Latest news with #SeanOSullivan
TechCrunch
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- TechCrunch
TechCrunch Mobility: A ride-sharing pioneer comes for Uber, Tesla loses more ground, and dog-like delivery robots land in Texas
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! It might have been a short week, but there was still plenty of news, including another Zoox recall, an update on the Stellantis-Amazon partnership, and a few startup-funding deals. One item of note: This week, I wrote about Carma Technology and its patent infringement lawsuit against Uber. This isn't a patent troll situation, and the IP attorneys I have spoken with say it will be a challenging case for Uber. The gist? Carma, which was formed in 2007 by serial entrepreneur and SOSV Ventures founder Sean O'Sullivan, filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Uber, alleging the company infringed on five of its patents that are related to the system of matching riders (or packages) with capacity in vehicles. In other words, ride-sharing. IP attorney Larry Ashery provided the money quote that explains why this is such a complicated and challenging case. 'What's important to understand here is, Carma isn't just asserting five patents. They have had a very sophisticated strategy of patent procurement that they've been working on for the past 18 years.' Carma's five patents are part of a 30-patent family that are all related and connected to the original filing date. That matters because each of the five asserted patents contains multiple patent claims, which define the legal boundaries of the invention. These individual claims — not just the patents as a whole — are what Carma is asserting against Uber. That means Uber will have to address and defend against each asserted claim, making the litigation more complex and difficult to defeat, Ashery noted. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW Let's get into the rest of the news. A little bird Image Credits:Bryce Durbin A few little birds have been chirping at us for months now about a new autonomous vehicle technology startup that has been quietly plugging along for a year. The interesting nugget about this startup — which is called Bedrock Robotics — is who is behind it: Boris Sofman, who led Waymo's self-driving trucks program and previously co-founded and led the popular consumer robotics company Anki. The San Francisco-based startup is still in stealth, but my sources tell me it has raised considerable venture funds. Bedrock Robotics is working on a self-driving kit that retrofits onto construction equipment and other heavy machinery, according to a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O'Kane at or Rebecca Bellan at Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop. Deals! Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Firefly Aerospace received a $50 million investment from Northrop Grumman as part of its Series D round. This investment will further advance production of the startup's co-developed medium launch vehicle, now known as Eclipse. Pallet, a warehouse logistics software startup based in Fremont, California, raised $27 million in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst. Bain Capital Ventures, Activant Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners also participated. Volteras, a London-based startup building virtual connective tissue that will allow plugged-in EVs to offer their batteries to support the grid, closed an $11.1 million Series A led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from Edenred, Exor, Long Journey Ventures, and Wex. Way Data Technologies, a fleet management startup founded by veterans of Lucid Motors and Wolt, raised €2.6 million ($2.95 million) in pre-seed funding led by Pale Blue Dot, with participation from 10x Founders and Greens Ventures. Notable reads and other tidbits Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Autonomous vehicles Rivr's four-wheeled, stair-climbing delivery robot — which its CEO and founder, Marko Bjelonic, describes as a dog on roller skates — will ferry packages from Veho vans directly to customers' front doors as part of a pilot program in Austin, Texas. Both companies see this small pilot as a critical step toward solving a unique slice of the end-to-end autonomous delivery journey. TuSimple (now CreateAI) sent a trove of sensitive data — effectively the blueprint of an American-made autonomous vehicle system — to a Beijing-owned firm after committing to the U.S. government that it would cease such transfers under a national security agreement. The revelation, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, prompted numerous 'not surprised' responses from several readers and sources within the industry. Zoox issued its second voluntary software recall in a month, following a collision between one of its robotaxis and an e-scooter rider in San Francisco on May 8. The incident is notable, largely for what happened after the unoccupied Zoox vehicle operating at low speed was struck by the e-scooter after braking to yield at an intersection. According to Zoox, the e-scooterist fell to the ground directly next to the vehicle and the 'robotaxi began to move and stopped after completing the turn, but did not make further contact with the e-scooterist.' In other Zoox news, the company announced it was the 'official robotaxi partner of Resorts World Las Vegas.' As part of the deal, there will be a dedicated and Zoox-branded robotaxi pickup and drop-off location at Resorts World Las Vegas. Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries The Tesla Cybertruck is having a rough time. Dozens of unsold Tesla Cybertrucks are piling up at a Detroit shopping center parking lot. And while Cybertruck owners are now allowed by Tesla to trade in their vehicles for the first time since they hit the market, they'll face a steep depreciation hit. CarGurus recently showed depreciation rates of up to 45%. Meanwhile, Tesla sales in Europe and the U.K. have fallen by nearly half, according to data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal of 2015 rippled through the automotive sector and prompted the company (and later followed by others) to shift away from diesel and toward hybrids and electric vehicles. Now, four former Volkswagen executives have received prison sentences for their role. In-car tech Amazon is no longer working with Stellantis to create in-car software for the automaker's vehicles. The partnership, first announced in January 2022, was part of Stellantis' plan to generate $22.5 billion annually from software. Stellantis told TechCrunch it would be pivoting to an Android-based system.
