous technology to drivers," said Dipti Vachani, SVP and GM, automotive line of business at Arm. "Nuro has already made tremendous advancements in autonomous driving leveraging the performance-efficiency and functional safety leadership of Arm technology, and we're proud to continue this partnership by powering the Nuro Driver platform with the server-class performance and safety capabilities of Arm Neoverse V3AE technology."
