The top investors in autonomous vehicle tech

Aug 28, 2019 at 08:27 AM CST
In recent years, investors in Silicon Valley and beyond have been pumping more cash than ever into the sci-fi idea of self-driving cars. But modern companies like Tesla and Google are not pioneers of the autonomous vehicle. Rather, they are advancing an 80-year-old prototype. For the 1939 New York World's Fair, General Motors sponsored an exhibit titled Futurama, which was developed by industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes. Futurama featured a futuristic city with congestion-free highways, and the star of the exhibit was Bel Geddes' prototype of a self-driving car. In his 1940 book, "Magic Motorways," Bel Geddes explained how such cars were intended to "correct the faults of human beings as drivers"—a goal that modern-day autonomous carmakers and the investors behind them continue to aspire toward.

Aug 28, 2019 at 08:27 AM CST

In recent years, investors in Silicon Valley and beyond have been pumping more cash than ever into the sci-fi idea of self-driving cars. But modern companies like Tesla and Google are not pioneers of the autonomous vehicle. Rather, they are advancing an 80-year-old prototype. For the 1939 New York World's Fair, General Motors sponsored an exhibit titled Futurama, which was developed by industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes. Futurama featured a futuristic city with congestion-free highways, and the star of the exhibit was Bel Geddes' prototype of a self-driving car. In his 1940 book, "Magic Motorways," Bel Geddes explained how such cars were intended to "correct the faults of human beings as drivers"—a goal that modern-day autonomous carmakers and the investors behind them continue to aspire toward.