Two Weeks Until the Curb Convenes
Full program revealed, Waymo's record rides, ALSO raises $200M
We’re just two weeks away from Curbivore 2026 — uniting the worlds of autonomy, delivery and mobility on April 16th and 17th. We kick things off with our exclusive Opening Reception (registrants: keep your eyes peeled for RSVP info) followed by a full day of programming — panels, firesides, demos, workshops, booths, networking and amazing food + drink) and a rocking after party.
Our full agenda is now live, we’ve just announced our latest amazing speakers from Sweetgreen, Lyft, RidePro, Business Insider and Wolfe Research, and we’ve got more partners joining the fun (read to the bottom for all the details.)
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Waymo takes off: Waymo’s AV services continues to grow in leaps and bounds, with the service now providing 500,000 paid rides per week, across 10 markets. Per TechCrunch’s crunching the data, it looks like growth has hit the “hockey stick” phase.
ALSO raises even more money, also: Just eight months after it’s last $200M raise, Rivian spin-out ALSO has raised a fresh $200 million. DoorDash is joining existing investors in this round, while DD Co-Founder Stanley Tang snags a board seat. Do note his quote, “We’re excited to invest and partner with them as we look to scale autonomous delivery.” Prior, ALSO had just been talking about delivery bikes and e-quads, not autonomy; it’s also interesting to see DoorDash continue to spread its bets around, given that it’s internally developing its Dot bot (which we’ll get to see and discuss at Curbivore!)
Seattle’s overdue rail progress: Seattle just inaugurated a giant expansion of its East Link light rail line, adding seven miles of service to a now 60 mile system, linking the city’s core with the eastern ‘burbs that host Microsoft and plenty of other tech jobs. The new rail is technically the world’s first to traverse a floating bridge (across Lake Washington;) the route used to host interstate carpool lanes.
Who’s driving that driverless vehicle? California legislators are pushing ahead with rules for remote operators of autonomous vehicles, including a requirement that they be located in the U.S. and have a California driver’s license. Slightly less sensible is a requirement that each operator can mind no more than three vehicles. Certainly we don’t want them watching thousands of vehicles each, but baking in a hard number this early seems premature. Expect to hear more about this from Pat Tsen, CPUC Deputy Executive Director – Consumer Policy, Transportation and Enforcement, at Curbivore.
What IS a restaurant? Given the rough economy, you’d think that restaurant openings in Los Angeles are falling. That’s true if you think of a restaurant as place you can sit, order from a human, and enjoy your meal. But if you include “limited service” restaurants, think delivery-oriented ghost kitchens, new restos are actually at an all time high. But when one address can technically host dozens of “restaurants,” it’s tough to say what the real number is any more…
All aboard for a nice exit: Congratulations to Vesputi, a public transit ticketing startup, that just sold their company to publicly-listed Tracsis, for up to €8.2M ($9.5M.) Our fund invested in them almost five years ago, and it’s great to see the hard-working team get a nice exit.
A few good links: New research suggests ridehailing accounts for 0.4% of all U.S. person trips, AVs could up that by orders of magnitude. Australian states suspend public transit fares in effort to win over drivers stung by high gas prices. Uber buys Blacklane in continued push into high-end travel. Feds declare war on D.C.’s streets. Take a look at some disheartening charts at how badly OBBBA is hurting America’s fiscal capacity, solely in the name of cutting taxes for the 0.1%. Bay Area commuter rail service SMART ups service to almost every 30 minutes (ugh, just get on a dang clock face,) partially funded by cutting nearby bus service. NYC goes on a pothole filling blitz.
Don’t forget to score your Curbivore tickets!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew
MEET THE LATEST PARTNERS JOINING US 4-16/17
Ride Pro Team is a membership-based platform redefining what it means to be a professional rideshare driver. We give drivers the tools, technology, and community to transition from on-demand workers to independent business owners.
AUTEC is a leading manufacturer of commercial sushi robots that equip food service businesses and academic institutions globally.
Common Good is a versatile public affairs strategy group providing comprehensive consulting services for both the public and private sector.
And we warmly welcome our latest media partners: CoMotion, LA Auto Show and the Florida Automated Vehicles Summit.
