Your monthly dose of  autonomy:  January 2026

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Tom Staelens - February 3rd, 2026 -

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Welcome to the Segments.ai monthly roundup.

Last month, the autonomous vehicle landscape saw historic capital infusions and strategic pivots. Waymo secured a massive $16 billion funding round to fuel global expansion, while Waabi announced a major partnership with Uber to deploy thousands of robotaxis. Federal legislation on autonomous vehicles advanced in Congress, and drone delivery infrastructure continued to grow.

Here is the latest:

Autonomous Vehicles

Waymo began public robotaxi service in Miami on January 22, its sixth U.S. market. The service covers a 60-square-mile area, including the Design District, Wynwood, Brickell, and Coral Gables, with plans to expand to Miami International Airport. Approximately 10,000 residents signed up for the waitlist prior to launch.
Ford announced plans to bring hands-off, eyes-off Level 3 autonomous driving to market by 2028. The technology will debut on the automaker’s new Universal Electric Vehicle platform, beginning with a midsize electric pickup truck priced around $30,000.
Uber has launched AV Labs, a dedicated team leveraging the company’s global ride network to collect real-world driving data and accelerate autonomous vehicle development across the industry ecosystem.

Autonomous Trucking

Aurora Innovation and McLeod Software completed their TMS integration ahead of schedule, connecting autonomous trucks to a transportation management system. The integration enables tendering, dispatching, and tracking of autonomous trucks for McLeod’s 1,200+ carrier customers. Russell Transport is already using the feature to tender autonomous loads.
Kodiak and Bosch announced a strategic partnership at CES 2026 to develop production-grade autonomous trucking hardware. Bosch will supply sensors and vehicle actuation components, enabling Kodiak to scale its Kodiak Driver system for both factory-line and third-party upfit integration. Kodiak currently operates 10 fully driverless trucks in commercial service in the Permian Basin.
PlusAI’s SEC registration was declared effective on January 12, clearing the way for its SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX. A shareholder vote is scheduled for February 3, with trading under the ticker “PLS” expected later that month. PlusAI reports 90% safety case readiness and 99.2% autonomous miles in its Texas trial operations, with factory-built autonomous trucks planned for 2027.

Autonomous Drones and Delivery

The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has significantly expanded efforts to enhance drone capabilities across naval and military operations, aligning with the 2024‑2030 Military Planning Law and the operational requirements of the Marine nationale and French armed forces.
Walmart and Wing announced plans to expand drone delivery to 150 additional stores, reaching more than 40 million potential customers. The expansion includes Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Miami, with Houston launching service on January 15. By 2027, Wing will operate from over 270 Walmart locations. Walmart is also operational with Zipline in Texas, serving customers in the Princeton area.

Mining & Agriculture

Caterpillar announced a collaboration with NVIDIA at CES 2026 focused on AI for construction and mining equipment. The partnership uses NVIDIA’s Jetson Thor platform to bring physical AI capabilities to autonomous equipment, including the Cat AI Assistant for voice-activated equipment support and maintenance recommendations.
Kubota launched its first commercial autonomous tractor at CES 2026, integrating AI and sensing technology into the M5 Narrow for specialty crop operations alongside a new concept robot platform.
Heidelberg Materials achieved a milestone in autonomous hauling, reaching the 2-million-ton mark at its Lake Bridgeport Quarry in Bridgeport, Texas.
Caterpillar’s quarry autonomy deployment at Luck Stone Bull Run reached 1 million tons hauled. The first quarry application of Cat MineStar Command matched productivity levels of staffed machines shortly after go-live.

Investments & Funding

Waymo raises $16 billion for global expansion, valuing the company at roughly $126 billion. The fresh capital will fund the expansion of its robotaxi service to new U.S. markets and international hubs like London and Tokyo. Read more on Waymo’s funding
Waabi has raised $750 million in a Series C round to accelerate its “physical AI” approach. While previously focused on trucking, Waabi is now expanding into the robotaxi market through a deepened partnership with Uber. The company plans to deploy over 25,000 Waabi Driver-powered robotaxis exclusively on the Uber platform.
PlusAI and the Traton Group are expanding their partnership to accelerate the scaled deployment of on-highway autonomous trucking in the U.S. and Europe. Traton is committing up to $25 million in dedicated research and development funding to PlusAI as part of the partnership.
Zipline raised $600 million at a $7.6 billion valuation, up from $5 billion in 2024. The drone delivery company plans to expand to Houston and Phoenix early this year, with operations in at least four U.S. states by end of 2026. Zipline has completed over 2 million commercial deliveries globally.

Regulatory Affairs

U.S. Representatives Bob Latta and Debbie Dingell introduced the SELF DRIVE Act of 2026, which would establish federal standards for autonomous vehicle safety. The bipartisan legislation proposes raising AV exemption caps to 90,000 units annually and would preempt conflicting state and local regulations. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held a hearing on January 13.

Think we missed something important? Drop us a line, and we’ll add it to the radar.

That covers the key developments from January. We’ll be back next month with another roundup.

Best,

The Segments.ai Team