Welcome again to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for information and insights on the way forward for transportation. Enroll right here at no cost — simply click on TechCrunch Mobility!
For normal readers of TechCrunch Mobility, you might be questioning, “Why did this newsletter land in my inbox on Friday?” Of us, we’re shifting days in an effort to deliver you a extra full rundown of the information of the week.
I spent the final week at SXSW, the annual tech, movie, comedy, and music pageant in Austin. I like to recommend scrolling by way of our dwell weblog to make amends for all of the transportation, AI, social media, creator economic system — principally tech — information that occurred throughout the convention.
I’ve watched Austin evolve through the years with some good and dangerous outcomes. Protected bike lanes have been one optimistic improvement, which I appreciated as I rode a couple of Lime scooters and two Mod Bikes e-bikes across the metropolis. Austin can be turning into a hub for autonomous car exercise with Avride headquartered there, Zoox testing on public roads, and Waymo launching a industrial robotaxi service.
I used to be fortunate sufficient to be matched with two Waymo robotaxis — all ride-hails happen by way of the Uber app, so it’s by no means a assure. I additionally had one coordinated match courtesy of Waymo. As I wrote earlier this week, it’s completely wild that Waymo and Uber are working collectively. Right here’s why.
Oh, and here’s what I found in my Waymo-Uber robotaxi trip. Trace: some updates to the consumer interface.
A bit hen
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Offers!
Senior reporter Sean O’Kane took a deep dive into a brand new enterprise agency known as Leitmotif that’s been quietly making a great deal of offers for the previous 16 months. The agency, which has funded round 20 startups, broadly focuses on decarbonization with a portfolio that features EV corporations, area and battery performs, and 4 nuclear fusion startups.
That’s not the attention-grabbing half. Right here’s what’s: All the cash in its fund got here from the Volkswagen Group. Take a look at the total story about why the German automotive big has dedicated $300 million to Leitmotif’s first fund.
Different offers that obtained my consideration …
Carpool Logistics, a car logistics platform, raised $12 million in a Collection A funding spherical led by Wavecrest Development Companions, with participation from CarMax, Impel founders Devin Daly and Michael Quigley, and automotive trade veteran David Metter.
Daqus Vitality, a startup engaged on battery supplies, raised $6 million in a seed spherical led by Morningside with participation from unnamed particular person buyers.
Nirvana, an AI-based insurance coverage platform that makes use of real-time driving telematics and 20 billion miles of truck driving information to construct and handle insurance coverage insurance policies for truckers, raised $80 million in a Collection C spherical of funding led by Common Catalyst. Lightspeed Enterprise Companions and Valor Fairness Companions additionally participated. The funding values Nirvana at $830 million post-money.
Northvolt filed for chapter in Sweden, the most recent blow to Europe’s makes an attempt to create a battery-manufacturing juggernaut that might rival the Chinese language giants.
Notable reads and different tidbits
ADAS
Rivian rolled out a hands-free model of its driver-assistance system for freeway driving, which founder and CEO RJ Scaringe mentioned onstage at SXSW in Austin. The brand new hands-free function places Rivian in competitors with Ford and GM, which have comparable hands-free techniques that management steering, acceleration, and braking underneath sure situations and places.
Autonomous automobiles
Hugging Face teamed up with AI startup Yaak to develop LeRobot — a group of open AI fashions, datasets, and instruments to assist construct real-world robotics techniques — with a coaching set to permit robots and vehicles to navigate environments like metropolis streets autonomously.
Vans VC normal companion Reilly Brennan had an attention-grabbing column, Don’t mistake ridehailing for AV ridehailing.
Travis Kalanick, the previous CEO of Uber, thinks the corporate’s resolution to abandon its autonomous driving program was a mistake. Reminder: Uber ATG was burning by way of money when it was offered to Aurora in 2020.
Waymo retains increasing — this time in Silicon Valley. And that growth has include a whole lot of parking tickets.
Electrical automobiles, charging, & batteries
The Mint 400 off-road race put two EVs — a Rivian R1T truck and a Chevrolet Silverado EV ZR2 off-road race truck idea — to the check.
Rad Energy misplaced its CEO and gained a brand new one in a span of some days.
President Donald Trump stated he’ll label violence in opposition to Tesla dealerships as home terrorism — yet one more signal of his deep assist for Elon Musk. As reporter Sean O’Kane notes, “Tesla Takeovers” have been breaking out throughout the globe at Tesla dealerships as individuals protest what they see as a hostile takeover of the federal authorities by Musk (who’s CEO of Tesla and its largest shareholder) and his Division of Authorities Effectivity. A few of the protests have resulted in graffiti on Tesla indicators, charging stations set on hearth, even Molotov cocktails being thrown in a single dealership’s lot.
This week’s wheels
This week I attempted two e-bikes from Austin-based Mod Bikes. I’ll give attention to its latest one, the Groove, which launched earlier this week.
I spent 24 hours with the Groove, an all-electric step-through bike with a souped-up seashore cruiser appear and feel. The Groove existed earlier than, however Mod Bikes discontinued it. Now it’s again and has been up to date all through, together with the body, battery, torque sensor, sensible show, and motor.
The bike itself is sporty and polished with a lot of considerate particulars that make the $1,999 value seem to be a steal. The design is considerate with easy-to-read and easy-to-operate controls and an built-in bike lock that folds neatly on the body.
The Groove is a throttle and pedal help bike, and I discovered it simple to modify between the varied modes. I not often relied on the throttle alone as a result of the help offered loads of oomph. The bike has a payload capability of 275 kilos and reaches a high pace of 28 miles per hour. The Groove has 50 miles of vary; nevertheless, there’s a dual-battery possibility that pops it as much as 100 miles.
One word, although: Wow, this bike is hefty. And whereas that’s usually a very good factor, of us ought to give themselves a little bit of time to regulate to its weight.
I additionally examined Mod Join, which permits customers to wirelessly pair a Lumos ultra-smart helmet to sync and management flip indicators instantly from the bike. The linked bike helmet made me really feel much more seen to drivers as I navigated the busy streets of downtown Austin.
What’s “This week’s wheels”? It’s an opportunity to study in regards to the completely different transportation merchandise we’re testing, whether or not it’s an electrical or hybrid automotive, an e-bike, or perhaps a trip in an autonomous car.
