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{{Short description|American robotics company}}
{{Short description|American robotics company}}{{Advert|date=March 2024}}

{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
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== History ==
== History ==
The company was founded by engineers of Google's self driving car project, [[Waymo]]. Zhu served as the principal software engineer and Ferguson joined in 2011 as the principal [[machine learning]] engineer.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Alex |date=June 28, 2018 |title=Get Yer Bread and Milk From Kroger's Cute New Delivery Robot |work=[[Wired (magazine)|WIRED]] |url=https://www.wired.com/story/nuro-grocery-delivery-robot/ |issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bergen |first=Mark |date=June 11, 2018 |title=Nuro's Driverless Cars Don't Have to Worry About Passenger Safety |newspaper=[[Bloomberg.com]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-11/nuro-s-driverless-cars-don-t-have-to-worry-about-passenger-safety}}</ref> Zhu and Ferguson left Waymo in 2016 and founded Nuro that September.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bhuiyan |first=Johana |date=September 15, 2016 |title=Meet the startup that two of Google's top self-driving engineers left to create |work=[[Recode]] |publisher=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/9/15/12921542/google-self-driving-startup-nuro |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref>
The company was founded by engineers of Google's self-driving car project, [[Waymo]]. Zhu served as the principal software engineer and Ferguson joined in 2011 as the principal [[machine learning]] engineer.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Davies |first=Alex |date=June 28, 2018 |title=Get Yer Bread and Milk From Kroger's Cute New Delivery Robot |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|WIRED]] |url=https://www.wired.com/story/nuro-grocery-delivery-robot/ |issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bergen |first=Mark |date=June 11, 2018 |title=Nuro's Driverless Cars Don't Have to Worry About Passenger Safety |newspaper=[[Bloomberg.com]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-11/nuro-s-driverless-cars-don-t-have-to-worry-about-passenger-safety}}</ref> Zhu and Ferguson left Waymo in 2016 and founded Nuro that September.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bhuiyan |first=Johana |date=September 15, 2016 |title=Meet the startup that two of Google's top self-driving engineers left to create |work=[[Recode]] |publisher=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/9/15/12921542/google-self-driving-startup-nuro |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref>


Nuro brought its robotic delivery vehicles to market in January 2018 with $92 million in funding from [[Greylock Partners]] and [[Gaorong Capital]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 30, 2018 |title=California start-up Nuro unveils autonomous delivery van, raises $92 million |language=en-US |work=[[Reuters]] |agency=Reuters |location=San Francisco |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-selfdriving-nuro/california-start-up-nuro-unveils-autonomous-delivery-van-raises-92-million-idUSKBN1FJ1E7 |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref>
Nuro brought its robotic delivery vehicles to market in January 2018 with $92 million in funding from [[Greylock Partners]] and [[Gaorong Capital]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 30, 2018 |title=California start-up Nuro unveils autonomous delivery van, raises $92 million |language=en-US |work=[[Reuters]] |agency=Reuters |location=San Francisco |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-selfdriving-nuro/california-start-up-nuro-unveils-autonomous-delivery-van-raises-92-million-idUSKBN1FJ1E7 |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref>


In February 2019 Nuro raised $940 million from [[SoftBank Group]], which valued the company at $2.7 billion. Nuro said it would use the funds to expand its delivery service to new areas, add new partners, expand its fleet and grow its business.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Driverless delivery startup Nuro gets $940 million SoftBank investment |language=en-US |website=[[Reuters]] |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuro-funding-softbank/driverless-delivery-startup-nuro-gets-940-million-softbank-investment-idUSKCN1Q01MI |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref> In September 2019, the company was ranked {{Numero|10}} on [[LinkedIn]]'s Top 50 Startups List for 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hempel |first=Jessi |date=September 4, 2019 |title=LinkedIn Top Startups 2019: The 50 hottest U.S. companies to work for now |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-startups-2019-50-hottest-us-companies-work-jessi-hempel |access-date=February 25, 2023 |website=[[LinkedIn]] |language=en}}</ref>
In February 2019 Nuro raised $940 million from [[SoftBank Group]], which valued the company at $2.7 billion. Nuro said it would use the funds to expand its delivery service to new areas, add new partners, expand its fleet, and grow its business.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Driverless delivery startup Nuro gets $940 million SoftBank investment |language=en-US |website=[[Reuters]] |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuro-funding-softbank/driverless-delivery-startup-nuro-gets-940-million-softbank-investment-idUSKCN1Q01MI |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref> In September 2019, the company was ranked {{Numero|10}} on [[LinkedIn]]'s Top 50 Startups List for 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hempel |first=Jessi |date=September 4, 2019 |title=LinkedIn Top Startups 2019: The 50 hottest U.S. companies to work for now |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-startups-2019-50-hottest-us-companies-work-jessi-hempel |access-date=February 25, 2023 |website=[[LinkedIn]] |language=en}}</ref>


