Nordic Autonomous Mobility Week in Silicon Valley

The week kicked off with the Nordic Autonomous Innovation Summit, hosted by the Volvo Group at its Innovation Hub in Mountain View. The summit focused on the future of autonomous driving (AD), examining critical aspects including technology, policy and regulation, business models, public acceptance, and infrastructure. Participants engaged in insightful panel discussions, networking opportunities, and collaborative dialogues aimed at identifying scalable and sustainable solutions for accelerating autonomous driving adoption across the Nordic region. 

Key stakeholders at the summit included industry leaders Volvo Cars, Volvo Group, Rivian, Ericsson, Uber, Deeper.ai, AstaZero and Consat; public agencies such as the California DMV, California Public Utilities Commission, Swedish Transport Agency, and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration; and academia representatives from Stanford University, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley. Transit operators Vy Group, Ruter, and Västtrafik also participated, alongside municipal representatives from the City of Gothenburg and City of Palo Alto, and investment groups including Stand Capital and Silicon Valley Advantage. 

Despite differing approaches—captured by the notion that "the US innovates while the EU regulates"—the summit demonstrated the power of international collaboration. With diverse insights from government, academia, and industry, participants worked towards advancing autonomous mobility solutions for both passenger and goods transport. The event concluded with a call to sustained collaboration between Nordic and U.S. stakeholders, highlighting the importance of addressing the complexities of autonomous mobility while prioritizing scalability, safety, and sustainability.

In addition to Future Mobility, other sponsors and organizers of the Summit included Vinnova, ITS Norway, Sweden-US Green Transition Initiative, and Innovation Norway. 

The remainder of the Nordic Autonomous Mobility Week featured practical experiences, including test rides, site visits, and bilateral meetings. Participants utilized Waymo cars whenever possible and also tested robotaxi services from Zoox. Additionally, attendees engaged with autonomous mobility company Pony.ai and gained insights from Amazon Web Services at their Innovation Lab. Nordic public officials also conducted bilateral meetings with their Californian counterparts, further strengthening international collaboration.

All in all, the Nordic Autonomous Mobility Week proved very valuable, as affirmed by some of the Swedish participants: 

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