[ { "id": 590, "name": "Cruise", "slug": "cruise", "former_names": [], "small_logo_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/b9aae9ad065dcf8b7a07d47b45a0667c6953810b.png", "website": "http://getcruise.com", "all_locations": "San Francisco, CA, USA", "long_description": "Cruise is building the world’s most advanced, all-electric, self-driving car technology to safely connect people with the places, things, and experiences they care about. Self-driving cars will help save lives, reimagine cities, redefine time in transit, and restore freedom of movement for individuals who live in dense urban settings. Acquired by GM in 2016.", "one_liner": "Self-driving cars.", "team_size": 3000, "industry": "Industrials", "subindustry": "Industrials -> Automotive", "launched_at": 1384978717, "tags": [ "Autonomous Delivery", "Machine Learning", "Climate", "AI", "Self-Driving Vehicles" ], "tags_highlighted": [], "top_company": true, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Winter 2014", "status": "Acquired", "industries": [ "Industrials", "Automotive" ], "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada", "Remote", "Partly Remote" ], "stage": "Growth", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": null, "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/cruise", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/winter-2014/cruise.json", "year_founded": 2013, "city": "San Francisco", "country": "US", "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/getcruise/", "x_url": "https://twitter.com/Cruise", "fb_url": "https://www.facebook.com/cruiseautomation/", "cb_url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/cruise", "github_url": null, "logo_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/b9aae9ad065dcf8b7a07d47b45a0667c6953810b.png", "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": null, "founders": [ { "user_id": 5650, "full_name": "Kyle Vogt", "title": "Founder/CEO", "founder_bio": "Kyle started Cruise in 2013, eventually selling it to GM for $1 billion. He stayed on and led Cruise to a $30 billion valuation, over $7 billion in investment, and 250,000 fully driverless rides delivered. Kyle also co-founded Twitch (acquired by Amazon), Socialcam (acquired by Autodesk), and Justin.tv. Kyle studied computer science and electrical engineering at MIT.", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylevogt/", "x_url": null, "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/02bfc17bb6bdb80c6e86608a0da0d31a18fad0f2.jpg" }, { "user_id": 5619, "full_name": "Daniel Kan", "title": "Founder/COO", "founder_bio": "Built Exec (W12), Cruise (W14), now Fifth Door (F25)", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielkan", "x_url": "", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/5892151ebb8056a8d73a27951ce9573e078f48d0.jpg" } ], "jobs": [], "news": [ { "title": "Cruise's CEO says self-driving cars will soon take over roads | Fortune", "url": "https://fortune.com/2023/03/16/gm-cruise-kyle-vogt-driverless-cars-autonomous-vehicles/", "date": "Mar 16, 2023" }, { "title": "Upset by high prices, GM's Cruise develops its own chips for self-driving cars | Reuters", "url": "https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/upset-by-high-prices-gms-cruise-develops-its-own-chips-self-driving-cars-2022-09-14/", "date": "Sep 19, 2022" }, { "title": "Cruise, loaded with another $1.35B from Softbank, opens up driverless ride-hailing to the public – TechCrunch", "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/01/cruise-loaded-with-another-1-35b-from-softbank-opens-up-driverless-ride-hailing-to-the-public/?tpcc=tcplustwitter", "date": "Feb 01, 2022" }, { "title": "Cruise lays out its plan for ‘how’ it will make robotaxis a reality – TechCrunch", "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/05/cruise-lays-out-its-plan-for-how-it-will-make-robotaxis-a-reality/", "date": "Nov 05, 2021" } ], "launches": [] }, { "id": 1026, "name": "Open Motors", "slug": "open-motors", "former_names": [ "OSVehicle" ], "small_logo_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/d48728d2bd5556dcfa025a664608f1a7e310cb5d.png", "website": "https://www.openmotors.co", "all_locations": "San Francisco, CA, USA; Remote", "long_description": "Open Motors (formerly OSVehicle): open, modular, electric vehicle platforms allow new and existing car manufacturers to develop their own models saving up to two years of R&D and millions of dollars in investments. At the same time, it is a reference platform for mobility startups to embed and develop their technology on.\r\nOpen Motors (formerly OSVehicle) is also developing “EDIT”, the first self-driving vehicle designed & engineered for services in white label, extremely modular & open. Fleets can last 10X more thanks to an easy repairability & upgradeability.