Uber launches an ‘AV Labs’ division to gather driving data for robotaxi partners; plus, Luminar receives a larger $33 million bid for its lidar business

1/27/2026

TechCrunch Industry News

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6:55

Uber is not developing its own robotaxis again; instead it plans to collect and offer data. It's a bet that more volume will help autonomous vehicle partners solve the weirdest edge cases. Also, a new leading bidder has appeared in the Luminar bankruptcy case: Redmond, Washington-based MicroVision, which beat out Quantum Computing Inc.'s bid by $5 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Uber launches an ‘AV Labs’ division to gather driving data for robotaxi partners; plus, Luminar receives a larger $33 million bid for its lidar business

TechCrunch Industry News

More episodes from "TechCrunch Industry News"

The iPhone just had its best quarter ever; plus, Amazon is reportedly in talks to invest $50B in OpenAI

Tesla’s energy storage business is growing faster than any other part of the company; plus, Apple bought Israeli startup Q.AI

OpenAI’s Sora app is struggling after its stellar launch; plus, Music Publishers sue Anthropic for $3B

Luminar sale approved despite last-minute mystery bid

SFPD investigating Zoox collision with a parked car; plus, Allbirds is closing its last brick-and-mortar store in SF

Amid Trump weaponized sanctions, Europeans look to rely less on US tech; plus R.I.P. Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh

Uber launches an ‘AV Labs’ division to gather driving data for robotaxi partners; plus, Luminar receives a larger $33 million bid for its lidar business

Science fiction writers, Comic-Con say goodbye to AI; plus, ChatGPT is pulling answers from Elon Musk’s Grokipedia

What to know about Netflix’s landmark acquisition of Warner Bros.

TikTok users freak out over app’s ‘immigration status’ collection — here’s what it means