The autonomous vehicle (AV) space is experiencing a resurgence reminiscent of the 2016 hype cycle. With Travis Kalanick re-entering the scene to build a new robotics company, talent wars and capital flows are heating up much like they did a decade ago. The money is flowing back, and it's the veterans of that first wave who are leading the charge into the next generation of autonomous technology.
Humble Robotics: A New Player in Freight Autonomy
Eyal Cohen, founder and CEO of Humble Robotics, is one of those veterans. Cohen was at Otto when Uber came calling, later followed Anthony Levandowski to Pronto, and after two decades bouncing between deep-tech bets in the Bay Area, his new company emerged from stealth in April 2026 with $24 million in funding. Humble Robotics is building a fully autonomous, cabless electric hauler designed specifically for freight — a vehicle with no driver cabin, optimized for cargo capacity and operational efficiency.
Cohen joins Kirsten Korosec on this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast to discuss AV déjà vu and the lessons learned from 15 years of building startups across electrification, solar, and robotics.
Why the Hype Cycle Is Back — and Why It's Different This Time
Cohen argues that every new industry goes through hype cycles, and AVs are no exception. What makes 2026 different is that the technology has matured: sensors are cheaper, compute power is more accessible, and regulatory frameworks are beginning to take shape. Humble Robotics could not have existed ten years ago — the necessary advances in battery technology, perception algorithms, and supply chain maturity simply weren't there.
The company has also made a strategic bet on ditching lidar in favor of camera-only vision models, leveraging advances in computer vision and deep learning to reduce costs and simplify the sensor stack. This approach, which seemed unthinkable in 2016, is now viable thanks to the proliferation of high-quality training data and more robust neural networks.
Talent Wars and Team Building
With capital flowing back into AV startups, competition for top engineering talent is fierce once again. Cohen shared advice for founders: prioritize culture over compensation. Long-term retention, he says, depends on building a team that believes in the mission and thrives on collaboration rather than being driven solely by equity or salary.
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via TechCrunch