\r\n\r\nFor more info visit www.openmotors.co", "one_liner": "Open Motors (formerly OSVehicle) is a B2B company that is developing…", "team_size": 11, "industry": "Industrials", "subindustry": "Industrials -> Automotive", "launched_at": 1447359615, "tags": [ "Electric Vehicles", "Self-Driving Vehicles" ], "tags_highlighted": [], "top_company": false, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Winter 2016", "status": "Inactive", "industries": [ "Industrials", "Automotive" ], "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada", "Remote", "Fully Remote" ], "stage": "Early", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": null, "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/open-motors", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/winter-2016/open-motors.json", "year_founded": null, "city": "San Francisco", "country": "US", "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/openmotors/", "x_url": "", "fb_url": null, "cb_url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/osvehicle", "github_url": null, "logo_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/d48728d2bd5556dcfa025a664608f1a7e310cb5d.png", "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": null, "founders": [ { "user_id": 110688, "full_name": "Tin Hang Liu", "title": "Founder/CEO", "founder_bio": "Tin Hang Liu, born in Italy, is an entrepreneur, and a keynote speaker focused on: Innovation, New Mobility & Energy, and Climate Change.\nHe is the founder and CEO of Open Motors, a startup from Silicon Valley that developed an open hardware platform for EVs, a modular self-driving vehicle called “EDIT” engineered for MaaS (Mobility as a Service) & Logistic, and EV battery swap technology.\nMedia defined Open Motors as the “IKEA car”, “Arduino for Vehicles”, “Android for Electric Vehicles”.", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://linkedin.com/in/tinhangliu", "x_url": "https://twitter.com/tinhangliu", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/cb3556b5e9896c9af48882ed39251b0b4488abf0.jpg" }, { "user_id": 114029, "full_name": "Yuki Liu", "title": "Founder/COO", "founder_bio": "co-founder Open Motors", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/yukiliu", "x_url": "", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/43dce84de1d64eefeb907828f27d626b81b1b711.jpg" } ], "jobs": [], "news": [], "launches": [] }, { "id": 1452, "name": "lvl5", "slug": "lvl5", "former_names": [], "small_logo_thumb_url": "/company/thumb/missing.png", "website": "http://www.lvl5.ai", "all_locations": "San Francisco, CA, USA", "long_description": "", "one_liner": "HD maps for self-driving cars.", "team_size": 6, "industry": "Industrials", "subindustry": "Industrials -> Automotive", "launched_at": 1478140813, "tags": [ "Autonomous Trucking", "Self-Driving Vehicles" ], "tags_highlighted": [], "top_company": false, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Winter 2017", "status": "Acquired", "industries": [ "Industrials", "Automotive" ], "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada" ], "stage": "Early", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": null, "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/lvl5", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/winter-2017/lvl5.json", "year_founded": null, "city": "San Francisco", "country": "US", "linkedin_url": null, "x_url": "https://twitter.com/lvl5inc", "fb_url": null, "cb_url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/lvl5", "github_url": null, "logo_url": null, "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": null, "founders": [ { "user_id": 160517, "full_name": "George Tall", "title": "Founder/CTO", "founder_bio": null, "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetall", "x_url": null, "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/a7f62c2d11310ab87e2bcd21ceb163a2f945ee71.jpg" } ], "jobs": [], "news": [], "launches": [] }, { "id": 12597, "name": "Lucid Bots", "slug": "lucid-bots", "former_names": [ "Lucid Drone Technologies", "Lucid Drone Tech" ], "small_logo_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/3ef3c01732ca1adf6e17c2105c507271f7b86744.png", "website": "https://lucidbots.com/", "all_locations": "Charlotte, NC, USA", "long_description": "At Lucid, we are a B2B robotics provider for dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs, starting with the cleaning industry, which has a 200% annual turnover rate. \r\n\r\nOur primary product is a drone that can clean anything from windows to roofs to stadium domes to industrial tanks. Our drones can clean up to 8x faster. Due to customer demand, we also launched a ground-based pressure-washing robot to complement our cleaning drone.