Tesla Autopilot: US Transportation Authority Expands Investigation

Six other rear-end collisions are related to the technology. Also: Meta is moving AR glasses and Microsoft is planning an Xbox app for smart TVs.

Good morning! While you slept, work continued elsewhere in the digital scene.

The top topics:

The US Department of Transportation closed its investigation Teslas Autopilot driver assistance system expanded. It is the second and last step before a possible recall. Since the investigation began, the authority has identified six other incidents. Teslas with the autopilot system switched on drove into vehicles parked on the side of the road. Originally, there were eleven such accidents. Additional data will now be analyzed. This involves an estimated 830,000 vehicles of the four current model series from the years 2014 to 2022. It is also examined to what extent the system increases the risk of human error.

The agency added evidence suggesting drivers followed Tesla’s warning strategy in most of the accidents investigated. This raises questions about the effectiveness of the system. Tesla advises customers that Autopilot is only an assistance system and that the driver must therefore keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times. [Mehr bei Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Techcrunch, The Verge und Reuters]

On Gründerszene you read today: If online retailers are growing rapidly, they also have to expand their logistics quickly. The startup mediates so that this works in the short term Warehousing1 Hundreds of camps in Germany. The freight forwarding giant DB Schenker has also recently started believing in the business model. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]

And here are the other headlines of the night:

Meta postpones its commercial plans for augmented reality glasses. According to a report by The Information, collaborators on the project have been informed that the first version of the AR glasses, which should hit the market in 2024, is no longer planned. Instead, the first version of the glasses will be used as a demonstration product. Meta is currently struggling with slowing revenue growth, which has resulted in some businesses not hiring at the moment. [Mehr bei The Information und Techcrunch]

Microsoft is planning an app for smart TVs that will allow consumers to stream Xbox video games even if they don’t own consoles. A spokesman for the tech group said the app will first be available on Samsung’s smart TVs and then be expanded to other manufacturers. Xbox’s hardware revenue is up 92 percent over the past year. The app will be available in 27 countries from June 30th. The move shows Microsoft’s focus on generating revenue from gaming content and services. When it comes to consoles, the company lags behind Nintendo and Sony. [Mehr bei CNBC]

After the announcements of the developer conference, it has now become known that Apple to release updated 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros with the new M2 chip. According to Bloomberg, these could be delivered at the end of this year or in early 2023. This could be followed by a new twelve-inch laptop. According to the report, new versions of the Mac Pro and Mac Mini will also be tested with the next-generation M3 chips. [Mehr bei Bloomberg, The Verge und Techcrunch]

Coatue Management is planning a fund to make structured investments in startups. As “Bloomberg” reports, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is also considering a similar fund. Coatue has discussed the planned structured equity fund with potential investors, it said. About 20 percent of the Tactical Solutions Fund would be allocated to startups. By accepting these investments, they could raise money while avoiding issuing new shares at lower valuations. [Mehr bei Bloomberg und The Information]

Investments: Shield AI, which makes software and hardware for drones and other autonomous aircraft, has raised $165 million in a Series E funding round. The company is valued at $2.3 billion. Snowpoint Ventures led the round, along with Riot Ventures, Disruptive, and Homebrew. Technologies developed for defense are currently gaining significant importance, spurred on by current world events. [Mehr bei Techcrunch]

Our reading tip on Gründerszene: Also Trade Republic laid off numerous employees. At the beginning of June, the broker app announced an investment of 250 million euros. But now the Berlin startup has announced layoffs. [Mehr bei Gründerszene]

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Happy Friday!

Your Gründerszene editors