VentureAtlas

Waymo on May 28 began offering trips in the Ojai, its first ground-up purpose-built robotaxi and the production vehicle for the company's 6th-generation Driver. Built by Zeekr and outfitted at Waymo's Arizona factory, the van starts service with about 100 vehicles in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix — joining a roughly 4,000-car commercial fleet — with public rides free for now as Waymo collects feedback and prepares to expand to Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego.

Waymo

At its May 28 intelligence strategy event BYD launched the Xuanji A3, an automotive-grade 4nm smart-driving SoC the company calls China's first, with a three-chip cluster delivering more than 2,100 TOPS to support L3 and L4 autonomous driving. Paired with BYD's next-generation God's Eye ADAS stack, the chip is already in mass production and gives the world's largest EV maker full-stack control of its assisted-driving hardware and software just as L3 features begin pushing into mainstream models.

BYD

The U.S. Department of Energy selected Oklo on May 26 for advanced negotiations under the Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program, alongside Exodys Energy, SHINE Technologies, Standard Nuclear, and Flibe Energy. Oklo will partner with European fast-reactor developer newcleo to convert U.S. surplus plutonium into MOX-style fuel for its Aurora powerhouse, strengthening Oklo's fuel-supply story for its planned Idaho National Laboratory deployment as the company sits on roughly $2.5B in cash after a 92% Q1 buildup.

Oklo

Firefly Aerospace announced on May 26 that NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has awarded it a $75M subcontract to deliver four drones to the Moon's south pole on the MoonFall mission, targeted to launch no earlier than 2028. Firefly's Elytra transfer vehicle will carry the drones over a 45-day transit, enter lunar orbit, then deploy them about 50 km above the surface to survey terrain including permanently shadowed regions — an early operational piece of NASA's Moon Base initiative — as Firefly simultaneously launched a public stock offering the same day.

Firefly Aerospace

Hyundai Motor on May 29 launched 'School of Football,' a five-part social film series featuring Boston Dynamics' production Atlas humanoid running drills, executing a Rabona kick, and stumbling through training routines ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, which kicks off June 11. Hyundai says every move was performed by Atlas without CGI, the highest-profile public showcase yet of the new commercial Atlas as Boston Dynamics ramps initial fleet shipments to Hyundai's RMAC factory in Georgia.

Boston Dynamics