\r\n\r\nWe support customers around the country who use our robots every day to clean properties with great safety and efficiency. We engineer, manufacture, and support our technology from a 20,000 sqft headquarters in Charlotte, NC.", "one_liner": "We build robots for dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs.", "team_size": 26, "industry": "Industrials", "subindustry": "Industrials -> Manufacturing and Robotics", "launched_at": 1556215532, "tags": [ "Robotics", "Drones", "Manufacturing", "Aerospace", "Self-Driving Vehicles" ], "tags_highlighted": [], "top_company": false, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Summer 2019", "status": "Active", "industries": [ "Industrials", "Manufacturing and Robotics" ], "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada" ], "stage": "Growth", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": null, "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/lucid-bots", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/summer-2019/lucid-bots.json", "year_founded": 2018, "city": "Charlotte", "country": "US", "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/lucid-bots", "x_url": "https://twitter.com/lucid_bots", "fb_url": "https://www.facebook.com/lucidbots/", "cb_url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/lucid-drone-technologies", "github_url": null, "logo_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/3ef3c01732ca1adf6e17c2105c507271f7b86744.png", "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": null, "founders": [ { "user_id": 324936, "full_name": "Andrew Ashur", "title": "Founder", "founder_bio": "Andrew manages the overall operations of Lucid, including product development, strategic partnerships, and investor relations. He is a prolific learner with a demonstrated track record for extreme productivity. Andrew graduated with a double major from Davidson College in just three years, while playing a Division I sport, working three jobs, and founding Lucid. ", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://linkedin.com/in/andrewashur", "x_url": "https://twitter.com/andrew__ashur", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/7dab073afb6738934109b1ebf3cf32a194453587.jpg" } ], "jobs": [], "news": [ { "title": "Lucid Bots secures $9M for drones to clean more than your windows | TechCrunch", "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/08/lucid-bots-9m-drones-clean-windows/", "date": "May 08, 2024" }, { "title": "Charlotte company turns to drones for window washing | Charlotte Observer", "url": "https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article263258723.html", "date": "Jul 12, 2022" } ], "launches": [] }, { "id": 22786, "name": "Faction", "slug": "faction", "former_names": [ "Faction Technology", "Inc." ], "small_logo_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/0a1756fb9ac322c1d351b67848cc199b85c7f1fb.png", "website": "http://www.faction.us", "all_locations": "San Francisco, CA, USA; South San Francisco, CA, USA", "long_description": "Faction Technology, Inc. is a leader in developing right-sized driverless vehicle fleets. As pioneers in supervised autonomous mobility, Faction is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that redefine the future of transportation. With a commitment to sustainability, safety, and technological excellence, Faction is driving the evolution of autonomous mobility for a smarter, more connected world. Learn more at www.faction.us.", "one_liner": "Driverless electric vehicles at a fraction of the cost of a car.", "team_size": 25, "industry": "Industrials", "subindustry": "Industrials -> Automotive", "launched_at": 1614699354, "tags": [ "Autonomous Delivery", "Robotics", "Logistics", "Electric Vehicles", "Self-Driving Vehicles" ], "tags_highlighted": [], "top_company": false, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Winter 2021", "status": "Inactive", "industries": [ "Industrials", "Automotive" ], "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada", "Remote", "Partly Remote" ], "stage": "Early", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": [ { "question": "Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.", "answer": "Production-focused digital vehicle platforms" } ], "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/faction", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/winter-2021/faction.json", "year_founded": 2020, "city": "San Francisco", "country": "US", "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/faction-technology", "x_url": "https://twitter.com/factionmoto", "fb_url": "https://www.facebook.com/factiontechnology", "cb_url": "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/faction-65b7", "github_url": null, "logo_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/0a1756fb9ac322c1d351b67848cc199b85c7f1fb.png", "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": { "name": "Brad Flora", "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/people/brad-flora" }, "founders": [ { "user_id": 503896, "full_name": "Ain McKendrick", "title": "Founder", "founder_bio": "Previously CEO at Faction Technology. Prior to founding Faction, Ain has focused on autonomous systems on everything from light electric vehicles to the first successful driverless semi trucks to run on public highways.