US self-driving startup Aurora expands public-road testing to Texas

Aurora selected Texas due to the volume of public roads and the state’s AV-friendly regulatory environment, the company said in a blog post. — Aurora/Medium

Even as some robo-taxi developers are tapping the brakes, self-driving startup Aurora Innovation Inc is expanding its testing operations to Texas, adding a third state to its existing public-road proving grounds in California and Pennsylvania.

Aurora, founded by Chris Urmson, a former head of Google’s self-driving team, selected Texas due to the volume of public roads and the state’s AV-friendly regulatory environment, the company said Monday in a blog post. The venture plans to deploy small fleets of driverless minivans and later add autonomous semi trucks along commercial routes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, it said.