Bulletins

Nuro receives California's first Autonomous Vehicle Deployment permit

Nuro's R2 vehicle
Nuro's second-generation R2 vehicle will deliver goods in a partnership with Kroger in Houston.
Photo: Nuro

Autonomous delivery company Nuro was granted an Autonomous Vehicle Deployment (AVD) permit by the California DMV, opening the door for the company to launch a commercial AV delivery service. With the permit — the first California has issued — Nuro will be able to deliver packages directly to Californians with a fleet of self-driving vehicles.

The permit comes on the heels of news Wednesday that Nuro acquired autonomous trucking startup Ike Robotics. In November, Nuro raised $500 million to keep up with ecommerce delivery demand fueled by the pandemic, pushing the company across the threshold of a $5 billion valuation.

The company says it will begin in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in 2021.

Kevin McAllister

Kevin McAllister ( @k__mcallister) is a Research Editor at Protocol, leading the development of Braintrust. Prior to joining the team, he was a rankings data reporter at The Wall Street Journal, where he oversaw structured data projects for the Journal's strategy team.

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