\n\nBefore getting in to the vehicle space, Ain spent a number of years in consumer electronics at Netflix, Dell, TiVo, and various startups. He began his career as one of the founders of Palm Computing developing the original PalmPilot handheld digital assistants.", "is_active": false, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/ainmckendrick/", "x_url": null, "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/aeae4f4aa8c47cd7914d0b4c5d7b7712fbb19653.jpg" } ], "jobs": [], "news": [ { "title": "Faction Launches Self-Driving Light EV Services in Houston, Texas, Revolutionizing Curbside Delivery Operations", "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/faction-launches-self-driving-light-ev-services-in-houston-texas-revolutionizing-curbside-delivery-operations-302190546.html", "date": "Jul 08, 2024" }, { "title": "Houston's busiest Chick-fil-A flies solo with new driveless delivery - CultureMap Houston", "url": "https://houston.culturemap.com/news/city-life/chick-fil-a-faction-driveless-delivery/", "date": "Jun 28, 2024" }, { "title": "CSAA INSURANCE GROUP'S DEBRA BRACKEEN APPOINTED TO FACTION BOARD OF DIRECTORS, BRINGING EXPERTISE IN TECHNOLOGY AND VEHICLE INNOVATION", "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/csaa-insurance-groups-debra-brackeen-appointed-to-faction-board-of-directors-bringing-expertise-in-technology-and-vehicle-innovation-302144047.html", "date": "May 14, 2024" }, { "title": "TDK Ventures leads next round of financing in advanced vehicle technology developer Faction", "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tdk-ventures-leads-next-round-of-financing-in-advanced-vehicle-technology-developer-faction-301966537.html?utm_source=fot.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=trucks-fot-cruise-faction-mobilityjobs", "date": "Oct 26, 2023" }, { "title": "Faction Announces Commercial Expansion of DriveLink® and TeleAssist®", "url": "https://www.faction.us/blog/faction-announces-commercial-expansion-of-drivelink-r-and-teleassist-r", "date": "Feb 27, 2023" } ], "launches": [] }, { "id": 32518, "name": "Agency Tool Company", "slug": "agency-tool-company", "former_names": [], "small_logo_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/244ddf9b0965c4c601170d71dd660ad1a89f8792.png", "website": "https://agencytool.com", "all_locations": "Denver, CO, USA", "long_description": "Agency Tool Company ships software to robots in the field 20x faster than a Docker pull with ATC Deploy, sending only the bytes that changed and resuming when the network drops. Deployment tooling is the connection between the lab & the field that continually bottlenecks robotics scaling and lacks a strong robotics-native solution. Deploy is live today with 3 launch partners across ag, construction, and logistics robotics.\r\n\r\nOur second product, ATC Build, offers embedded-compute as a CI service so devs can run tests and validate their software on the actual target hardware. Build supports the Nvidia Jetson lineup, Raspberry Pi, and a number of other embedded platform targets.\r\n\r\nJack Morrison and Davis Foster founded and sold Scythe Robotics after deploying hundreds of autonomous mowers across the country; Agency Tool Company is building the robotics deployment platform across hardware and software they wish they had.\r\n\r\nLearn more at https://agencytool.com", "one_liner": "Reliable infrastructure to build, deploy and manage real-world robots.", "team_size": 3, "industry": "Industrials", "subindustry": "Industrials -> Manufacturing and Robotics", "launched_at": 1784914207, "tags": [ "Developer Tools", "Robotics", "Automation", "Infrastructure", "Self-Driving Vehicles" ], "tags_highlighted": [], "top_company": false, "isHiring": false, "nonprofit": false, "batch": "Summer 2026", "status": "Active", "industries": [ "Industrials", "Manufacturing and Robotics" ], "regions": [ "United States of America", "America / Canada", "Remote", "Partly Remote" ], "stage": "Early", "app_video_public": false, "demo_day_video_public": false, "app_answers": null, "question_answers": null, "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/agency-tool-company", "api": "https://devasheeshg.github.io/yc-api/batches/summer-2026/agency-tool-company.json", "year_founded": 