Nexar, the real-world intelligence platform for the Physical AI era, and Nauto, the leader in AI-powered safety and vehicle intelligence, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge. The transaction brings together two leaders in real-world driving intelligence, combining complementary AI models, datasets, technologies, and customer relationships. The result is the leading independent intelligence platform of record for how the physical world actually behaves while ensuring full privacy protection by anonymizing and de-identifying data. Zach Greenberger, Nexar's CEO, will be CEO of the combined company. Stefan Heck, Nauto's founder and CEO, will chair the combined board. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"By bringing together Nexar and Nauto, we are building the world's largest and most diverse independent foundation for real-world intelligence," said Greenberger. "For the first time, the organizations that build, deploy, and operate intelligent systems have a trusted, independent record of how the world actually behaves, not just how it has been simulated. That is what lets organizations ask the physical world questions and act on the answers."

Upon closing, the combined company will establish the industry's most reliable foundation for Physical AI. Its intelligence engine will be fueled by more than 300 million real-world miles captured every month across 50+ countries, representing over 10 billion miles of driving history. That scale, independent of any single manufacturer, powers intelligence that no simulation and no single company's dataset can match.

Every organization asks different questions of the physical world. Until now, they've had to answer many of them with incomplete information. For the developers building autonomous and intelligent systems, it now provides the independent real-world record their models depend on: the edge cases no lab has replicated and the ground truth no single manufacturer can supply. For the safety and operations leaders running fleets, cities, and infrastructure, it predicts and prevents what matters most before it becomes an incident and turns what happened into intelligence that improves every decision that follows. For insurers, it prices risk on what roads and drivers actually do, not on averages.

Existing customers will continue working with the teams, products, and support organizations they rely on today. What changes is the foundation underneath them. By bringing Nexar and Nauto together, customers gain access to deeper intelligence, more predictive AI, and a broader understanding of how the physical world behaves.

Source: TMCNet

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NEMTAC Transform is the only annual national conference bringing together non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) providers, regulators, brokers, technology partners, and experts to focus on real-world operations, education, standards, and legislation.

The event features standards-informed education, discussions on safety, compliance, data, and system performance, updates on NEMTAC programs, and networking opportunities for brokers, regulators, and providers.

IATR President Matt Daus will speak on Monday, August 17, during the general session “Navigating Regulation, Fraud, and Compliance in Transportation.” The session will examine government oversight, emerging compliance requirements, and growing concerns around fraud, waste, and abuse. Drawing on decades of transportation regulation and policy experience, Daus will share practical guidance to help organizations identify risks, strengthen compliance programs, protect public funding, and prepare for future regulatory changes.

This year’s event will be held August 16–19 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes, with registration, sponsorship, and exhibit opportunities still available.

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Horse Carriage Ban Legislation Gains Steam As Council Majority Leader Abreu Jumps on Board

Momemtum for banning horse carriages in New York City appears to be building from a slow trot to a strong gallop this week. City Council Majority Leader and Transportation Chair Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan) threw his support on Monday behind long-gestating legislation — Intro 943 — to outlaw the horse carriage industry following the death of Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist from India riding in an equine-drawn cab that flipped over last month. City Council Member Christopher Marte, who is sponsoring the legislation, renamed the bill “Romanch’s Law” following the incident.

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A US Bus Travel Boom Looks Likely – but Will Greyhounds Ever Be Cool Again?

It’s a grueling experience,” Greyhound bus enthusiast Miles Taylor explains. “You’re not treated very well. Everyone is yelling at you the entire time. When the bus is late, they blame you for it, like somehow you’ve done something wrong. You just get screamed at for wanting to know what’s going on, because no one says anything.” Taylor traveled across the country by Greyhound twice; a Boston to Seattle route took 104 hours. But even he admits that America’s bus system is far from luxurious – or even comfortable.

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Electric School Buses in the USA Used As Grid Storage

Critics of electromobility often grumble that electric vehicles excessively burden the grid, especially during times of high electricity demand. During a heatwave, for example. As it turns out, the opposite is true: In the USA, electric vehicles have helped stabilize the grid during the current heatwave.

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New Rideshare Pickup at Montreal Airport Frustrates Arriving Passengers

If you’re arriving at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport expecting to step outside and quickly find an Uber, the experience has changed — and not everyone is adapting easily. Since June 22, passengers have been directed to a new rideshare pickup area located in the Leigh-Capreol zone, requiring a walk of roughly five to 15 minutes from the arrivals level. The shift, designed to ease congestion at the terminal curbside, has instead triggered confusion, complaints about unclear signage, and frustration among some travellers navigating the new system for the first time.