In November 2020, Nuro announced that they raised $500 million in their [[Series C|Series C funding round]] led by [[T. Rowe Price]], with a post-money valuation of $5 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=November 9, 2020 |title=Autonomous delivery startup Nuro hits $5 billion valuation on fresh funding of $500 million |work=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/09/autonomous-delivery-startup-nuro-hits-5-billion-valuation-on-fresh-funding-of-500-million/}}</ref>
In November 2020, Nuro announced that they raised $500 million in their [[Series C|Series C funding round]] led by [[T. Rowe Price]], with a post-money valuation of $5 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=November 9, 2020 |title=Autonomous delivery startup Nuro hits $5 billion valuation on fresh funding of $500 million |work=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/09/autonomous-delivery-startup-nuro-hits-5-billion-valuation-on-fresh-funding-of-500-million/}}</ref>


In December 2020, Nuro acquired self-driving trucking startup Ike Robotics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schubarth |first=Cromwell |date=December 23, 2020 |title=Self-driving delivery unicorn Nuro picks up Ike Robotics |work=Silicon Valley Business Journal |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]] |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2020/12/23/nuro-acquires-ike-robotics.html |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref> Over 55 Ike employees (including its three founders) joined Nuro's staff after acquisition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=December 23, 2020 |title=Nuro acquires autonomous trucking startup Ike |work=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/23/nuro-acquires-autonomous-trucking-startup-ike/ |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wiggers |first=Kyle |date=December 23, 2020 |title=Nuro acquires self-driving truck startup Ike |website=[[VentureBeat]] |url=https://venturebeat.com/2020/12/23/nuro-acquires-self-driving-truck-startup-ike/ |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref>
In December 2020, Nuro acquired self-driving trucking startup Ike Robotics.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schubarth |first=Cromwell |date=December 23, 2020 |title=Self-driving delivery unicorn Nuro picks up Ike Robotics |work=Silicon Valley Business Journal |publisher=[[American City Business Journals]] |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2020/12/23/nuro-acquires-ike-robotics.html |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref> Over 55 Ike employees (including its three founders) joined Nuro's staff after the acquisition.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=December 23, 2020 |title=Nuro acquires autonomous trucking startup Ike |work=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/23/nuro-acquires-autonomous-trucking-startup-ike/ |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wiggers |first=Kyle |date=December 23, 2020 |title=Nuro acquires self-driving truck startup Ike |website=[[VentureBeat]] |url=https://venturebeat.com/2020/12/23/nuro-acquires-self-driving-truck-startup-ike/ |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref>


In August 2021, Nuro announced that it would spend $40 million on the construction of a manufacturing facility and test track for its self-driving robot vehicles, located in southern [[Nevada]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hawkins |first=Andrew |date=August 26, 2021 |title=Nuro is building a factory and test track in Nevada for its autonomous delivery robots – The self-driving startup is dramatically expanding its footprint |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/26/22642846/nuro-autonomous-delivery-factory-test-track-nevada |access-date=September 1, 2021 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>
In August 2021, Nuro announced that it would spend $40 million on the construction of a manufacturing facility and test track for its self-driving robot vehicles, located in southern [[Nevada]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hawkins |first=Andrew |date=August 26, 2021 |title=Nuro is building a factory and test track in Nevada for its autonomous delivery robots – The self-driving startup is dramatically expanding its footprint |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/26/22642846/nuro-autonomous-delivery-factory-test-track-nevada |access-date=September 1, 2021 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref>


In November 2022, Nuro announced layoffs of 20 percent of its staff, or approximately 300 employees.<ref name="Verge">{{cite news |author=Hawkins |first=Andrew J. |date=November 18, 2022 |title=Robot delivery startup Nuro is laying off 20 percent of its workers |website=[[The Verge]] |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/18/23466684/nuro-layoff-av-autonomous-delivery-robot-self-driving |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref>
In November 2022, Nuro announced layoffs of 20 percent of its staff, or approximately 300 employees.<ref name="Verge">{{cite news |author=Hawkins |first=Andrew J. |date=November 18, 2022 |title=Robot delivery startup Nuro is laying off 20 percent of its workers |website=[[The Verge]] |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/18/23466684/nuro-layoff-av-autonomous-delivery-robot-self-driving |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref>