TechCrunch
30-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
How a decade-old patent dispute could upend Uber's business
A little-known patent infringement lawsuit could have big implications for Uber — and potentially dozens of other companies. Carma Technology, a company formed in 2007 by serial entrepreneur and SOSV Ventures founder Sean O'Sullivan, filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Uber alleging the company infringed on five of its patents that are related to the system of matching riders (or packages) with capacity in vehicles. In other words, ride-sharing — a business Carma operated in some form for a decade until it changed its business model and applied its tech to road-pricing services like GPS tolling and HOV verification. Carma has requested a jury trial and is seeking a permanent injunction against the company, mandatory future royalties on any Uber products that infringe on those patents as well as damages, and other costs related to the lawsuit. The lawsuit, which has been quietly winding its way through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, is relatively new. The allegations have been swirling for nearly a decade. Carma lawyers first contacted Uber about its ride-sharing and ground transportation patents in 2016, according to the complaint. That was an auspicious time for Uber. The startup, which was founded just seven years before, had shot into the stratosphere — in terms of valuation, growth, and gravitas. Uber was valued at $66 billion at the time, and had a reputation for taking big, legally sticky swings into new markets that helped it grow to hundreds of cities in the U.S., Europe, Canada, and the Middle East. It had raised more than $12.5 billion in venture capital, and was using it to launch new products and even push into autonomous vehicles. Uber might have had the business model and the market share, but it didn't have the specific ride-sharing patents, O'Sullivan told TechCrunch in a recent interview. Carma does — plus a couple dozen others. Uber was allegedly aware of that fact as early as 2015 when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected one of its applications because it ran up against existing patents held by O'Sullivan and Carma, according to the lawsuit. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW At least four of Uber's patent applications — and in some cases numerous revisions to those patents — were rejected between 2016 and 2019 for the same reason. The ride-share giant would eventually abandon some of those applications. Uber still holds hundreds of other patents covering a broad swath of technology and ideas that have been applied to its business. O'Sullivan argues the core service of what Carma's patents describes is exactly how the modern day ride-sharing experience operates. And he contends that Uber is infringing on those patents even if the company's business model operates more like a taxi business. The case is a complicated one, intellectual property attorney Larry Ashery told TechCrunch. (Ashery is not involved in the case.) 'What's important to understand here is Carma isn't just asserting five patents,' said Ashery, whose practice is based in Greater Philadelphia area. 'They have had a very sophisticated strategy of patent procurement that they've been working on for the past 18 years.' He noted the five patents are part of a 30-patent family that are all related and connected to the original filing date. That matters because each of the five asserted patents contains multiple patent claims, which define the legal boundaries of the invention. These individual claims — not just the patents as a whole — are what Carma is asserting against Uber. That means Uber will have to address and defend against each asserted claim, making the litigation more complex and difficult to defeat, he noted. Ashery said Uber's strategy will likely be to try an invalidate these patents, which will be a challenge. A nine-year gap Image Credits:Carma While Carma might have been armed with these specific patents, it took nine years for the company to actually sue Uber. Bunsow De Mory, a Redwood City-based law firm, is representing Carma in the case. 'When any business starts, it's all about just actually capturing the market and winning in the marketplace,' O'Sullivan said. 'Patents are meant to protect against aggressors from stealing the idea, but it's not the main focus of your business to get patent revenue. It's more as a protective mechanism.' Carma, he said, has been 'very busy building a multi-million dollar business and getting to profitability.' But there are other reasons for that nine-year time gap, O'Sullivan explained. For one, the cost. 