Tensor wants to be the first company to sell you a ‘robocar’ — but who are they?

A caller institution is launching contiguous that claims to person developed “the archetypal volume-produced, consumer-ready autonomous conveyance — designed from the crushed up for backstage ownership astatine scale.” The institution is called Tensor, and it describes itself arsenic a “leading AI agentic company” that’s based successful San Jose, California — but small accusation exists online astir who oregon what whitethorn beryllium down this caller effort.

But according to a trademark exertion filed past April, Tensor is affiliated with AutoX, a Chinese autonomous conveyance developer with operations successful the US arsenic good arsenic its location country.

In its announcement, Tensor makes nary notation of AutoX oregon China. The institution says it’s “dedicated to gathering agentic products that empower idiosyncratic consumers” and that the Tensor robocar is its flagship product. It besides claims to person offices successful Barcelona, Singapore, and Dubai. It’s apt that AutoX spunoff its US-based squad arsenic Tensor to get astir government restrictions connected Chinese bundle successful vehicles. A spokesperson for the institution did not respond to questions astir its affiliation with AutoX.

AutoX has been investigating its vehicles successful and astir San Jose since 2016. It’s not arsenic well-known arsenic immoderate of the different autonomous conveyance startups successful the US and China. The institution was founded successful 2016 by erstwhile Princeton prof Jianxiong Xiao, a specializer successful 3D learning, machine vision, and robotics (who besides seemingly goes by “Professor X,” according to LinkedIn). Since then, AutoX has nabbed respective high-profile investors, including China’s Dongfeng Motor Group and e-commerce elephantine Alibaba.

In 2020, it partnered with Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) to motorboat a robotaxi work successful China. In 2022, it opened a robotaxi cognition halfway successful San Francisco with the extremity of launching a commercialized work — though it has yet to get the due permits to bash so. For the permits it does have, the institution appears to person filed its rebranded sanction with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Tensor is 1 of lone six companies, on with Waymo and Zoox, with a licence to trial afloat driverless vehicles connected nationalist roads successful California.

Now it appears to beryllium pivoting from robotaxis to “robocars.” Tensor says its conveyance is “the archetypal and lone L4 autonomous conveyance disposable for idiosyncratic ownership.” It says it volition motorboat successful the US, Europe, and the Middle East starting successful 2026.

“When the satellite shifts… however volition you move?” said Amy Luca, main selling serviceman astatine Tensor, successful a property release. “We are gathering a satellite wherever individuals ain their idiosyncratic AGI agents, enhancing freedom, privateness and autonomy. With Tensor, we’re introducing the world’s archetypal idiosyncratic Robocar, ushering successful the epoch of AI defined vehicles. This isn’t a car arsenic we cognize it. It’s an embodied idiosyncratic cause that moves you.” (Luca is the erstwhile enforcement vice president and caput of societal astatine Monks, a selling steadfast based successful London, according to her LinkedIn.)

In utilizing buzz words associated with companies similar OpenAI and Anthropic, Tensor appears to beryllium trying to insert itself into the hype-strewn satellite of chatbots and artificial wide intelligence. After all, autonomous vehicles are truthful past decade.

Tensor’s robocar appears to beryllium nary slouch, either. It comes with an array of high-tech sensors, including “37 cameras, 5 lidars, 11 radars, 22 microphones, 10 ultrasonic sensors, 3 IMUs, GNSS, 16 collision detectors, 8 water-level detectors, 4 tire-pressure sensors, 1 fume detector, and triple-channel 5G.” Of course, those sensors won’t beryllium cheap, though Tensor did not enactment a terms connected its aboriginal robocar.

Several companies person designs to merchantability privately owned autonomous vehicles, but nary person achieved that milestone. Tesla CEO Elon Musk keeps promising that the “unsupervised” mentation of the company’s Full Self-Driving diagnostic is conscionable astir the corner, but helium has yet to deliver. GM has besides said that it volition yet merchantability afloat driverless cars to customers. But determination remains a thicket of outgo and liability concerns that volition request to beryllium ironed retired earlier immoderate institution tin instrumentality that adjacent step.