In May 2023, Nuro announced that it would layoff 30 percent of its staff, or approximately 340 employees.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-12 |title=Nuro lays off 30 percent of staff, shifts focus to R&D |url=https://www.engadget.com/nuro-lays-off-30-percent-of-staff-shifts-focus-to-rd-204646216.html |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=Engadget |language=en-US}}</ref>


==Partnerships==
==Partnerships==
In June 2018, Nuro announced its first partnership with [[Kroger]] to test the fully autonomous delivery of groceries.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dickey |first=Megan Rose |date=June 28, 2018 |title=Self-driving car startup Nuro teams up with Kroger for same-day grocery delivery |language=en-US |work=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/28/self-driving-car-startup-nuro-teams-up-with-kroger-for-same-day-grocery-delivery/ |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref> On June 17, 2019, Nuro announced its partnership with [[Domino's Pizza]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Alex |date=June 17, 2019 |title=Nuro’s Pizza Robot Will Bring You a Domino’s Pie |work=[[Wired (magazine)|WIRED]] |url=https://www.wired.com/story/nuro-dominos-pizza-delivery-self-driving-robot-houston/ |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Nuro and Domino's announced that the service would launch in [[Houston]] later in 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Mike |date=June 17, 2019 |title=Dominos is about to start delivering pizzas with autonomous robots |language=en |website=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] |url=https://qz.com/1644476/nuro-will-deliver-dominos-pizza-with-its-robots-in-houston/ |access-date=June 21, 2019 |quote=''Nuro will deliver Domino's pizza with its robots in Houston''}}</ref> The company began prescription delivery through [[CVS Pharmacy]] in May 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=May 28, 2020 |title=Nuro's self-driving vehicles to deliver prescriptions for CVS Pharmacy |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/28/nuros-self-driving-vehicles-to-delivery-prescriptions-for-cvs-pharmacy/ |access-date=February 26, 2023 |website=[[TechCrunch]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In December 2021, Nuro announced a partnership to commercially deliver [[7-Eleven]] goods.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=December 1, 2021 |title=Nuro and 7-Eleven to pilot autonomous delivery service in California |language=en |website=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/01/nuro-7-eleven-autonomous-delivery-service-california/ |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref>
In June 2018, Nuro announced its first partnership with [[Kroger]] to test the fully autonomous delivery of groceries.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dickey |first=Megan Rose |date=June 28, 2018 |title=Self-driving car startup Nuro teams up with Kroger for same-day grocery delivery |language=en-US |work=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/28/self-driving-car-startup-nuro-teams-up-with-kroger-for-same-day-grocery-delivery/ |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref> On June 17, 2019, Nuro announced its partnership with [[Domino's Pizza]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Davies |first=Alex |date=June 17, 2019 |title=Nuro's Pizza Robot Will Bring You a Domino's Pie |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|WIRED]] |url=https://www.wired.com/story/nuro-dominos-pizza-delivery-self-driving-robot-houston/ |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Nuro and Domino's announced that the service would launch in [[Houston]] later in 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Mike |date=June 17, 2019 |title=Dominos is about to start delivering pizzas with autonomous robots |language=en |website=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] |url=https://qz.com/1644476/nuro-will-deliver-dominos-pizza-with-its-robots-in-houston/ |access-date=June 21, 2019 |quote=''Nuro will deliver Domino's pizza with its robots in Houston''}}</ref> The company began prescription delivery through [[CVS Pharmacy]] in May 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=May 28, 2020 |title=Nuro's self-driving vehicles to deliver prescriptions for CVS Pharmacy |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/28/nuros-self-driving-vehicles-to-delivery-prescriptions-for-cvs-pharmacy/ |access-date=February 26, 2023 |website=[[TechCrunch]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In December 2021, Nuro announced a partnership to commercially deliver [[7-Eleven]] goods.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=December 1, 2021 |title=Nuro and 7-Eleven to pilot autonomous delivery service in California |language=en |website=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/01/nuro-7-eleven-autonomous-delivery-service-california/ |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref>


