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I returned from a vacation in Denmark and Germany, where I managed to try almost all types of transportation, from bicycles to scooters, to driving on the Autobahn and taking the train. I even took some ferries. It's safe to say that Copenhagen's cycling culture left me envious.
The TechCrunch team was busy as always thanks to the tesla shareholder meeting, various financing agreements and news in the world of electric vehicles. The big problem: fisker file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Here is a timeline of the events leading up to the bankruptcy filing, as well as a senior reporter. Sean O'Kane article on why Fisker failed.
And in case you missed it, I also highly recommend this deeply informed article (from late May) by O'Kane that exposed the numerous problems within Fisker.
a little bird
Do you have a suggestion for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected], Sean O'Kane at [email protected], or Rebecca Bellan at [email protected]. Or see these instructions to learn how to communicate with us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Offers!
This week's biggest deal comes from an autonomous truck startup Guarantee. The company raised $200 million in a round from existing investors Uber and Khosla Ventures, along with several strong strategic investors such as Nvidia, Volvo Group VC, Porsche Automobil Holding SE and more.
Waabi plans to use the funds toward a fully autonomous commercial launch in 2025, but that's not the only reason investors are so bullish on the young startup. Waabi's fundamental generative ai model is capable of reasoning almost like a human would, without requiring a large amount of real-world data to train, according to the startup's founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun. This makes the ai system more capital efficient and easier to scale to autonomous truck transportation and more.
Urtasun said ai's ability to spread and develop rapidly means Waabi can expand the technology to other applications, such as robotaxis, humanoids or warehouse robotics.
Other offers that caught my attention…
Bit detection raised a $25 million Series B to further develop its high-resolution radar technology for autonomous vehicles. Investors include Korea Development Bank, HL Mando Corporation, Industrial Bank of Korea and Aju Capital.
LD Carbon raised $28 million in a Series C round led by Toyota growth fund Woven Capital to advance the circular economy by diverting used tires from landfills. The startup also aims to develop high-performance recycled car parts, according to a statement sent to TechCrunch.
RBW EVa London-based electric vehicle manufacturer of new hand-built classic British sports cars, raised £10 million by Mesón Capital Partners. The startup currently offers a Roadster model with a starting price of around $135,000 and plans to introduce its GT model later this year at a starting price of $151,000.
Unigrid raised $12 million in a round led by Transition VC and Ritz Venture Capital to make sodium-ion batteries, which promise to be a cheaper and safer alternative that can complement lithium-ion batteries.
Notable readings and other tidbits
autonomous vehicles
TO University of Central Florida A study suggests that autonomous vehicles (AVs) are safer than humans under routine circumstances during daylight hours. But in other conditions they fight, according to the New scientist.
California senator dave cortese Left aside his bill SB 915 (which would give cities more control over AV deployment) after the Assembly committee proposed amendments that would effectively strip the bill of its original intent. The audiovisual industry sees this as a victory, but Cortese said he would eventually reintroduce it.
Project 3 Mobilitythe Croatia-based autonomous vehicle startup co-founded by Mate Rimacis prepared to do what he describes as a “big reveal” the 26th of June. As a reminder, the company recently raised €100 million ($107 million) in a Series A round that included backing from TASARU Mobility Investments, a company wholly owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.
Electric vehicles, charging and batteries.
Chinese automobile and battery manufacturer BYD signed a memorandum of understanding with ampersand, an African electric vehicle energy technology company, to decarbonize Africa's commercial motorcycle transportation system. The deal involves Ampersand purchasing battery cells from BYD to build around 40,000 electric motorcycles by the end of 2026.
Charging point is forming teams with South Korea LG Electronics to install more electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S. As part of the agreement, ChargePoint will provide software to operate LG's electric vehicle chargers, and LG will supply hardware to bolster ChargePoint's network.
Rollick has hired a couple more former Tesla employees for leadership positions on its electric vehicle infrastructure team, the startup announced. This appears to be part of a growing trend of automakers and EV charging companies snapping up top talent that Elon Musk appears to have fired on a whim six weeks ago.
Latest Workers at the GM battery cell plant in Lordstown, Ohio, have voted to ratify a new contract that will give production workers $35 an hour by October 2027, as well as health and safety benefits and protections.
tesla
tesla held its shareholders meeting last Thursday after an unprecedented battle on social networks waged by fans of Musk and Tesla. It should come as no surprise to anyone that investors voted to approve Elon Musk's astronomical pay package. They also voted to reinstate Tesla in Texas.
Now Tesla has started fighting for legal recognition of that shareholder vote. The automaker wrote to the Delaware judge that in January he ruled that Musk's pay package was unfair to say that the shareholder vote “significantly impacts” his decision to void the pay.
That's not the only legal battle Tesla has gotten into over the past week. While some shareholders want to give Musk everything he asked for, others oppose him. A group of shareholders sued Musk and Tesla's board of directors last week, alleging they breached fiduciary duties and unjustly enriched Musk by allowing the CEO to launch xAI, which they say is a competing artificial intelligence company.
Several.
Fast trade Startups promising 15-minute delivery rose and fell in U.S. cities. But in India, the sector is growing along with the country's rapid urbanization. Will Indian fast-commerce startups, which are increasingly moving into the e-commerce market, be able to find product market fit and strong unit economics where American startups couldn't?
This week's wheels
What is “This Week's Wheels”? It's an opportunity to learn about the different transportation products we're testing, whether it's an electric or hybrid car, an electric bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle. In the coming weeks, we will share our thoughts on the Fiat 500esome electric bicycles, the 2024 Nissan Ariya Empower+and more.
