Can this Silicon Valley startup make autonomous fleets profitable?

While a lot of folks embrace the futuristic vibe of autonomous cars, two veteran mobility entrepreneurs quickly spotted a looming chokepoint in their scaling efforts. The robotaxi industry desperately needs a faster, more streamlined way to service its fleets if it hopes to become profitable. George Kalligeros, a Greek car enthusiast and former Tesla engineer, and the British business strategist Dan Keene were all too aware of new mobility infrastructure. They’d navigated similar logistics with their London startup Pushme Bikes, a massive battery-swapping network for shared e-scooters & e-bikes that raised $600 million before selling to Germany’s Tier Mobility in 2020. (The global platform now serves 5,000 locations across 40 cities.) Now they’re applying that experience to autonomous driving. When they noticed robotaxi expansion goals outpacing its earning ability, Kalligeros and Keene set about reimagining an operations structure that wouldn’t consume the majority of fleet costs. The