TechCrunch Mobility: ‘Physical AI’ enters the hype machine

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It’s been a minute, folks! As you may recall, the newsletter took a short vacation. We’re back in the year 2026. A lot has happened since the last edition.

I spent the first week of the year at Consumer Electronics Show In Las Vegas. While I wrote about this Last JanuaryIt bears repeating: American automakers have left the building.

What filled the void at the Las Vegas Convention Center? Autonomous vehicle technology companiesZoox, Automatic tensioner, Fourth leveland Waymoany Renamed Zeekr RTbut not limited to), Chinese automakers such as jelly and companionSoftware companies, car chips, a lot of things Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang It’s called “physical AI.”

The term, sometimes called “embodied AI,” describes the use of AI outside of the digital world and in the real, physics-based world. AI models, combined with sensors, cameras, and robotic controls, allow this physical object — the humanoid robot, the drone, the autonomous forklift, the robotaxi — to detect and understand what is in this real environment and make decisions to act within it. And it was everywhere, from agriculture and robotics to autonomous vehicles, drones, industrial manufacturing, and wearables.

Hyundai It had one of the busiest and largest displays with an almost constant line wrapped around the entrance. The Korean automaker was not offering cars. No, they were robots of various forms, incl Atlas humanoid robotcourtesy of its affiliate Boston Dynamics. There were also innovations that came out of it Hyundai Motor Group Robotics Laboratoryincluding a robot that charges autonomous electric vehicles, and a four-wheeled electric platform called the Mobile Eccentric Droid (MobEd) that will go into production this year. It seemed like everyone was accepting and embracing robots, especially humanoid robots.

The hype around humanoid robots, specifically, and bodily AI, in general, has been palpable. I asked Mobile i Co-Founder and President Amnon Shashua About this because his company just bought his humanoid robotics startup for $900 million: “What do you say when people tell you humanoid robotics is all just hype?”

“The Internet was also noise, remember the Internet crisis in 2000,” Shashua said. “That doesn’t mean the Internet isn’t a real thing. The hype means that companies are overvalued for a certain period of time, and then they collapse. It doesn’t mean the field isn’t real. I think the humanoid robotics field is real.”

Some notable stories from CES:
Nvidia launches Alpamayo, an open AI model that allows self-driving vehicles to ‘think like a human’

This is Uber’s new robot from Lucid and Nuru

Mobileye is acquiring humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics for $900 million

Now on to the other non-CES and more recent news…

birdie

President Trump made comments this week at an Economic Club meeting in Detroit about welcoming Chinese automakers to the United States, which did not sit well with many in the auto industry, according to informed sources I spoke to. Specifically, I’ve been told Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Industry lobby group) “You get scared,” one D.C. insider told me.

“If they want to come and build a factory and hire you and hire your friends and neighbors, that’s great, I love that,” Trump said. According to reporters In attendance. “Let China in, let Japan in.”

A few notes. Japanese companies such as Toyota It is already very much in the United States. The biggest obstacle, other than protests from within the boardrooms of American automakers, is the current law. In 2025, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued a rule that Restricts import and sale For certain connected vehicles and related hardware and software associated with China or Russia. This essentially bans the sale of Chinese cars in the country.

Avery AshHe is the CEO of the company securitya nonpartisan organization focused on securing America’s energy, critical materials, and supply chains, spoke out about the risks of allowing Chinese automakers to sell their vehicles in the United States. Side note: Ash has been on my podcast; Automatic broadcastwhich touches on some of this topic.

“Welcoming Chinese automakers to build cars here in the United States will reverse these hard-won achievements and put Americans at risk.” He said. “We have seen this strategy backfire in Europe and elsewhere — it has potentially catastrophic effects on our auto industry, has ripple effects on our entire defense industrial base, and makes every American less safe.”

Meanwhile, Canada is opening the door to Chinese automakers. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney He announced that his country will reduce the 100% import tax on Chinese electric cars to only 6.1%. Sean O’Kane reports.

“Do you have a tip to share in the Little Bird section? Email Kirsten Korosek at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com Or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Offers!

Budget carrier They claim Agreed to buy a competitor Sun Country Airlines For about $1.5 billion in cash and stock.

Agentswhich sells software services to automotive original equipment manufacturers and retailers acquired By a group of investors led by Wavecrest Growth Partners and Radian Capital. Automotive Ventures and auto industry executives David Mitter and Devin Daly also participated in the project. The terms were not disclosed.

Provider of long distance buses and trains Flex Obtained majority share European airport transfer platform Flipco. Luxembourg company SLG will retain some ownership stakes in Flibco. The terms were not disclosed.

Jet Zeroa Long Beach, Calif., startup developing a midsize triangular aircraft designed to save fuel, has raised $175 million in a Series B round led by B Capital. Bloomberg reported.

Gobi AviationA company developing electric taxis, I reached an agreement To purchase a 700,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio, to support its plans to double production to four aircraft per month in 2027.

It shines He has I reached an agreement to sell its lidar business to a company called Quantum Computing Inc. For only $22 million. If that sounds low, you’re right. Luminar’s valuation peaked in 2021 at $11 billion.

Notable Readings and Other Stories

Pluspark Internationala New York-based shipping and supply chain software company, did not realize that its platform was vulnerable and open to anyone on the Internet. Here’s how a security researcher (and TechCrunch) fixed the issue..

the Federal Trade Commission Finalizing the ban order GM and OnStar Telematics Service from sharing certain consumer data with consumer reporting agencies. Read the full story of what that means.

InDrivethe company that started as a taxi-hailing platform that lets users set prices, is diversifying and has begun implementing its “super app” strategy. This means more in-app advertising across the top 20 markets and expanding grocery delivery into Pakistan. Read the full story here.

kineticthe self-driving vehicle company owned by Hyundai, has been restarted. When Motional paused operations last year, I wasn’t sure it would continue. Other AV companies with big backers had seen their funding disappear in the blink of an eye, so it certainly made sense. But the company is here and with a new, AI-first approach. Before you roll your eyes at this term, Take a read of my articlewhich includes a demo tour and an interview with CEO Laura Major. Then feel free to hit my inbox with your thoughts.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul She plans to introduce legislation that would effectively legalize taxis in the state except New York City. There are no details on this yet; I’m told all of this will be revealed in next week’s executive budget proposal. What we do know is that the proposal is designed to expand the state’s existing autonomous vehicle pilot program to allow “limited deployment of commercial autonomous passenger vehicles for rent outside of New York City.” My article delves into what I shared and Provides an update on Waymo’s permit in New York City.

Tesla He is Eliminate the one-time fee option For its full self-driving program (supervised), it will now sell access to the feature through a monthly subscription.

On-demand drone delivery company Wing Its service reaches 150 more Walmart Stores as part of Expanded partnership With the retailer.