USA: Startup Aurora Innovation Granted Self-Driving-Car Test Permit in California

Aurora is the 37th organization to receive one of these permits, according to Fortune. The startup joins automakers like Ford, Tesla, Honda, and General Motors, tech companies like Uber, Waymo, and Apple, as well as Chinese automaker SAIC, which doesn't actually sell cars in the United States at the moment.

But Aurora is much smaller than these companies, and has kept a low profile so far. It's led by Sterling Anderson, the former director of Tesla's Autopilot program, and Chris Urmson, the former head of Google's self-driving car project. Also onboard is Drew Bagnell, who previously ran the autonomy and perception team at Uber's Advanced Technologies Center. The lineup of executives lends some credibility to Aurora—but it's still unclear what the company's plans are, or how Aurora will distinguish itself from the numerous other companies working on autonomous driving.

Aurora told Fortune that it is already testing self-driving cars on closed courses, but did not say when testing on public roads would begin. It also hasn't disclosed how many cars it plans to test, or what makes and models it will use. In April, the company said it would use a 2017 Audi Q7 as a data-gathering platform.