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Canadian Brokers Are Dealing with the Downstream Effects of Uber’s Insurance Model

The debate about whether Uber uses rising insurance costs as cover for growing its margins has been playing out in US courts and academic papers for several months. In Canada, the same structural questions land in a different place - not through regulatory filings or class actions, but through the steady accumulation of tribunal decisions, coverage disputes and broker compliance questions that define how Uber's insurance model interacts with the Canadian market.

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Upskilling Bus Technicians Vital to Electric School Bus Adoption: Report

Training and certification of technicians must go hand-in-hand with the transition to electric school buses, according to a report by Pollution Probe and Mobility Futures Lab. If not, the switch could be on a detour. In Amped Up, Toronto-based environmental non-profit Pollution Probe and consultancy Mobility Futures Lab stress the importance of addressing “substantial technical shifts in maintenance practice” for school bus fleet operators with more battery-powered buses on the road.

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Successful Joint Operation Strengthens Taxi Safety Standards across Flintshire

Taxi drivers in Flintshire were found to have high levels of compliance with licensing laws and regulations in a successful joint operation carried out by Flintshire County Council, North Wales Police and the DVSA. ‘Operation Cargo’ saw licensing officers conduct roadside inspections of taxi and private hire vehicles alongside police colleagues, with some vehicles taken to an agreed location for additional checks by DVSA officers. This was the first time the three organizations had worked together on a single operation.

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West Suffolk Council Taxi Fares to Increase amid Customer ‘Tipping Point’ Warning

Taxi fares across a district are set to increase amid warnings customers are reaching a 'tipping point'. West Suffolk Council's licensing and regulatory committee agreed to put up fares yesterday evening by about five per cent across the board. For the most common trip - a two-mile ride between 6am and midnight - the increase works out at an extra 35p, with customers to pay £8.35. Meanwhile, for trips outside those hours, including on public and bank holidays, the authority agreed to a 50p hike, bringing a two-mile ride to £12.60.

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Have Your Say on Glasgow's Taxi & Private Hire Services

Glasgow City Council is inviting members of the public to share their views on the availability of taxi and private hire services across Glasgow. The survey aims to gather feedback on people's experiences of accessing these services, including when and where they are available and whether current provision meets demand.

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UAE Certifies World's First Commercial Air Taxi Vertiport

Dubai has taken another step closer towards launching commercial air taxi operations. The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has officially certified VDX, the world's first purpose-built commercial vertiport for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

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Singapore: Private-Hire, Taxi Drivers to Get More Help to Take Up New Jobs Involving Driverless Vehicles

More help is on the way for private-hire and taxi drivers to stay competitive in a fast-changing transport sector that is being transformed by adoption of self-driving vehicles. The driver support package will focus on three key areas: long-term career conversion programmes, a new training scheme featuring short courses, and career guidance initiatives. 

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Maharashtra Unveils New Bike Taxi Policy with Domicile and Police Verification Rules

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced a comprehensive regulatory framework for app-based bike taxi services, paving the way for their legal operation from August 1 while introducing stringent eligibility norms aimed at improving passenger safety and curbing illegal operations. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik informed the Legislative Assembly that the state would permit bike taxi services through registered aggregators under a new policy designed to regulate the sector, generate revenue, and create employment opportunities for local youth. The move marks a significant policy shift after months of enforcement against unauthorised bike taxi operators.

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Image: Mike Blake

Waymo and Uber have ended their robotaxi partnership in Phoenix, Arizona, the two companies confirmed Monday, closing out a nearly three-year arrangement that served as the first market where the companies worked together.

The ride-hailing portion of the program concluded last month, according to Bloomberg. Waymo said the vehicles it had dedicated to the Uber pilot have been folded back into its own Phoenix fleet and remain available through the Waymo app, as well as through a delivery agreement with DoorDash and a public transit partnership with Via Transportation.

"This was a productive pilot that paved the way for future expansions and partnerships across the globe," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement. "After hundreds of thousands of trips with Uber, we have integrated these vehicles back into our Phoenix fleet."

An Uber spokesperson described the arrangement as deliberately small in scope. "Phoenix was our first pilot market with Waymo and was an intentionally limited deployment, reaching just over a dozen vehicles dedicated to the program," the spokesperson said. Uber also noted that experience gained in Phoenix accelerated its ability to build out operations in Austin and Atlanta, two markets where the Uber app now gives riders access to hundreds of Waymo autonomous vehicles.

Uber told TechCrunch that the two companies parted ways in Phoenix because they had reached the contracted end date.

Uber said it plans to announce a new autonomous vehicle partner in Phoenix but has not named the company.

Source: Quartz

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