2026, "city": "Denver", "country": "US", "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/company/agency-tool-company", "x_url": "https://x.com/agencytoolco", "fb_url": null, "cb_url": null, "github_url": null, "logo_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/244ddf9b0965c4c601170d71dd660ad1a89f8792.png", "app_video_url": null, "dday_video_url": null, "company_photos": [], "primary_partner": { "name": "Harshita Arora", "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/people/harshita-arora" }, "founders": [ { "user_id": 3668961, "full_name": "Jack Morrison", "title": "Founder/CEO", "founder_bio": "Founder and CEO at Agency Tool Company. Previously founder/CEO at Scythe Robotics, building autonomous electric outdoor equipment from 2018-2026 and successfully exiting to ASI. Earlier co-founded Replica Labs (mobile 3D scanning) and worked as a computer vision engineer at Occipital on the Structure Sensor. BA Computer Science from Bowdoin.", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/morrisonjack/", "x_url": "https://x.com/jackmorrison", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/13172ea12c502ccffb1824b2ef8e356abeabdfae.jpg" }, { "user_id": 253511, "full_name": "Davis Foster", "title": "Founder", "founder_bio": "Founder at Agency Tool Company - making it easier to scale robots. Previously co-founded Scythe Robotics ('18-26), made autonomous commercial mowers, acquired by ASI in 2026. Built and shipped hundreds of robots still operating across the country. Thiel Fellow.", "is_active": true, "linkedin_url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/davisfoster", "x_url": "https://x.com/davistfoster", "avatar_thumb_url": "https://bookface-images.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/avatars/3b4566280f9b3ba7c4ea23beb319e78fbf6db999.jpg" } ], "jobs": [], "news": [], "launches": [ { "id": 107934, "title": "Agency Tool Company: The build and deployment platform for robotics", "tagline": "Field Robots Faster with ATC Deploy", "body": "Today we're sharing Agency Tool Company and our first product, ATC Deploy: a faster, more reliable way to ship software to robots wherever they are. It moves updates up to 20 times faster than docker pull or scp and works with any software stack already in use.\n\n\n\n## The updates that took until 2 a.m.\n\nDavis and I spent eight years building Scythe Robotics and putting hundreds of autonomous mowers to work across the country. For years, we deployed software with a tool I'd cobbled together for our first few robots. As the fleet grew, deployment became an ordeal: engineers stayed up until 2 a.m., we coordinated with customers to move robots out of sheds and into LTE coverage at set times, and failed transfers restarted from zero. Shipping a fix could take more coordination than building it. We had models to train and customers to serve, so the tooling limped along with incremental bandaids.\n\nWe've since heard the same story from robotics teams across industries. That deployment becomes a hidden bottleneck: teams become release-averse, feedback loops slow and improvements stall. Stitched-together web and IoT tools barely work if you know which scripts to run and who to call, so they survive, even if it means every update is distracting from improving the product.\n\n## What we built\n\nATC Deploy ships whatever you already run: OS images, Docker images, or any file tree. Run “atc ota push user@robot”, and it sends only the changed bytes, then restarts your software through hooks you define—way faster than a docker push.\n\nInstall takes one “curl | sh” command and a config file so you can get back to work fast. Interrupted transfers resume where they stopped, and an offline robot can receive updates by USB if you need. There's no new runtime, packaging format, or operating system to adopt.\n\n## Shipping to robots today\n\nATC Deploy already ships software to robots at Burro, which has deployed more than 750 machines worldwide, Tempo, polishing concrete across several US states and Canada, and Gather, who is scaling their 99.9% accurate inventory drones nationwide. Their teams spend less time managing delivery and more time improving the robot.\n\n**Operate a robot fleet? Join the ATC Deploy waitlist at [agencytool.com](https://agencytool.com/).** Know a team that should be using it? Send them this post, or to [mailbox@agencytool.com](mailto:mailbox@agencytool.com).\n\nIt's time to build robots.\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post&id=107934&key=user_uploads/253511/2f53d874-b652-4819-b734-bd52256958d8)\n\n", "url": "https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/S4s-agency-tool-company-the-build-and-deployment-platform-for-robotics", "votes": 6, "created_at": "2026-07-28T15:54:16.451Z" } ] } ]