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welcome back TechCrunch Mobile — A central hub for news and insights about the future of transportation.
I spent a few days in Austin south by southwest, where I met with founders and executives, attended some speakers, and even moderated two panels. Despite the obvious appeal of generative AI, the future of transportation continues to capture the attention of investors, city planners, founders, businesses, and the media. I hear a lot of conversations about how self-driving cars will fit into cities, and debates about which technologies can help ease traffic and reduce emissions.
I heard an interesting conversation between the mayor of Austin Kirk Watson and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who predicts the company will be greener, more affordable and challenge Amazon in the future. Now that Uber has finally achieved profitability, these goals seem more achievable and higher on the priority list.
Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana She also announced at SXSW that the company will begin offering robo-taxi services to the public in Los Angeles this week and in Austin by the end of the year. Side note: We’re hearing the Austin service may launch sometime this summer. Maybe I’ll be back in the city sooner than expected!
Well, let’s get to the rest of the week’s news!
a little bird
Electric car starts Fisker It has spent the past few months courting dealers in an effort to move away from a Tesla-style direct sales model after struggling to sell half of the cars produced in 2023.
The company appears to be making some progress on this front. However, Xiaoniao told us that one of the dozen dealers it signed with has already dropped out. Fisker Ourisman was originally the latest extension of the Ourisman Automotive Group, but a month after signing the agreement, it exited the startup and deleted the website it had set up to promote the Fisker Ocean SUV.
The dealer losses come as The Wall Street Journal reports Fisker has hired outside assistance to consider a possible bankruptcy filing.
It’s unclear whether other dealers will follow suit. Classic of Atlantic owner and operator Mike Domenicone said he has conducted more than 150 test drives and sold the first batch of Ocean SUVs at his new “Classic of Fisker” store.
Any tips for us?e-mail Kirsten Korosek Send an email to kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Sean O’Kane Sean.okane@techcrunch.com. If you wish to remain anonymous, Click here to contact uswhich includes SecureDrop (Description here) and various encrypted messaging applications.
Trades of the week
If you’re looking for another example of investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, look no further than the latest funding rounds for self-driving car software companies Apply intuition.
The company raised $250 million in a funding round that valued it at $6 billion, including some high-profile investors. The Series E round was led by Lux Capital’s Bilal Zuberi, investor Elad Gil and Porsche Investment Management, the sports car maker’s independent venture capital arm. Others participating in the round include Andreessen Horowitz, Mary Meeker’s growth fund Bond, and even Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg.
Applied Intuition said it is pushing to bring more artificial intelligence into automotive, defense, construction and agriculture.as a journalist Sean O’Kane writes that the company seems to have found a particular sweet spot for venture capital firms looking for startups with artificial intelligence products that cross over into large industries with big budgets (defense is a popular area), There seemed to be endless opportunities.
Other deals that caught my eye…
he goesis a battery technology startup that has raised £1.6 million ($2 million) through a government-backed grant investment led by Elbow Beach Capital.
driverThe mobile app, which includes ride-hailing and other city services, will expand its financing arrangement with General Catalyst to $300 million from an initial $150 million in 2023.
Happy JourneyThe micro-mobility software provider has raised $5.2 million in a Series A funding round led by Yamaha Motor and including return investment from Urban Innovation Fund, Proeza Ventures, Two Small Fish Ventures and Export Development Canada (EDC).
dynamicSelf-driving car technology startup Motional has secured a bridge loan that provides temporary financial relief as the company seeks long-term funding sources, TechCrunch has learned exclusively.
threeAn electric vehicle startup aiming to build a small pickup truck has raised $5.4 million in a funding round from Neo and Spero Ventures. Spero Venture Partners and Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning will join the board of directors.
Volvo Cars Invested an undisclosed amount in British startup Breathe Battery Technologies. Volvo plans to integrate the startup’s battery management software into its next generation of electric cars to reduce charging times by 30%.
Noteworthy Reads and Other Tidbits
self-driving cars
aptronikAn Austin-based robotics startup has partnered with Mercedes-Benz. The two companies will collaborate to identify and test applications of highly advanced robotic technologies in Mercedes-Benz manufacturing. “
aurora It demonstrated its self-driving car system during an analyst and investor day at its headquarters in Pittsburgh. The company demonstrated how a Peterbilt 579 semi-truck equipped with the latest Aurora driver system (and no one behind the wheel) handled real-world driving conditions on a closed route.
phantom carA remote driving startup launched seven years ago amid the boom for self-driving car technology has shut down after failing to secure new funding. The startup has raised $95 million since its inception and has customers. We’re told they were close to raising more money before the plan fell through. We’ll wait and see what happens with Phantom Auto’s IP.
Zokes It has expanded the scope of self-driving testing at its Foster City, Calif., headquarters and near Las Vegas to include operating hours, conditions and geographies. The driverless Zoox, which is not yet open to the public, is currently operating on a 5-mile stretch of road at the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. Zoox is expected to open to the public in Las Vegas later in 2024.
Electric vehicles, batteries and charging
core – shellA battery materials startup has revealed a breakthrough that could lower the cost of lithium-ion batteries.
Lucid Motor Company is locked in a trademark battle over the name of its Gravity SUV. Gravity Inc., an electric vehicle charging company backed by Google Ventures, filed a “petition to cancel” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) in December, requesting that Lucid’s Gravity trademark be revoked.
India Import taxes on certain electric vehicles will be reduced for companies that commit to investing at least $500 million over three years and building local manufacturing plants, a policy shift that could bolster Tesla’s plans to enter the South Asian market.
Lordstown Motor Company Post-bankruptcy, the company has a new name – Nu Ride Inc. – and a near-single focus: continuing its lawsuit against iPhone maker Foxconn, accusing it of “destroying the business of an American startup.” The reorganized Lordstown Motors will also pursue “potential business combinations,” but did not specify what type of merger it is seeking.
Call a taxi
Uber and Lyft Leaving Minneapolis over minimum wage laws.
This week’s wheel
Image Source: Kirsten Korosek
When I was in Austin I tried one out on a public street Self-driving Volkswagen ID Buzz prototype car. This is not truly driverless, as there is still a human safety operator behind the wheel.However, it did give me an idea of how Volkswagen ADMT The German automaker’s autonomous driving, mobility and transportation subsidiary is making progress. The final commercial version of driverless ID. Buzz AD is designed for ride-hailing services and is expected to launch in 2026.
You may recall that Volkswagen’s self-driving car ambitions are being enabled by Argo AI, a startup backed solely by the automaker and partner Ford. Two companies withdrew financial support for Argo AI, leading to its closure. Volkswagen then turned to Mobileye and has since embarked on a different self-driving path from Waymo, Cruise, Zoox and Motional.
Volkswagen and Mobileye believe in an incremental approach where technology from advanced driver assistance systems used in modern cars can be developed into driverless systems used in robotaxis. This is similar to what Tesla said.
My journey wasn’t entirely smooth, although I didn’t expect it to be. However, when a human-driven vehicle unexpectedly darted out of an alley, the vehicle did see and suddenly stop. As we approached a double-parked emergency vehicle, a problem arose. ID card. Buzz sat for a moment while the safety operator took control of it and maneuvered around it.
