Tech
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Rani Molla

Tesla is testing more Cybercabs

Tesla’s self-imposed deadline to remove safety drivers from its Austin Robotaxi service has come and gone — and just like you on this first Monday of the new year, the safety drivers are at work. But the EV giant seems to be pushing ahead with its next big thing in driverless cars instead:

Tesla is testing at least seven Cybercabs, the gold two-seated vehicle that looks like it’s from a concept drawing of the future, on public roads in Austin and the Bay Area, according to sightings compiled by Robotaxi Tracker. While two of those vehicles were spotted in Austin late last year, five more have appeared since the start of 2026, including the first two sightings in the Bay Area.

CEO Elon Musk has said Cybercab production is slated to begin in April, though a year-end Tesla recap video appeared to suggest production was already underway. Musk clarified that the company is currently testing the Cybercab “production system.”

Like Tesla’s current Robotaxis, the purpose-built Cybercabs may also fall short of true autonomy. The Cybercabs are also testing with safety drivers. And despite earlier plans, production models will likely still include steering wheels, mirrors, and pedals.

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Jon Keegan

AI leaderboard maker LMArena hits $1.7 billion valuation

If you want to know who’s up and who’s down in the AI model world, look no further than LMArena’s leaderboard. The startup has just raised a $150 million series A fundraising round, with a valuation of $1.7 billion.

In seven months, LMArena has raised $250 million, according to TechCrunch.

The leaderboard started as a research project by cofounders Anastasios Angelopoulos and Wei-Lin Chiang when they were graduate students at UC Berkeley.

The public leaderboard — formerly known as “Chatbot Arena” — shows the results of human evaluations of AI models for various tasks. Users can rate which model did a better job on one task in a sort of blind taste test.

The leaderboard is a hotly contested proving grounds for new models, and the company occupies a powerful position in an industry that lacks independent, industry-standard evaluations.

LMArena lands $1.7B valuation four months after launching its product | TechCrunch

LMArena lands $1.7B valuation four months after launching its product | TechCrunch

The leaderboard started as a research project by cofounders Anastasios Angelopoulos and Wei-Lin Chiang when they were graduate students at UC Berkeley.

The public leaderboard — formerly known as “Chatbot Arena” — shows the results of human evaluations of AI models for various tasks. Users can rate which model did a better job on one task in a sort of blind taste test.

The leaderboard is a hotly contested proving grounds for new models, and the company occupies a powerful position in an industry that lacks independent, industry-standard evaluations.

tech
Rani Molla

Uber jumps after unveiling Lucid robotaxi at CES

Uber shares jumped more than 5% after the company unveiled a production-intent robotaxi developed in partnership with Lucid and Nuro at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday. The autonomous vehicle runs on Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computer. Nvidia itself announced a slate of autonomous hardware and software announcements at CES.

The companies said this fall that the San Francisco Bay Area will be the first market for the joint effort. The robotaxi is already being tested on public roads, with a commercial launch planned for later this year.

Uber + Lucid + Nvidia is just another example of the tangled web of partnerships in the autonomous driving space, where Nvidia is now becoming more and more prominent.

This is Uber's new robotaxi from Lucid and Nuro | TechCrunch

This is Uber's new robotaxi from Lucid and Nuro | TechCrunch

The companies said this fall that the San Francisco Bay Area will be the first market for the joint effort. The robotaxi is already being tested on public roads, with a commercial launch planned for later this year.

Uber + Lucid + Nvidia is just another example of the tangled web of partnerships in the autonomous driving space, where Nvidia is now becoming more and more prominent.

tech
Rani Molla

Meta delays international Ray-Ban Display expansion thanks to “unprecedented demand” and “extremely limited inventory”

Meta said today that it’s delaying the early 2026 international expansion of its Ray-Ban Display glasses because of “extremely limited inventory” and “unprecedented demand.” The company didn’t specify whether the issue was more supply or demand, but has previously insisted its smart glasses are a hit.

Waitlists for the smart glasses, which are controlled with a band you wear on your wrist, extend “well into 2026.”

“We’ll continue to focus on fulfilling orders in the US while we re-evaluate our approach to international availability,” the company wrote. Expansion had been planned for the UK, France, Italy, and Canada.

In order to buy the smart glasses, consumers must do an in-person product demo to ensure the tech is “properly fitted to you,” according to Meta. Demos in New York City are unavailable for the next few weeks, the company’s scheduling website shows. It also notes that “that due to high demand, the product may be sold out and unavailable for purchase after your demo.”

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Nvidia’s autonomous tech gives other automakers a chance to take on Tesla

Nvidia made a number of autonomous vehicle announcements at CES yesterday that should have Tesla worried.

Rani Molla16h
tech
Jon Keegan

Report: Returns on Nvidia’s Omniverse business are underwhelming

Today in Las Vegas, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang will be taking the stage at the CES conference to show off his company’s latest innovations. If you’ve watched any of Huang’s impressive jargon-filled keynote speeches, you’ll notice that he gets extra animated when talking about “digital twins.”

Nvidia’s “Omniverse” platform allows companies to use Nvidia software and hardware to run large-scale simulations of factories and assembly lines.

The idea is that you can train your robots in Nvidia’s simulated environment, saving huge amounts of time and money. Huang is making a huge bet on this nascent product, and according to a new report, it isn’t exactly taking off.

The Information reports that much to Huang’s anger and frustration, the Omniverse offerings have yet to generate significant revenue.

According to the report, despite a long list of customers who Nvidia says are using Omniverse, some say the software is hard to use and fails to allow for simulating robot interactions with complex objects. The report also says Nvidia shuttered its Omniverse Cloud service in August of last year due to a lack of demand.

Nvidia has certainly successfully blazed trails into new categories before, but considering Huang’s enthusiasm for the Omniverse offerings, it is a rare stumble for the chip juggernaut.

Nvidia’s Big Ambitions to Solve Manufacturing Shows Slow Returns So Far

Nvidia’s Big Ambitions to Solve Manufacturing Shows Slow Returns So Far

The idea is that you can train your robots in Nvidia’s simulated environment, saving huge amounts of time and money. Huang is making a huge bet on this nascent product, and according to a new report, it isn’t exactly taking off.

The Information reports that much to Huang’s anger and frustration, the Omniverse offerings have yet to generate significant revenue.

According to the report, despite a long list of customers who Nvidia says are using Omniverse, some say the software is hard to use and fails to allow for simulating robot interactions with complex objects. The report also says Nvidia shuttered its Omniverse Cloud service in August of last year due to a lack of demand.

Nvidia has certainly successfully blazed trails into new categories before, but considering Huang’s enthusiasm for the Omniverse offerings, it is a rare stumble for the chip juggernaut.

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