In September 2022, [[Uber]] and Nuro Announced 10-year partnership for autonomous food deliveries starting in California and Texas.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 8, 2022 |title=Uber and Nuro Announce 10-Year Partnership for Autonomous Food Deliveries Starting in California and Texas |website=[[PR Newswire]] |agency=PRNewswire |location=San Francisco |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uber-and-nuro-announce-10-year-partnership-for-autonomous-food-deliveries-starting-in-california-and-texas-301618947.html |access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref>
In September 2022, [[Uber]] and Nuro announced a 10-year partnership for autonomous food deliveries starting in California and Texas.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 8, 2022 |title=Uber and Nuro Announce 10-Year Partnership for Autonomous Food Deliveries Starting in California and Texas |website=[[PR Newswire]] |agency=PRNewswire |location=San Francisco |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uber-and-nuro-announce-10-year-partnership-for-autonomous-food-deliveries-starting-in-california-and-texas-301618947.html |access-date=September 9, 2022}}</ref>


== Product ==
== Product ==
Nuro officially launched in January 2018 and revealed its first product, an electric self-driving local commerce delivery vehicle. Known as the R1, it weighs {{convert|1500|lbs}} and is just over {{convert|6|feet}} tall, about half the width of a [[sedan (automobile)|sedan]]. This vehicle is designed to carry only cargo, with space for 12 grocery bags in the first model.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Alex |title=Nuro's Self-Driving R-1 Doesn't Drive You. It Drives Stuff. |language=en-US |work=[[Wired (magazine)|WIRED]] |url=https://www.wired.com/story/nura-ai-startup-self-driving/ |access-date=February 26, 2023 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>
Nuro officially launched in January 2018 and showcased its first product, an electric self-driving local commerce delivery vehicle. Known as the R1, it weighs {{convert|1500|lbs}} and is just over {{convert|6|feet}} tall, about half the width of a [[sedan (automobile)|sedan]]. This vehicle is designed to carry only cargo, with space for 12 grocery bags in the first model.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Davies |first=Alex |title=Nuro's Self-Driving R-1 Doesn't Drive You. It Drives Stuff. |language=en-US |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|WIRED]] |url=https://www.wired.com/story/nura-ai-startup-self-driving/ |access-date=February 26, 2023 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>


The pilot launched on August 16, 2018, in Scottsdale, Arizona at a [[Fry's Food and Drug]] store. Initially, self-driving [[Toyota Prius]] cars were used for the pilot.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dickey |first=Megan Rose |date=August 16, 2018 |title=Nuro and Kroger are deploying self-driving cars for grocery delivery in Arizona today |language=en-US |work=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/16/nuro-and-kroger-are-deploying-self-driving-cars-for-grocery-delivery-in-arizona-today/ |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pollack |first=Neal |date=August 28, 2018 |title=Road-Testing the First Autonomous Car Grocery Delivery Service |language=en-US |work=The Drive |url=http://www.thedrive.com/tech/23196/road-testing-the-first-autonomous-car-grocery-delivery-service |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rosenholtz |first=Jared |date=December 26, 2020 |title=The Toyota Prius Will Drive Itself Before Any Tesla |language=en-us |website=CarBuzz |url=https://carbuzz.com/news/the-toyota-prius-will-drive-itself-before-any-tesla |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref> On December 18, 2018, the R1 was officially launched into the pilot.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Timothy B. |date=December 18, 2018 |title=Kroger-owned grocery store begins fully driverless deliveries |language=en-us |website=[[Ars Technica]] |url=https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/12/kroger-owned-grocery-store-begins-fully-driverless-deliveries/ |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref> In February 2020, Nuro announced its plans to test R2, the second generation of self-driving vehicles, in Houston, Texas.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 6, 2020 |title=Self-driving delivery van ditches 'human controls' |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51409031 |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref>
The pilot launched on August 16, 2018, in Scottsdale, Arizona at a [[Fry's Food and Drug]] store. Initially, self-driving [[Toyota Prius]] cars were used for the pilot.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dickey |first=Megan Rose |date=August 16, 2018 |title=Nuro and Kroger are deploying self-driving cars for grocery delivery in Arizona today |language=en-US |work=[[TechCrunch]] |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/16/nuro-and-kroger-are-deploying-self-driving-cars-for-grocery-delivery-in-arizona-today/ |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pollack |first=Neal |date=August 28, 2018 |title=Road-Testing the First Autonomous Car Grocery Delivery Service |language=en-US |work=The Drive |url=http://www.thedrive.com/tech/23196/road-testing-the-first-autonomous-car-grocery-delivery-service |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rosenholtz |first=Jared |date=December 26, 2020 |title=The Toyota Prius Will Drive Itself Before Any Tesla |language=en-us |website=CarBuzz |url=https://carbuzz.com/news/the-toyota-prius-will-drive-itself-before-any-tesla |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref> On December 18, 2018, the R1 was officially launched into the pilot.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Timothy B. |date=December 18, 2018 |title=Kroger-owned grocery store begins fully driverless deliveries |language=en-us |website=[[Ars Technica]] |url=https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/12/kroger-owned-grocery-store-begins-fully-driverless-deliveries/ |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref> In February 2020, Nuro announced its plans to test R2, the second generation of self-driving vehicles, in Houston, Texas.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 6, 2020 |title=Self-driving delivery van ditches 'human controls' |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51409031 |access-date=February 26, 2023}}</ref>
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[[Category:Electric vehicles]]
[[Category:Electric vehicles]]
[[Category:Emerging technologies]]
[[Category:Robotics organizations]]
[[Category:Robotics organizations]]
[[Category:Self-driving car companies]]
[[Category:Self-driving car companies]]

