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Slightly hen
If it wasn’t evident ahead of, it’s now. Uber desires a large piece of the independent automobile era pie. The ride-hailing corporate has spent the previous two years locking in partnerships with on the subject of each and every AV corporate you’ll call to mind, and throughout each and every sector, together with supply, robotaxis, and vehicles.
And but, I wasn’t completely ready for the amount of cash Uber invested in its newest tie-up with EV maker Lucid and AV startup Nuro. Click on right here to learn my article at the partnership settlement and Uber’s plans for a top class robotaxi carrier.
We’re right here within the “Little hen” segment as a result of I’ve discovered one thing new, and welp, I sought after to proportion it with subscribers first.
As a publicly traded corporate, Lucid needed to expose that Uber invested $300 million into the corporate. However Uber didn’t must proportion what it invested into Nuro, pronouncing most effective that it was once a multi-hundred-million-dollar determine. One supply with direct wisdom instructed me it was once greater than Lucid’s $300 million. For the reason that article was once printed, I’ve had some little birds fly in to inform me it was once round $400 million.
Were given a tip for us? Electronic mail Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Sign at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com.
Offers!
When Waymo shuttered its self-driving vehicles program, I questioned the place that ability would pass. And I (appropriately) assumed some may pass off and get started their very own corporations.
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October 27-29, 2025
Closing 12 months, I heard that Boris Sofman, who led the self-driving vehicles program at Waymo, had began an independent automobile era startup involved in heavy apparatus used at building websites. I had even written a little bit nugget about it within the “Little hen” segment. However I used to be by no means in a position to ensure precisely how a lot it raised and who else was once hooked up to it.
Now we all know. The startup, referred to as Bedrock Robotics, raised $80 million from buyers Eclipse and 8VC. Sofman co-founded Bedrock Robotics along Waymo veterans Kevin Peterson and Ajay Gummalla, in addition to Tom Eliaz, who up to now labored at Section and Twilio.
Different offers that were given my consideration this week …
Amogy, a Brooklyn-based ammonia-to-power startup that may practice its tech to delivery, raised every other $23 million in investment, bringing its most up-to-date fundraise to $80 million. The spherical was once led by means of the Korea Building Financial institution and KDB Silicon Valley LLC with participation from BonAngels Project Companions, JB Funding, and Pathway Funding.
Geely Auto will take its luxurious EV subsidiary Zeekr personal via a merger settlement, simply over a 12 months after the corporate debuted at the New York Inventory Change.
Gridserve, a U.Ok.-based cell EV charging corporate, raised £100 million ($134 million) from its current institutional buyers, together with TPG Upward push Local weather, Infracapital, and Mitsubishi.
Pronto, the San Francisco-based startup that advanced a self-driving machine designed for haulage vehicles and different off-road automobiles used at building and mining websites, received competitor SafeAI. Phrases weren’t disclosed. Co-founder and CEO Anthony Levandowski described the purchase as a ability and era play. The majority of the 12-person startup’s engineering crew and its IP will come over to Pronto.
By the use of, the transit device startup, has filed confidentially for an preliminary public providing — once more. Historical past lesson: By the use of filed confidentially for an IPO in 2021 however by no means took the following professional and regulatory steps to go into the general public markets. Now the corporate says it’s in a position. Will 2025 be the 12 months?
Notable reads and different tidbits
ADAS
Lucid is rolling out hands-free freeway riding to its Air sedans by way of a device replace on the finish of the month, a big step ahead for the corporate’s complex driver-assistance machine.
Self reliant automobiles
Uber struck a robotaxi maintain Chinese language tech large Baidu to deploy hundreds of independent automobiles in a couple of markets out of doors the U.S. and mainland China.
Electrical automobiles, batteries, and charging
GM is the newest automaker to spouse with Redwood Fabrics on its new power garage mission. Talking of GM, the automaker is upgrading the Tennessee manufacturing unit it owns along LG Power Resolution to produce less expensive LFP batteries.
Public data requests can divulge the darndest issues. As an example, Rivian will resume prep paintings on its deliberate Georgia manufacturing unit in August and remains to be taking a look to damage floor early subsequent 12 months, in keeping with emails TechCrunch received via a public data request.
In different Rivian information … Rivian co-founder and CEO RJ Scaringe transferred a portion of his possession stake and balloting chronic as a part of a newly settled divorce continuing. The submitting stuck our hobby for a couple of causes (I counsel you learn the tale), particularly that not like such a lot of tech founders, Scaringe by no means had an incredible quantity of balloting chronic post-IPO.
The corporate’s latest device replace offers its in-car navigation a brand new appear and feel. Briefly: Mapbox is out, and a custom designed Rivian-meets-Google-Maps app is in.
Senior reporter Sean O’Kane and I shaggy dog story that we’re the one two other folks left on earth who care about what’s occurring at Faraday Long run. Oh! However wait, so does the SEC, and it seems that the company is on the brink of take motion.
Subaru unveiled its all-electric crossover type referred to as Uncharted that has greater than 300 miles of vary and can pass on sale within the U.S. in early 2026. Subaru stated it is going to free up pricing nearer to marketplace release.
Tesla made its long-awaited access into India with the outlet of its first showroom — 9 years after CEO Elon Musk first teased the transfer and following years of delays and transferring timelines in one of the crucial global’s biggest car markets. Keep tuned for extra protection from our India-based reporter Jagmeet Singh.
Tesla Cybertruck gross sales have plummeted from their top remaining 12 months. How a ways? Right here’s one level of reference: The GMC Hummer EV (which isn’t precisely a quantity vendor) outsold the polarizing steel-clad interest in the second one quarter.
In the meantime, jury variety began for a federal civil lawsuit towards Tesla. At factor is whether or not the corporate’s driver-assistance era was once responsible for a 2019 deadly crash in Key Largo, Florida. As it’s possible you’ll be expecting, private emotions about Elon Musk loomed massive within the jury procedure.
Long run of flight
Joby Aviation has doubled the dimensions and manufacturing capability of its pilot production facility in Marina, California, because it pushes to commercialize its electrical vertical takeoff and touchdown automobiles by means of early subsequent 12 months.
