How driverless car startup NuTonomy is building the future of transport

This week, Tech in Asia Jobs shares insights into how successful companies operate, hire, and more.

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Picture this.

It’s a Monday morning in sunny Singapore, and you’re getting ready for work.

Before you leave the house, you pull out your mobile phone and hail for a vehicle. Minutes later, a one-seater driverless pod pulls up to your door and you hop in. You’re headed for the train station.

On the way there, dozens of similar pods are transporting people to and fro the train station and public facilities. Occasionally, a driverless cab whizzes by. What used to be car parks are now public gardens. Traffic jams are a distant memory.

At the train station, you hop off the pod and take the train to work. You alight at your designated stop, and another pod takes you to your workplace. You’ll never need to walk or cycle if you didn’t want to.

This is the vision for urban cityscapes that self-driving car startup NuTonomy is working toward.

I sat down with James Fu, director of technology, and Cody Kamin, manager of Singapore operations at NuTonomy to find out more.

About NuTonomy

Founded by Karl Iagnemma and Emilio Frazzoli in July 2015, NuTonomy is a spin-off from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART).

It is primarily a software company developing a full technology stack needed to power a driverless vehicle. This fits in with its larger mission to improve the transportation system in cities worldwide.

Although NuTonomy is based in Boston, two-thirds of its employees work in Singapore. The company has over 100 employees across both countries.

NuTonomy was acquired by automotive supplier Delphi in October 2017 for $450 million.

Why autonomous vehicles?

Milestones

Technical challenges

Organizational challenges

Hiring