Latest revision as of 19:55, 13 July 2024

Nuro, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryRobotics
Founded2016; 8 years ago (2016)
Founders
  • Jiajun Zhu
  • Dave Ferguson
Headquarters
Mountain View, California
,
United States
Key people
Jiajun Zhu (CEO)
Number of employees
1,200 (2022)[1]
Websitenuro.ai

Nuro, Inc. is an American robotics company based in Mountain View, California. Founded by Jiajun Zhu and Dave Ferguson,[2] Nuro develops autonomous delivery vehicles and is the first company to receive an autonomous exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.[3]

History

[edit]

The company was founded by engineers of Google's self-driving car project, Waymo. Zhu served as the principal software engineer and Ferguson joined in 2011 as the principal machine learning engineer.[4][5] Zhu and Ferguson left Waymo in 2016 and founded Nuro that September.[6]

Nuro brought its robotic delivery vehicles to market in January 2018 with $92 million in funding from Greylock Partners and Gaorong Capital.[7]

In February 2019 Nuro raised $940 million from SoftBank Group, which valued the company at $2.7 billion. Nuro said it would use the funds to expand its delivery service to new areas, add new partners, expand its fleet, and grow its business.[8] In September 2019, the company was ranked No. 10 on LinkedIn's Top 50 Startups List for 2019.[9]

In November 2020, Nuro announced that they raised $500 million in their Series C funding round led by T. Rowe Price, with a post-money valuation of $5 billion.[10]

In December 2020, Nuro acquired self-driving trucking startup Ike Robotics.[11] Over 55 Ike employees (including its three founders) joined Nuro's staff after the acquisition.[12][13]

In August 2021, Nuro announced that it would spend $40 million on the construction of a manufacturing facility and test track for its self-driving robot vehicles, located in southern Nevada.[14]

In November 2022, Nuro announced layoffs of 20 percent of its staff, or approximately 300 employees.[1]

In May 2023, Nuro announced that it would layoff 30 percent of its staff, or approximately 340 employees.[15]

Partnerships

[edit]

In June 2018, Nuro announced its first partnership with Kroger to test the fully autonomous delivery of groceries.[16] On June 17, 2019, Nuro announced its partnership with Domino's Pizza.[17] Nuro and Domino's announced that the service would launch in Houston later in 2019.[18] The company began prescription delivery through CVS Pharmacy in May 2020.[19] In December 2021, Nuro announced a partnership to commercially deliver 7-Eleven goods.[20]

In September 2022, Uber and Nuro announced a 10-year partnership for autonomous food deliveries starting in California and Texas.[21]

Product

[edit]

Nuro officially launched in January 2018 and showcased its first product, an electric self-driving local commerce delivery vehicle. Known as the R1, it weighs 1,500 pounds (680 kg) and is just over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, about half the width of a sedan. This vehicle is designed to carry only cargo, with space for 12 grocery bags in the first model.[22]

The pilot launched on August 16, 2018, in Scottsdale, Arizona at a Fry's Food and Drug store. Initially, self-driving Toyota Prius cars were used for the pilot.[23][24][25] On December 18, 2018, the R1 was officially launched into the pilot.[26] In February 2020, Nuro announced its plans to test R2, the second generation of self-driving vehicles, in Houston, Texas.[27]

