Welcome again! Did you miss me? Sure, in fact you probably did. There may be loads of “future of transportation” information to maintain monitor of. Let’s soar in.
It’s comeback week, and never simply because I’ve returned from trip. I’m speaking in regards to the biennial IAA Mobility convention in Munich and the purposeful effort amongst German automakers to indicate the world it may nonetheless provide compelling, technologically superior, and reasonably priced autos. The subtext of the splashy occasion that began Tuesday: “Hey, China, we’re not out of the race.”
VW Group, Mercedes, and BMW all showcased quite a few new autos, together with electrical ones. And executives made their battle cries: VW Group Oliver Blume struck a bullish tone in a couple of interviews with reporters and laid out the corporate’s plan to be aggressive in China, significantly with EVs, a class the place VW has lagged.
However what about on the house entrance? Chinese language automakers have been pushing into Europe, and shoppers have responded. The German automakers are hoping their newest merchandise — together with a brand new all-electric Mercedes GLC, the BMW iX3 with its 4 “superbrain” computer systems, and the Volkswagen ID Polo and ID Cross idea — will protect and even develop market share. However they’ve some work to do. Chinese language corporations like BYD virtually doubled their market share in Europe over the previous 12 months, JATO Dynamics reported in July.
One different IAA information merchandise of observe: Rimac Expertise, the tech and elements unit of Rimac Group, has developed solid-state battery packs it says will probably be obtainable by late 2027. These batteries apparently pack within the power and could be charged from 10% to 80% in below 10 minutes.
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A bit of fowl
Hyundai seems to nonetheless be dedicated to Motional, in response to two little birds who’ve shared new funding data with me.
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October 27-29, 2025
Hyundai and Aptiv had created a three way partnership (known as Motional) with an settlement to take a position $4 billion within the effort. Aptiv backed out in early 2024, leaving Hyundai to both make investments its personal cash, discover different outdoors companions, or shutter this system altogether. Hyundai opted to make investments $1 billion — $475 million instantly into Motional as a part of a broader deal that features shopping for out three way partnership companion Aptiv. Hyundai agreed to spend one other $448 million to purchase 11% of Aptiv’s widespread fairness curiosity in Motional.
Now it seems Hyundai is investing extra into Motional in two tranches. The primary is being dispersed this 12 months and is about $452 million. The second comes subsequent 12 months, and I’m nonetheless making an attempt to nail down that quantity. That first determine is in keeping with reporting from a Korean outlet. Hyundai declined (a few occasions!) to answer my questions in regards to the funding. That’s fairly typical for big firms to remain mum. Nonetheless, one little fowl who’s deep inside the AV business additionally famous that Hyundai won’t need to make a giant deal about this, contemplating it’s additionally working with Waymo.
In different little fowl chirpings, there are two new hires at Common Motors that you just would possibly discover fascinating. Sony Mohapatra, the previous senior supervisor of AI compute platforms at Cruise, has landed as director of AI and machine studying engineering at Common Motors. And Paul Menson, who was the senior workers account supervisor of Megapack at Tesla, is now director of power storage programs enterprise growth at Common Motors.
Acquired a tip for us? E-mail Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or my Sign at kkorosec.07, or Sean O’Kane at [email protected].
Offers!
By way of, the transit software program startup that garnered consideration for its consumer-facing on-demand shuttle service, has made its IPO debut. The corporate, as I’ve talked about earlier than, has been batting round plans for an IPO for years.
Earlier this 12 months, it filed confidentially for an IPO — the second time it took this step. However this time, By way of took the large IPO leap. The corporate, which is thought for its Citymapper cellular navigation app, mentioned it offered 10.7 million shares for $46 per share. In all, By way of raised $492.9 million at a $3.7 billion valuation. That’s simply barely above its $3.5 billion valuation that it garnered again in 2023 throughout its final enterprise elevate.
We needed to wrap up this text earlier than it formally started buying and selling, however I’ll be again subsequent week with an replace.
Different offers that received my consideration …
Arc Boats, the Los Angeles startup based in 2021 by former SpaceX workers, signed a $160 million contract with Curtin Maritime for brand new hybrid-electric tugs, that are anticipated to hit the waters across the Los Angeles port in 2027.
LeydenJar, the Netherlands-based battery supplies startup, raised €13 million ($15.2 million) in a spherical led by Extantia and Make investments-NL.
Commonplace Fleet, a fleet administration software program firm, raised $13 million in a Sequence A spherical led by Nova Threshold with participation from WEX Enterprise Capital, SNR, Garry Tan (CEO of Y Combinator), Salil Deshpande (Uncorrelated Ventures), and Apoorv Bhargava (WeaveGrid). Returning buyers included Burst Capital, Canvas Ventures, Liquid 2, Night time Capital, Olive Capital, UP2398, and Danny Wen.
Notable reads and different tidbits
The Federal Aviation Administration introduced a new pilot program that can let electrical vertical takeoff and touchdown (eVTOL) startups take a look at some operations earlier than they obtain full regulatory certification.
Hyundai’s once-buzzy electrical air taxi startup Supernal is having bother getting off the bottom. The corporate paused work on its plane program after a rocky few months that noticed workers cuts and the departure of its CEO and CTO, two folks aware of the matter instructed TechCrunch.
InDrive, the Mountain View-based startup that received its begin in Siberia and is thought for its bidding-based ride-hailing mannequin throughout Asia and Latin America, needs to be a worldwide tremendous app. Right here’s what and the place it’s concentrating on.
Jaguar Land Rover mentioned a cyberattack introduced automobile meeting strains to a standstill.
Lyft and Could Mobility have launched a robotaxi service in Atlanta, the primary industrial deployment within the two corporations’ partnership.
Nevada’s Occupational Security and Health Administration opened an investigation after a Boring Firm worker sustained a “crushing injury” engaged on considered one of its tunnels in Las Vegas. Work has stopped on the website.
Tesla has the right allow to start testing autonomous automobile know-how on public roads in Nevada. As I clarify on this article, securing a testing allow within the state is simple and straightforward. (Simply fill out the registry type, and ensure you have the right $5 million insurance coverage protection.) Tesla will nonetheless want to finish the self-certification course of to have the ability to roll out a complete program. And it’ll want separate approval to function a industrial ride-hailing service.
Uber and Chinese language autonomous automobile startup Momenta plan to start out testing robotaxis in Munich beginning in 2026.
The U.S. Justice Division filed a lawsuit towards Uber, accusing the ride-hailing firm of violating federal legislation by discriminating towards folks with bodily disabilities.
Yet another factor …
TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is true across the nook — in round six weeks or so. And now we have some high-profile of us from the transportation world coming onto our stage on the Moscone Middle in San Francisco. The occasion, which will probably be held October 27 to 29, will embrace Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, and Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Petersen. And extra are coming. Keep tuned.
You possibly can purchase tickets right here. And remember to try our Startup Battlefield 200, a fairly unimaginable checklist of startups that will probably be exhibiting — and a few pitching on the primary stage.
