Waabi just hired Lior Ron, ex-Uber Freight CEO, as COO to ramp up its self-driving truck rollout this year.
Rebecca Tinucci, who helped build Tesla’s charging network, takes over as Uber Freight head. Ron stays on as Uber Freight chairman.
Waabi CEO Raquel Urtasun told TechCrunch: 
“[Ron] will lead the go-to-market strategy, expanding key partnerships, and really bringing Waabi from the phase that we’ve been in to commercialization at scale.”
“He has shown his ability to scale from inception to a $5 billion revenue company with Uber Freight.”
Ron and Urtasun worked together at Uber, where he co-founded self-driving truck firm Otto, acquired by Uber in 2016. Urtasun led Uber’s self-driving research 2017-2021.
Uber Freight connects shippers with carriers and plans to integrate autonomous trucks via partners like Waabi and Aurora Innovation. Ron says Uber’s Waabi deal isn’t changing with him moving on.
Ron reportedly heard from big carriers eager for self-driving trucks during his time at Uber Freight.
He said:
“If the most impactful thing to do in the next decade is autonomy, and if the timing is right, then for me it’s really about joining forces with who I think is most positioned to lead the transformation.”
Waabi claims an “AI-first” approach has helped it scale faster, cheaper than rivals.
The startup raised $287.7M since 2021, including $200M Series B in 2024, and says it won’t need more cash soon.
Aurora is Waabi’s main competitor, launching the first US commercial driverless truck route this year with $3.46B raised.
Waabi runs most training and testing in its simulator, Waabi World, and recently layered virtual tests onto a real test track.
Urtasun said:
“At the beginning of the year, we reached feature complete, which basically means we have all the necessary things to remove the driver and [are focused] on the final performance improvement and validation.”
“We are on track for our driverless launch by the end of the year, which is the start of commercialization.”
Waabi plans a Texas launch but hasn’t revealed routes or partners yet. It’s working with Volvo Autonomous Solutions on custom AVs.
Ron said:
“Waabi will lead the technology and it will scale autonomy faster than ever expected.”
“We’re going to create a commercial-ready solution that can really meet them.”
