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The long road to driverless with Aurora’s Chris Urmson (Live at HumanX) | Equity Podcast

Self-driving has been “almost here” for over a decade. But somewhere between DARPA challenges and a handful of driverless trucks hauling freight between Dallas and Houston, Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson’s story changed. The self-driving truck company started commercial driverless operations last April and is now scaling from a handful of trucks to hundreds…

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Self-driving has been “almost here” for over a decade. But somewhere between DARPA challenges and a handful of driverless trucks hauling freight between Dallas and Houston, Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson’s story changed. The self-driving truck company started commercial driverless operations last April and is now scaling from a handful of trucks to hundreds this year.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, we’re bringing you a conversation Rebecca Bellan had with Urmson at the HumanX conference in San Francisco. The pair dug into the long road from lab to highway and how physical AI differs from the LLM boom everyone else is chasing.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:49 Urmson’s self-driving journey from DARPA to Aurora

03:30 How macro headwinds and supply constraints are shaping Aurora’s roadmap

06:08 Why trucking beats robotaxis as a business

13:46 How Aurora’s path diverged from Waymo’s

18:09 What 24 years in physical AI teaches you about building a startup

19:33 Why safety hits different when there’s no human in the loop

23:38 Verifiable AI vs. end-to-end systems: why it matters for safety

27:11 Other autonomy companies worth watching

29:04 Real-world data vs. simulation: do you still need both?

30:03 Outro

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Science & Technology

Build Mode: Inside the Fundraise

Startup fundraising is harder than ever, and Season 3 of Build Mode is here to help. Whether you’re raising a seed round, preparing for Series A, pitching venture capital firms, negotiating a term sheet, or exploring alternatives to VC funding, this season is packed with practical advice from founders and investors who have successfully navigated…

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Startup fundraising is harder than ever, and Season 3 of Build Mode is here to help. Whether you’re raising a seed round, preparing for Series A, pitching venture capital firms, negotiating a term sheet, or exploring alternatives to VC funding, this season is packed with practical advice from founders and investors who have successfully navigated the fundraising journey.

Hosted by TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Editor Isabelle Johannessen, Build Mode is the TechCrunch podcast where founders, investors, and startup operators share honest conversations about what it really takes to build and finance a company. This season features Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures), Andrew Dai (Elorian), Ashley Tyrner-Dolce (FarmboxRx), Kristina Subbotina (Lexsy AI), Sydney Sykes (NVIDIA), Xavier Chi (Mbodi), Jack Groetzinger (SeatGeek), Sasha Orloff (Puzzle), Everette Taylor (Kickstarter), Manan Mehta (Unshackled Ventures), Julia Hartz (Eventbrite), and more. Together, they cover topics including avoiding down rounds, raising capital in today’s venture market, working with corporate venture capital, crowdfunding, startup financial readiness, fundraising as an immigrant founder, IPO lessons, and how to deliver a winning startup pitch.

If you’re an entrepreneur, startup founder, investor, or operator looking for actionable fundraising advice, this season is your playbook. New episodes begin July 9 and release every week on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe now and learn how to raise capital, grow your startup, and build with confidence.

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Science & Technology

Your Vaccine Questions Deserve Real Answers | Kizzmekia Corbett | TED

What good is a vaccine people don’t trust? Immunologist and TED Fellow Kizzmekia Corbett co-developed the first COVID-19 vaccine to enter clinical trials — but she says making the vaccine was never the hardest part. The real obstacle is the gap between scientists and the people who have honest questions about the shots they’re being…

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What good is a vaccine people don’t trust? Immunologist and TED Fellow Kizzmekia Corbett co-developed the first COVID-19 vaccine to enter clinical trials — but she says making the vaccine was never the hardest part. The real obstacle is the gap between scientists and the people who have honest questions about the shots they’re being asked to take. She shares a refreshing approach for taking on vaccine inquisitiveness and ensuring that humanity is ready for the next pandemic. (Recorded at TED2026 on April 15, 2026)

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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

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CNET

Honor Magic V6 Unboxing (No Music ASMR)

The Honor Magic V6 wowed us in Barcelona at MWC. While it’s not officially available here in the US, we were still lucky enough to get our hands on one. Let’s quietly unbox it with CNET’s own Vanessa Hand Orellana. #honorphotography #asmrrelax #honormagicv6 #qualcomm #unboxing

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The Honor Magic V6 wowed us in Barcelona at MWC. While it’s not officially available here in the US, we were still lucky enough to get our hands on one. Let’s quietly unbox it with CNET’s own Vanessa Hand Orellana. #honorphotography #asmrrelax #honormagicv6 #qualcomm #unboxing

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