Your monthly dose of  autonomy:  November 2025

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Tom Staelens - December 5th, 2025 -

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Welcome to the Segments.ai monthly roundup.

This November, the autonomous sector continued to scale. We observed significant expansion of operating territories for major AV players, alongside new infrastructure commitments in the drone-delivery space.

Here are the key updates that you should know.

Autonomous Vehicles

Waymo has announced its largest geographic push to date, expanding into Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Orlando, Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Tampa, Florida. Fully autonomous operations began in Miami in mid-November, with the remaining cities scheduled to follow in the coming weeks.
Tesla received a Transportation Network Company (TNC) permit from the state of Arizona. This authorization allows the automaker to operate a paid robotaxi service, positioning it to compete directly with Waymo in the Phoenix metro area.
Aurora continues to scale, now operating five driverless trucks on highways between Dallas and Houston, and recently opening a second route to El Paso. The company recently surpassed 100,000 driverless truck miles with a perfect safety record.
Toronto-based Waabi announced a technology breakthrough allowing its self-driving trucks to complete entire freight journeys – including surface streets – without human intervention. This development aims to unlock a viable “direct-to-customer” operating model.
Kodiak AI is currently operating 10 driverless trucks in the Permian Basin region of Texas. The company, which recently completed a business combination to go public, is building operational expertise while preparing for commercial-scale deployment.

Autonomous Drones and Delivery

Zipline secured a $150 million pay-for-performance agreement to expand its drone delivery network across Africa. The deal could triple the number of health facilities served to 15,000, providing instant access to medical supplies for up to 130 million people.
Amazon is facing a new FAA investigation after an MK30 delivery drone’s propeller caught an internet cable in Waco, Texas. This follows a separate probe into a crane collision in Arizona last month, coming as Amazon aims to scale to 500 million annual drone deliveries by 2030.
At the 2025 Dubai Airshow, Emirates SkyCargo signed an MoU with LODD Autonomous to explore deploying autonomous VTOL heavy-lift drones. The “Hili” drone can carry up to 250 kg over 700 km, potentially supporting dual airport hub operations.

Mining & Agriculture

Autonomous units now comprise nearly 5% of key mining equipment globally, with China accounting for more than half of all autonomous and autonomous-ready machinery.
Caterpillar has announced a goal to triple its autonomous truck fleet to over 2,000 units by 2030. With 690 trucks currently operating, the company is expanding into quarries and smaller mines with a new lower-cost solution.
North Dakota has awarded $7.5 million in Autonomous Agriculture Grants. Recipients include Greenfield Robotics, which received $500,000 for a full-season autonomous farming pilot, and Grand Farm, which secured $7 million to advance its Innovation Campus.

Investments & Funding

Pony AI’s Hong Kong IPO has raised over $800 million, with proceeds potentially reaching $993 million. The company is targeting a fleet of over 3,000 vehicles by the end of 2026.
Grab announced a $60 million strategic investment in Vay Technology, a Berlin-based remote driving company. The deal signals Grab’s interest in a hybrid future for Southeast Asia, combining driver-partners with autonomous and teledriven vehicles.

Regulatory Affairs

The California DMV has approved a significant expansion of Waymo’s operating territory, covering the entire Bay Area, North Bay, East Bay, Sacramento, and a vast stretch of Southern California.
On November 17, the “United for Autonomy” coalition launched with 28 member organizations. The group aims to establish a clear federal framework for AV deployment to maintain U.S. leadership in the sector.

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

We’ll be back next month with another roundup to keep you up to speed on the latest technology and regulatory shifts.

Best,

The Segments.ai Team