Oct 24, 2017

Delphi buying self-driving car company

Delphi, the autoparts company, is buying self-driving car company NuTonomy for $400 million (plus $50 million in earn outs), the companies revealed on Tuesday. The purchase will double the number of people Delphi has working on autonomous vehicles to 200.

Why this matters: The acquisition is a clear bid to help the companies get ahead in the self-driving car race. In a similar spirit to General Motors' acquisition of Cruise last year, this deal unites a company on the car manufacturing side with an upstart that's been focused on the autonomous driving software side of things. Plus, the companies both already have pilots in Singapore and soon Boston. This is Delphi's second acquisition of an autonomous driving startup—it acquired Ottomatika in 2015.

Founded in 2013 as a spin-out from MIT, Boston-based nuTonomy has raised nearly $24 million in funding from Fontinalis Partners, Trucks Venture Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Signal Ventures, Bill Ford, and the government of Singapore, among others. The acquisition will not impact existing partnerships, such as nuTonomy's deals with Lyft and Grab.

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Coronavirus antibody tests are still relatively unreliable, and scientists still aren't sure whether people who get the virus are immune to getting it again, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned on Tuesday.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8:30 p.m. ET: 5,584,091 — Total deaths: 349,894 — Total recoveries — 2,284,242 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8:30 p.m. ET: 1,680,301 — Total deaths: 98,875 — Total recoveries: 384,902 — Total tested: 14,907,041 — Map.
  3. Federal response: DOJ investigates meatpacking industry over soaring beef prices — Mike Pence's press secretary returns to work.
  4. Congress: House Republicans to sue Nancy Pelosi in effort to block proxy voting.
  5. Business: How the new workplace could leave parents behind.
  6. Tech: Twitter fact-checks Trump's tweets about mail-in voting for first time — Google to open offices July 6 for 10% of workers.
  7. Public health: CDC releases guidance on when you can be around others after contracting the coronavirus.
  8. What should I do? When you can be around others after contracting the coronavirus — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

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Updated 44 mins ago - Politics & Policy