Trucks VC fields pitches from 81 AV startups in 2026

Trucks VC has received pitches from 81 new autonomous vehicle (AV) startups so far in 2026, according to TechCrunch Mobility. The early-stage investment firm says that is two-thirds more than last year and more than it saw during the boom years of 2016 and 2017.

Trucks VC partner Puneeth Meruva told TechCrunch that foundation models could make end-to-end AV systems possible. These models can generalize across environments and scenarios, potentially making AVs cheaper and faster to deploy. Open-source models including Nvidia’s Alpamayo and Qwen’s vision-language-action models have also lowered the barrier for startups, Meruva said. Trucks VC has seen some startups deploy within a few months with less than $1 million raised.

The pitches included companies targeting construction, warehouses, agriculture and mining, as well as a growing number of robotaxi startups. Many presented themselves as direct competitors to Waymo. Meruva said smaller firms could compete in specific regions or on particular routes, even if they do not match Waymo globally. He expects more AV startups to approach Trucks VC next year.

The report describes a new wave of AV investment and activity, but the evidence cited is the firm’s startup pitches and Meruva’s assessment.