TechCrunch Mobility 2026: A new, bigger AV boom is here
An in-depth look at the autonomous vehicle surge in 2026 as Trucks VC evaluates 81 new AV startups, driven by breakthroughs in foundational AI models and massive tech investments.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Trucks VC reviewed pitches from 81 new autonomous vehicle startups in 2026, marking a significant jump from previous years.
- Foundational AI models have drastically lowered entry barriers, allowing startups to launch with under $1 million in funding.
- Re:Build, a manufacturing accelerator, secured $2.1 billion led by General Catalyst and JPMorganChase.
- Bedrock Robotics closed a $600 million Series C funding round, valuing the startup at $4.1 billion.
The future of transportation is experiencing a resurgence that is shaping up to be even more intense than previous cycles. Writing for TechCrunch Mobility, Kirsten Korosec reflects on how the autonomous vehicle industry echoes the buzzing atmosphere of 2016, yet a recent discussion with Puneeth Meruva, a partner at Trucks VC, suggests that the market dynamics in 2026 are proving to be considerably more robust.
Early-stage investor Trucks VC has reviewed pitch decks from 81 new autonomous vehicle startups over the course of 2026. This figure represents a two-thirds increase compared to the previous year, surpassing the startup activity seen during the height of the AV boom a decade ago and signaling a second, much larger wave fueled by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.
"For a long time AV companies were trying to go from what was AV 1.0 to AV 2.0, which is kind of this holy grail end-to-end architecture for AVs. And I think the foundation models now provide a technical architecture that makes those end-to-end systems possible."
Puneeth Meruva, Trucks VC
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
These foundational models excel at generalizing across diverse environments and scenarios, making autonomous systems cheaper and faster to deploy. The emergence of powerful open-source alternatives, such as Nvidia’s Alpamayo and Qwen’s multi-purpose vision-language-action models, has streamlined the process for new founders to build and test their systems quickly.
The rise of the second AV wave (AV 2.0) differs fundamentally from the 2016 boom because modern AI relies on generalized foundational models rather than rigid, hard-coded rules. This architectural shift enables smaller, niche companies to build sophisticated autonomy stacks without requiring the massive capital outlays previously demanded by the industry.
Meruva notes that entry barriers have dropped significantly, with startups frequently deploying products within a few months on budgets under $1 million. While traditional industrial applications in agriculture, mining, and warehouses remain active, an unexpected surge of new entrants are pitching pure-play robotaxi models designed to compete directly against industry leaders like Waymo in regional markets.
Beyond the autonomous vehicle sector, broader industrial and tech investments are accelerating. Re:Build, a Massachusetts-based manufacturing accelerator co-founded by former Amazon commercial CEO Jeff Wilke, raised $2.1 billion led by General Catalyst and JPMorganChase Strategic Investment Group to expand hard-tech production capacity. Meanwhile, Bedrock Robotics secured $600 million in a Series C round co-led by CapitalG and Emergence Capital, bringing its valuation to $4.1 billion with participation from Nvidia and other major investors.
In delivery and logistics, DoorDash agreed to acquire Instacart for $17 billion while noting initial order volumes from AI agents in its third-quarter earnings report. PreScalar, a San Francisco-based factory software startup, raised $7 million in seed funding led by Dynamo Ventures and BMW i Ventures. Additionally, Ford announced bidirectional EV charging capabilities for its upcoming Fathom pickup, and General Motors reached a $220 million settlement with 36 U.S. states over past driver data-sharing allegations.
Source: TechCrunch
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