Rya Jetha

I’m now covering robotics & physical AI for @businessinsider. Please get in touch if you’re building, funding, researching, buying, or deploying any kind of robot!🤖 rjetha@businessinsider.com / rjetha.07 on Signal.

@jaccting 👀

@reeyopeeyo Did they say they want to partner with delivery cos 😉

Zoox's new service area in SF (Rides only available to employees and their family and friends. Will be opened up to waitlist eventually, and then the public): sfstandard.com/2026/03/24/zoo…

New: Three security experts told The Standard that Mayor Daniel Lurie's exit from his vehicle yesterday in the Tenderloin violated basic protective protocols. “He should have never gotten out of the car," said a former Secret Service agent. sfstandard.com/2026/03/06/dan…

People collecting signatures for/against the billionaire tax are making bank. Some will make $100k+ in a few months, per reporting by @low___impact One person even moved across the country to collect signatures! sfstandard.com/2026/03/05/cal…

BREAKING: The San Francisco Centre Mall has been sold. Sources say local developers Presidio Bay and Prado Group have teamed up on a deal to take over the defunct property. More details TK, but sources say they will redevelop parts and keep retail 👇 sfstandard.com/2026/03/04/san…

Forget Epstein, forget war with Iran A very serious investigation into the dog poop feud befouling Presidio Heights by @leahygarrett sfstandard.com/2026/03/03/pre…

Waymo’s fleet stopped 1,593 times for two minutes or more during the PG&E outage, according to company data shared with the California Public Utilities Commission, via @leahygarrett sfstandard.com/2026/03/03/way…

Block threw a $60 million blowout in September featuring Anderson .Paak before laying off 4,000+ people last week, via @AngelAuYeung wsj.com/business/jack-…

A cofounder of Anduril, one of the biggest defense startups, floats idea of buying @WIRED.

full story here: sfstandard.com/2026/03/02/rob…

Waymo’s next-gen cars could be buggy Hyundai EVs. Owners say their Ioniq 5 charging units keep failing, triggering “turtle mode": when the car automatically limits speed to about 20 mph and notifies users with an error message & cartoon turtle🐢 today in @sfstandard:

Full story here: sfstandard.com/2026/02/25/new…

A San Francisco Bohemian Club member allegedly leaked the 2023 Bohemian Grove camp list to @DRBoguslaw. After pestering the person for weeks, a courier appeared at a bar with two manila envelopes:

In this week's episode of our podcast, "Pacific Standard Time," The Standard's reporters Rya Jetha and Astrid Kane talk about AI's new capabilities, The Castro Theatre's makeover, and more. Listen to the full episode: sf.news/4tGw8e1

Hiring is down, AI tools are in, and engineers fear they’re sliding toward a “permanent underclass.” 📝: @reeyopeeyo sfstandard.com/2026/02/19/ai-…

New: A driver in Atlanta recently received a DoorDash offer paying $11.25 to close an open Waymo vehicle door, according to a screenshot on Reddit. “No pickup or delivery required,” it read. DoorDash and Waymo confirmed that the door-closing task is part of a pilot partnership that began earlier this year. The pilot is another example of the new types of partnerships with gig economy companies that are emerging to support the growing robotaxi industry. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Mickey Gerold led a seemingly charmed life of private clubs and powerful friends. But behind closed doors, his ex claims, he coerced her into sex work. A brilliant, must-read investigation by @anyaviolet sfstandard.com/2026/02/12/mic…

Here's the full story: sfstandard.com/2026/02/11/gar…

YC's @garrytan is taking his political ambitions statewide with a “Rotary Club for radical centrism.” The impetus for Garry's List, he told me yesterday, wasn't the billionaire tax but Claude Code!