In April 2020, Nuro announced that the R2 prototype was being used to transport medical supplies around medical facilities in California.[28] The R2 is designed with no steering wheel, side view mirrors, or pedals.[29]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Hawkins, Andrew J. (November 18, 2022). "Robot delivery startup Nuro is laying off 20 percent of its workers". The Verge. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Hawkins, Andrew J. (January 30, 2018). "Two ex-Google engineers built an entirely different kind of self-driving car". The Verge. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Wiggers, Kyle (May 22, 2020). "Autonomous delivery companies stress need for clearer rules on deployment". VentureBeat. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Davies, Alex (June 28, 2018). "Get Yer Bread and Milk From Kroger's Cute New Delivery Robot". WIRED. ISSN 1059-1028.
  5. ^ Bergen, Mark (June 11, 2018). "Nuro's Driverless Cars Don't Have to Worry About Passenger Safety". Bloomberg.com.
  6. ^ Bhuiyan, Johana (September 15, 2016). "Meet the startup that two of Google's top self-driving engineers left to create". Recode. Vox. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "California start-up Nuro unveils autonomous delivery van, raises $92 million". Reuters. San Francisco. Reuters. January 30, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  8. ^ "Driverless delivery startup Nuro gets $940 million SoftBank investment". Reuters. Reuters. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Hempel, Jessi (September 4, 2019). "LinkedIn Top Startups 2019: The 50 hottest U.S. companies to work for now". LinkedIn. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  10. ^ Korosec, Kirsten (November 9, 2020). "Autonomous delivery startup Nuro hits $5 billion valuation on fresh funding of $500 million". TechCrunch.
  11. ^ Schubarth, Cromwell (December 23, 2020). "Self-driving delivery unicorn Nuro picks up Ike Robotics". Silicon Valley Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Korosec, Kirsten (December 23, 2020). "Nuro acquires autonomous trucking startup Ike". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  13. ^ Wiggers, Kyle (December 23, 2020). "Nuro acquires self-driving truck startup Ike". VentureBeat. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  14. ^ Hawkins, Andrew (August 26, 2021). "Nuro is building a factory and test track in Nevada for its autonomous delivery robots – The self-driving startup is dramatically expanding its footprint". The Verge. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  15. ^ "Nuro lays off 30 percent of staff, shifts focus to R&D". Engadget. May 12, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  16. ^ Dickey, Megan Rose (June 28, 2018). "Self-driving car startup Nuro teams up with Kroger for same-day grocery delivery". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  17. ^ Davies, Alex (June 17, 2019). "Nuro's Pizza Robot Will Bring You a Domino's Pie". WIRED. ISSN 1059-1028.
  18. ^ Murphy, Mike (June 17, 2019). "Dominos is about to start delivering pizzas with autonomous robots". Quartz. Retrieved June 21, 2019. Nuro will deliver Domino's pizza with its robots in Houston
  19. ^ Korosec, Kirsten (May 28, 2020). "Nuro's self-driving vehicles to deliver prescriptions for CVS Pharmacy". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  20. ^ Korosec, Kirsten (December 1, 2021). "Nuro and 7-Eleven to pilot autonomous delivery service in California". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  21. ^ "Uber and Nuro Announce 10-Year Partnership for Autonomous Food Deliveries Starting in California and Texas". PR Newswire. San Francisco. PRNewswire. September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  22. ^ Davies, Alex. "Nuro's Self-Driving R-1 Doesn't Drive You. It Drives Stuff". WIRED. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  23. ^ Dickey, Megan Rose (August 16, 2018). "Nuro and Kroger are deploying self-driving cars for grocery delivery in Arizona today". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  24. ^ Pollack, Neal (August 28, 2018). "Road-Testing the First Autonomous Car Grocery Delivery Service". The Drive. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  25. ^ Rosenholtz, Jared (December 26, 2020). "The Toyota Prius Will Drive Itself Before Any Tesla". CarBuzz. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  26. ^ Lee, Timothy B. (December 18, 2018). "Kroger-owned grocery store begins fully driverless deliveries". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  27. ^ "Self-driving delivery van ditches 'human controls'". BBC News. BBC. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  28. ^ Hawkins, Andrew (April 22, 2020). "Nuro is using delivery robots to help health care workers fighting COVID-19 – The self-driving delivery company is operating at two field hospitals in California". The Verge. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  29. ^ McFarland, Matt (February 6, 2020). "Autonomous delivery companies stress need for clearer rules on deployment". CNN Business. Washington, DC: CNN. CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2020. US clears the way for this self-driving vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals
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