'It's incredibly expensive to sue a large company over IP and Carma is a relatively small organization,' he said in a recent interview. 'To come up with the $10 million-plus to take on a big patent suit, which is what it takes these days, is not a small task.' O'Sullivan said the company did reach out to Uber as far back as 2016 'in the hopes that they would do the right thing and license our patents.' 'It really took us a while to come to terms with the idea that we actually had to sue Uber in order for them to respond,' he added. Uber declined to comment on the lawsuit. Uber's attorneys did make two procedural motions this week, including a sealed motion to dismiss for improper venue or alternatively to transfer venue for convenience. This procedural motion signals Uber's desire for the case to be litigated in the Northern District of California, where it is based, rather than in Texas. Notably, the lawsuit is aimed at Uber, not Lyft or other companies using ride-sharing. O'Sullivan explained Carma is 'going after the biggest player first' and noted that about 60 other companies are likely infringing on its patents. The five-patent argument The primary argument in the lawsuit ties back to five patents that have been granted to O'Sullivan and Carma, which was originally named Avego. It all started with O'Sullivan's frustration with traffic congestion, which ultimately led to thoughts about car-pooling and how an automated system using smartphones could help people coordinate rides. That idea would turn into the startup Avego and become the basis of the first patent — No. 7,840,427. The first patent, which O'Sullivan applied for in 2007 and was granted in 2010, created a shared transport system that matches empty space in a vehicle with riders or goods. The system established a set of pick-up and drop-off points and then matched users and drivers traveling along a similar route. Before the patent was granted Avego's ride-sharing app debuted on Apple's App Store in 2008, the same year the iPhone launched. Avego showed off its so-called Shared Transport app at the DEMO conference in 2008, which showed how a driver with an iPhone 3G could use the app to accept or reject a ride request. Once accepted, the rider was notified as the driver approached and then was prompted to enter a pin code to prove their identity and authorize an electronic payment. Avego, which would later change its name to Carma, was focused on the promotion of ride-sharing (as in carpooling) and not taxis, according to O'Sullivan. The company operated the carpooling business until October 2016, when the app was withdrawn from the App store. However, it still had other forms of ride-sharing, like its partnership with Toyota, until phasing it out altogether in April 2018. 'If you look at the definition of ride-sharing in federal legislation, it is carpooling,' O'Sullivan said, noting that Carma built up a multi-million dollar ride-sharing business in its early days. When Uber and Lyft came in and tried to co-opt the term ride-sharing to mean taxi-hailing it caused confusion in the market, prompting Carma to change its business model and apply its tech in new ways. 'Uber and Lyft really took ride-sharing in the direction of taxi services, but our company Carma didn't want to,' O'Sullivan said. Carma is still focused on reducing traffic congestion, but its tech is applied to a different business model. Today, Carma uses its app to help transit authorities manage tolls and express lanes — a product line the company first rolled out in 2013. For instance, the app can be used by a driver on a toll road or even track vehicle occupancy for HOV lanes. The app is designed to get more riders into cars and reward those people by reducing tolls or giving drivers access to the HOV lane. The idea, O'Sullivan said, is to offer toll authorities a way to reduce capital expenditure by up to 20 times by not using large gantry-based infrastructure systems. And it has paid off. O'Sullivan says Carma is profitable, although pursuing this lawsuit will cut into its bottom line. Still, he said it's worth the cost. 'I think there's a danger in society where we can't rely on our patents to protect the rights of of the inventors, and the patent system exists specifically to protect the rights of investors, not to reward copycats that just have happen to have deeper pockets,' he said, pointing to Uber's attempts at its own patents and the rejection of them by the USPTO. 'We think it's something that's important to recognize that the rights of a relatively small inventor, are being trampled upon. But it's not just for Carma, really. We think of this as a problem for the entire system. It's a test of whether the rule of law still applies when a powerful tech giant is involved.'
