Racing at the Speed of AI

In the Indy Autonomous Challenge, university teams replace human drivers with cutting-edge AI to pilot real Indy race cars at over 150 mph. Caltech’s team pushes their algorithms to the limit—fine-tuning code that must react in milliseconds to keep the car on track. Amid wet conditions and high-stakes laps at Laguna Seca, they achieve record speeds before a dramatic crash ends their run. Beyond the race, their work fuels breakthroughs in autonomy—from spacecraft to robotics—proving that innovation accelerates fastest at the edge of control.