Why the World's Biggest Automakers Are Turning to This Company for Self-Driving Technology
Some of the world's leading automakers are all turning to the same company to help bring past the self-driving finish line. Aurora CEO and Co-Founder Chris Urmson joins Cheddar at CES to discuss his firm's newly-announced partnership with Volkswagen Group. He describes his company's goal as providing the "drivers," by way of software, for autonomous vehicles.
The partnership is focused on developing "mobility as a service" initiative in major cities. Urmson describes how Aurora will help Volkswagen Group's fleet of self-driving cars, known as Sedric, connect people in urban communities. He explains how the service initiative will help people with mobility issues of their own, as well as making transportation easier for commuters.
Urmson reveals how his company spent the past year working with Volkswagen Group to integrate its system into the automaker's fleet. He breaks down Aurora's high-pedigree founding team, including himself, a veteran of Google's self-driving initiative, and Sterling Anderson, one of the minds behind the launch of Tesla's Model X.
Social media platforms are often flooded with unverified information, and many people use their news feeds as their main source of news. But Snap is working to set itself apart as it partners with global news outlets to launch Dynamic Stories. Vetted news content will be available for users on the Discovery tab, and news outlets will have an easy way to push content out and reach more people. Alan Wolk, Co-Founder and Lead Analyst at TVREV, joins Closing Bell to discuss Snap's push into news, how it will monetize clicks, whether or not another social media site will imitate the feature, and more.
"New Collar" is a recent term coined for tech jobs that don’t necessarily require a degree but do need a specified technological skillset. Matt Calkins, CEO at cloud-computing and software company Appian, joined Cheddar News to discuss the latest. "This new collar movement is about switching the track you’re on and getting out to a higher value track, making the most of your skills," he said.
Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league, the Big3, is introducing decentralized team ownership to fans with the chance to own a minority stake in the 12 teams through blockchain technology, a first for professional sports. The rapper, actor, and filmmaker joined Cheddar News to talk about the new ownership model using NFTs. "This is a perfect time to offer it to fans and not just wait for fat cats to come and want to buy the teams but for fans to be able to be a part of it,” he said.