RNZ News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
NRL: Everything you need to know about the Warriors v Dolphins game
The Dolphins needed a late two-point field goal to prevail in their last meeting. Photo: RNZ Warriors v Dolphins Kickoff 5pm Saturday, 17 May Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Live blog updates on RNZ Sport You don't have to go back too far through the history of this rivalry, with the Dolphins only entering the competition in 2023 and the head-to-head results sitting at 2-2. Both teams have taken care of business at their respective homes over that span, so the Warriors are still seeking their first win over the Dolphins at Suncorp Stadium. Centre Herbie Farnworth scored two tries, as the Dolphins held them off 34-32 last August in a wild Brisbane affair that saw the Warriors trail 20-8 at halftime, but level at 26-26 and again at 32-32 over the final 15 minutes. Front-rower Mitch Barnett scored at try and Chanel Harris-Tavita slotted the conversion in the dying moments, before the teams began lining up field goals to break the tie. Kiwis international Jamayne Isaako missed a two-point attempt and Harris-Tavita missed a couple from closer range, before the Dolphins subbed on former Warrior Sean O'Sullivan, who was immediately successful with his first attempt from 40 metres out. Since falling to Melbourne Storm last month, the Warriors have strung together four straight wins and their 7-2 record matches their best-ever start through nine games. Another win this week would put them ahead of the 2018 side, but they still have a ways to go, before surpassing the 11-2 start of the 2002 team that won the minor premiership and reached the Grand Final. Luke Metcalf lands a field goal to deny the Dragons. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport They have lived dangerously through that streak, needing a Golden Point penalty to edge Brisbane Broncos , surviving a strong finish by the North Queensland Cowboys at Magic Round and winning with a late field goal against St George Illawarra Dragons . If nothing else, they've shown resilience, but they'll need more, if they are to consolidate their second spot on the NRL ladder. The Dolphins have been the epitome of inconsistent, losing their first four games, before winning three straight - including victories over both last year's finalists, Penrith Panthers and the Storm. They then lost back-to-back outings, before beating bottom-of-the-table Parramatta Eels last week. They languish in 13th, but at their best, they're way better than that. It's anyone's guess which version turns up this week. Warriors: 1 Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3 Adam Pompey, 22 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 5 Taine Tuaupiki, 6 Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7 Luke Metcalf, 8 James Fisher-Harris, 9 Wayde Egan, 10 Mitchell Barnett, 11 Leka Halasima, 4 Kurt Capewell, 13 Erin Clark Interchange: 12 Marata Niukore, 14 Te Maire Martin, 15 Jacob Laban, 16 Demitric Vaimauga Reserves: 18 Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, 20 Tanner Stowers-Smith Co-captain James Fisher-Harris has been named to return from the pec (chest) injury suffered last month against Melbourne Storm, while superstar Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (hamstring) has been a late addition to the starting line-up from the extended bench. James Fisher-Harris returns from a month on the sideline. Photo: Coach Andrew Webster lost the services of concussed forward Jackson Ford and piledriving Bunty Afoa (knee) this week, so RTS has been inserted at centre and second-rower Kurt Capewell takes up his natural role, with Marata Niukore reverting to the interchange. Dolphins: 1 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 2 Jamayne Isaako, 3 Jake Averillo, 4 Herbie Farnworth, 5 Jack Bostock, 6 Kodi Nikorima, 7 Isaiya Katoa, 8 Francis Molo, 9 Kurt Donoghoe, 10 Felise Kaufusi, 11 Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, 12 Tom Gilbert, 13 Ray Stone Interchange: 14 Harrison Graham, 15 Mark Nicholls, 16 Josh Kerr, 17 Connelly Lemuelu Reserves: 18 Sean O'Sullivan, 19 Oryn Keeley The Dolphins have retained their side from last week's win over Parramatta Eels, with Tom Gilbert and Ray Stone swapping jerseys in the pack. Wellington-born Tongan half Isaiya Katoa leads the competition in line engagements (101) by a wide margin - Sharks counterpart Nico Hynes is second with 78 - so he's a constant threat on attack. His kicking game is probably second only to Penrith Panthers wiz Nathan Cleary and the Warriors will need to close him down. So many to chose from, including aforementioned Katoa, but let's stay in the halves, where sneaky Kodi Nikorima is quietly having one of his better seasons. The former Warriors has now brought up 50 games for three different clubs - Brisbane Broncos, Warriors and Dolphins - is proving an ideal foil to his partner in crime and would love nothing more than to get one over one of his old clubs. Logic suggests luck will run out on the Warriors sooner or later - or they will finally take their game to the next level, after so many close shaves. All eyes will be on the return of Tuivasa-Sheck to centre and maybe that will be enough to spark his team to their fifth straight win. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
