Nuro on Wednesday showed the final piece of its strategy for commercializing self-driving delivery. Since the company was founded in June 2016 by former Google engineers Dave Ferguson and Jiajun Zhu, the startup has raised more than $2.13 billion to launch the Nuro delivery robot, its third generation of electric self-driving delivery vehicles. It is designed for commercial operation and produced in partnership with BYD North America.
It has twice the cargo capacity of the previous model, customizable storage space, and temperature-controlled compartments to keep items warm or cool. That means Nuro is designed and built to handle the hardships one might expect a delivery vehicle to endure, including weather, potholes, and extended periods of time on the road. The Nuro delivery robot also includes safety features designed to protect pedestrians and cyclists who may encounter the vehicle. The car is equipped with several types of sensors, including cameras, radar, lidar, and thermal cameras, to provide a 360-degree view, and has built-in redundancy if one of them fails.
The Nuro delivery robot is equipped with an external airbag that deploys if the vehicle comes into contact with a person or other object. Initially, the company used modified Toyota Prius sedans for testing, as well as delivery pilots in Arizona and Texas. Nuro also has all the necessary approvals and licenses to make self-driving deliveries in California for a fee and can charge customers a fee.
Nuro has raised substantial capital, piloted its vehicles with high-profile partners, and grown to more than 1,200 employees. In less than five years, the company has attracted high-profile private and institutional investors, including Greylock Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund, and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. The latest $600 million funding round announced a few months ago was led by new investor Tiger Global Management, including Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, LLC, Gaorong Capital, Google, Kroger, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and Woven Capital funds and accounts. Nuro has also found several high-profile partners, including 7-Eleven, CVS Pharmacy, Dominoes, FedEx, Kroger Grocery, and Walmart.
Now, it's using some of that funding to build a new $40 million terminal production facility and closed test track in southern Nevada. The company is also using 74 acres of land at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to build a closed test facility to develop and validate its self-driving road vehicles. Its supplier partner, BYD North America, will assemble the hardware for the new model, followed by final manufacturing at Nuro's new facility.
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