Motional puts AI at center of robotaxi reboot as it targets 2026 for driverless service
Nearly two years ago, Motional was at an autonomous vehicle crossroads. The company, born from a $4 billion joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, had already missed a deadline to launch a driverless robotaxi service with partner Lyft. It had lost Aptiv as one of its financial backers, prompting Hyundai to step up with another $1 billion investment to keep it going. Several layoffs, including a 40% restructuring cut in May 2024, had whittled the company from its peak of about 1,400 employees to less than 600. Meanwhile, advancements in AI were changing how engineers were developing the technology. Motional was going to have to evolve or die. It paused everything and picked option No. 1. Motional told TechCrunch it has rebooted its robotaxi plans with an…
