Curbivore is just one week away - and we’ve got even more amazing autonomy, mobility and delivery leaders headed to Downtown LA. You won’t want to miss out on this gathering — snag a ticket before our final price jump tomorrow.
You’ve got just one day left to save over $300 on admission — act fast!
This year’s event is our biggest and best yet. We kick things off on Thursday 4/16 with our famous Opening Reception at Bike Shed Moto Co, brought to you by Ridepro Team.
Then Friday the 17th is an entire day of market-moving announcements, interviews, panels, demos, exhibitions, and of course our celebrated and complimentary street food. The core theme for this year’s festivities is understanding how the rise of autonomy is impacting just about every other topic we hold near and dear: cities, mobility, delivery, local businesses, civic technology and the curb. (Harry and I break apart those topics, and give you a taste of the discussions to come, in this week’s podcast.)
This year the networking opportunities go late into the night, with Nexar’s AV Future After Party closing things off!
MEET THE LATEST PARTNERS JOINING US 4-16/17
Coco Robotics is the world’s largest urban robotics platform, combining autonomous robots, real-world operations data, and advanced AI to power smarter, more efficient city logistics. Founded in 2020, Coco has completed over 500,000 zero-emission deliveries across the U.S. and Europe. The fleet continuously learns from millions of miles of real-world operations, giving Coco rapid adaptability to new cities and environments. This data-driven intelligence allows Coco to expand rapidly while maintaining safe, reliable, and efficient operations. Coco’s mission is to create more sustainable, reliable, and affordable last-mile logistics solutions in cities around the world.
LA Sushi Co’s mission is to source the highest quality fish, served and crafted by the most skilled chefs in a casual welcoming environment. Our dedication to traditional methods while embracing technology allows us to serve sushi at a greater pace and also preserve quality and freshness.
The modern workforce is becoming more independent, but Solopreneurs don’t have to navigate their professional lives alone. At Solo we know that the more information you have, the better decisions you’ll be able to make with your time.
Sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. Since 2007, the brand has reimagined what fast food can be: fresh, flavorful, and built on real relationships with growers. Sweetgreen’s supply chain spans the country while remaining rooted in partnerships with local farmers. Today, Sweetgreen serves seasonal, chef-crafted menus across more than 285 locations nationwide, creating spaces where food, people, and purpose come together.
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Eating your own lunch? Evidently Amazon’s quick commerce solution in India is growing so popular that it’s cannibalizing the ecommerce giant’s traditional grocery delivery platform. Amazon Fresh is reportedly winding down its “same day” options in 10-15 major cities to concentrate on 10-20 minute delivery. That’ll be tough on the margins!
Chicken, Wing(s): DoorDash and Wing are expanding their aerial delivery partnership to the land of Chick-fil-A, with a new launch in the Atlanta exurb of Locust Grove. Centered around a mall (of course!), the service promises 20 minute delivery for meals that would otherwise get bogged down by highways and cul-de-sacs. We’ll be touching on autonomous delivery operations at Curbivore when Harry chats with DoorDash Labs’ Harrison Shih!
Delivery, Ace’d: Uber Eats continues to add new non-food partners to its platform, as it begins delivery services for Ace Hardware. As Ace is a co-op, the deal starts with 3,700+ of the brand’s 6k locations, but that’s likely to grow over time. Jonah chats with Beryl Sanders, Uber’s Head of Grocery & Retail Partnerships about the push from restaurants to markets to all of retail, next week at Curbivore.
Physical AI, so hot right now! Palo Alto-based Eclipse just raised $1.3 billion in new capital for backing “physical AI” startups, split between early stage and growth funds. Existing port cos include Mind Robotics, Wayve, Arc, Mystra, Foxglove and Redwood Materials.
Derailed: A new crunching of FTA data shows how ridership has recovered (or not) from the pandemic at various large transit agencies across the states. While other major agencies are at 80-90% of their 2019 ridership, and even SF’s local operator Muni is at about 75%, BART has only seen about half of its riders return. Hence, the state’s loan to Bay Area agencies, hopefully followed by voters approving new permanent funding.
Feds on bikes: Finally, we may get an answer to the age old quandary, “what is an ebike?” The Safe Standards for Personal E-Bike and E-Moto Device Specifications (Safe SPEEDS) Act would empower the CPSC to define and regulate electric micromobility device at a federal level, better cleaning up the division between electric bicycles and electric motorcycles, while possibly adding speed and age-related requirements as well.
Does “Tesla for X” still sell? Voltify, dubbed the Tesla for Rail, just raised $30 million from Aleph and Fortescue to transition diesel train systems to electricity while relying on micro-grids instead of costly system-wide electrification.
Remote driving in circles? Estonian remote driving tech co Elmo is partnering with SF carsharer Upshift, to bring teleoperated rental cars to the Bay Area. Vay is doing something similar in Nevada, but this whole space seems to be struggling to gain traction… not as sexy as AVs, perhaps?
Join our friends at CoMotion Miami: From autonomy and advanced air mobility to intelligent infrastructure and mega-events, CoMotion MIAMI is where the world’s decision-makers come together to chart what’s next at the #1 future mobility event.
Join us on April 28-29 at Miami Dade College for two action-packed days of pitches, keynotes, insightful panels, hands-on workshops, live demos, exhibitions, networking and unmissable after-hours gatherings. Register now with Curbivore-30 and save 30%.
A few good links: Learnings from Portland’s zero-emissions delivery zone. Zenobe keeps funding EV truck charging. China cracks down on drones. U.S. traffic deaths fall. DoorDash local commerce report shows inflation easing (let’s see what happens next quarter, once higher gas prices are baked in.) NYC launches Office of Curb Management. Swobbee opens new NYC location. Deliverect launches AI agents. India grapples with gig worker shortage (try paying them more?) Grubhub co-founder moves into roadside automotive services. Niantic Spatial unveils the Scaniverse. Return of rail service to Atlanta’s Beltline looking less and less likely.
Get your Curbivore tickets!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew
