Helm.ai and Honda Enter Multi-Year Joint Development Partnership
August 24, 2025
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This week in the Autonomy Economy, Helm.ai deepened their partnership with Honda, Applied Intuition unveiled Self-Driving System (SDS) and Waymo officially started testing in New York City with “safety drivers behind the wheel at all times, operating under the nation’s strictest safety rules”.
The announcements this week from Helm.ai and Applied Intuition underscore a trend we’ve been monitoring for some time now, the rise of Level 2+ systems designed to scale into Level 4 systems over time—the Tesla FSD playbook. If this trend holds and consumers continue to adopt and use these systems regularly, expect more global OEMs to partner with autonomous driving companies that can scale their autonomous driving systems with specific OEM requirements.
At present time, the companies best positioned to benefit from this trend are Applied Intuition, Helm.ai, Nuro, and Wayve. Why? They have a licensing business model and the technical capabilities to deliver the systems that global OEMs are going to want based on consumer demand. Could these four autonomous driving companies capture the majority of OEM partnerships?
It’s entirely possible. One key signal that we are watching is Ford. Who Ford ultimately chooses as their autonomous driving partner remains anyone’s guess at this time. Yes, Ford has a Level 2 system with BlueCruise, but is BlueCruise capable of achieving Level 4? That remains debatable.
If one of these four companies secures a Level 4 licensing agreement with Ford, it would be a strong validation of both their technology and their business strategy. For now, the market dynamic is clear, every major OEM needs a robust Level 2 strategy that seamlessly blends into a Level 4 strategy that enables them to sell personally owned autonomous vehicles in the future.
History suggests few, if any, OEMs will succeed in building a Level 4 system entirely in-house. That’s why partnerships matter, and the details of those deals will provide the clearest roadmap of where the industry is headed. The breadcrumbs are already on the table. Now, It’s time to follow the trail.
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What’s Moving the Markets
Helm.ai x Honda
Helm.ai and Honda deepened their long-standing partnership this week by entering into a multi-year joint development agreement to accelerate Honda’s autonomous driving capabilities, including its Navigate on Autopilot platform.
The new jointly-developed system will be an end-to-end (E2E) AI architecture that controls everything from environmental perception to decision-making and vehicle actuation. Unlike traditional OEM deals, Honda is not taking their time, they are moving fast with mass production scheduled for 2027.
We view this deal as Honda’s potential answer to Tesla’s FSD. Build and sell a great Level 2+ system, while diligently working to advance the system towards Level 4. If that is indeed Honda’s strategy, Helm.ai is the right partner, as the company already has developed a Level 4 model.
Over time Helm.ai’s Level 4 autonomous driving model could be integrated into Honda’s Navigate on Autopilot platform or into future vehicle iterations, depending on hardware and regulatory requirements.
If you are interested in learning more about Helm.ai, we recommend watching Generative AI Will Revolutionize Autonomous Vehicles: A Conversation with Vladislav Voroninski, Co-founder & CEO of Helm.ai.
Our take: Scaling from L2+ to L4 may prove to be the pathway to personally owned autonomous vehicles, and if that’s the case, Honda has an ideal partner in Helm.ai.
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Piquing Our Interest
Nuro Successfully Closes Series E Nuro’s pivot to licensing continues to be validated from both the market and investors. This week, the company announced it closed a $203 million dollar Series E round at a $6 billion dollar valuation.
Applied Intuition Unveils Self-Driving System (SDS) Applied Intuition continues to be one of the most interesting companies in autonomy. This week, the company unveiled an end-to-end Level 2++ system that is capable of scaling to Level 4.
Bot Auto Continues to Prepare for Driver-Out Operations As Bot Auto prepares for driver-out operations, momentum is building. This week, The Houston Chronicle joined the company for an autonomous ride down Interstate 10 in Texas.
Tesla Begins Testing FSD Supervised in Japan This week, Tesla began testing FSD Supervised with employees in Japan as it seeks approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to activate FSD Supervised on more than 30,000 vehicles in the country.
Alibaba Plans Autonomous Driving IPO in Hong Kong Alibaba is planning to spin off Banma Network Technology (their autonomous driving unit) through an IPO on the Hong Kong exchange later this year.
📰 Before these stories were featured here, they were available on X. Follow @RoadToAutonomy today to stay up-to-date on the latest news and developments shaping the autonomy economy.
Social Buzz
Waymo Heads to New York, But With a Catch
Waymo has officially begun testing in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn with “safety drivers behind the wheel at all times, operating under the nation’s strictest safety rules”.
While testing is underway in the Big Apple with plans to ramp up to eight vehicles, there is no guarantee that Waymo will be able to deploy a commercial robotaxi service in the future. That is unless New York State law changes to allow the commercial operation of an autonomous vehicle without the supervision of a human.
Our take: While this is a big step for Waymo and the broader autonomous vehicle industry, media coverage, both in the press and on X has highlighted the growing double standard between Waymo and Tesla, as Walter Piecyk rightly pointed out in an X post.
Companies Mentioned: $TSLA
Waymo is currently ranked #1 with a bullish outlook on the AUTONOMY LEADERBOARD in the autonomous vehicle category.
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