**Motional’s Revival: From Crossroads to AI-First Autonomous Car Leader**
I’ll never forget the day I wrote about Motional’s struggles just a couple of years ago. The company was at a crossroads, having missed a critical deadline to launch a driverless robotaxi service with Lyft, and had lost a major financial backer, Aptiv. But, as we all know, setbacks can be a blessing in disguise. Fast forward to today, and Motional has not only survived but thrived, thanks to a bold new strategy centered around AI.
The turning point came when Motional’s president and CEO, Laura Main, realized the vast potential of AI and the company’s safe, driverless system. But, they needed to scale globally. To do that, they had to simplify their self-driving system, which was initially a complex web of software. The solution? Applying the transformer architecture, originally developed for language, to their robots and physical AI systems, including autonomous driving.
The result is a streamlined approach that combines smaller AI models into a single “spine,” enabling generalization to new cities, environments, and scenarios while optimizing costs. I recently had the chance to take a 30-minute autonomous drive around Las Vegas, and I have to say, the progress is impressive. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 navigated busy streets, parking lots, and pickup and drop-off areas with ease, even if there were a few hiccups and some graphics still need to be developed.
Main is confident that Motional is on the right path, and I believe her. With Hyundai committed to the long haul, Motional is poised to make a significant impact in the autonomous driving space. The ultimate goal? To make Level 4 self-driving technology available on personal cars. That’s a game-changer.
If you’re interested in learning more about Motional’s journey and their AI-first approach, be sure to check out their presentation at TechCrunch’s event in San Francisco on October 13-15, 2026. It’s shaping up to be a fascinating conversation about the future of autonomous driving.
