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I’ve been thinking a little bit about time. Specifically, I’m thinking about the seasons, the trends, music, and cultural practices that encapsulate a particular year, and even the way we move around. The gamification of algorithms seems to be the new symbol of the era of app-based transportation and gig workers.
Check out the New York Times’ recent feature on some of Lyft’s “Bike Angels.” They are the people who receive incentives for helping meet demand for the company’s Docking City Bike program. For a while, Citi Bike algorithm gaming seemed to be a lucrative side hustle.
Okay, enough thinking about time and space. Want to cover today’s transportation news?
small bird
Image credit: Bryce Durbin
This isn’t a transportation story, but I have to share it because it involves Travis Kalanick, an old man from the early, chaotic days of ride-hailing and the co-founder of Uber. In case you forgot: Kalanick announced his CEO at Uber in 2017 after Susan Fowler’s blog post went viral and sparked an investigation into workplace culture. I resigned from my position. He also worked on other projects, including becoming the CEO of CloudKitchens.
Here comes our little birdie who shared some alarming information about the work culture at CloudKitchens. The story went far beyond that hint into an article exposing a wrongful termination lawsuit alleging sex discrimination and a hostile work environment. The camaraderie culture that was a cornerstone of Uber in its early days appears to be making a comeback.
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Great deal!
Image credit: Bryce Durbin
Look, there are startups raising money outside of the AI hype cycle. I don’t usually talk about topics, but I wanted to note that there are certainly a lot of aviation-related hikes in this edition of TechCrunch Mobility.
Here are some deals that caught my attention…
Air Company, a sustainable aviation fuel startup, is owned by Lowercarbon Capital, In-Q-Tel, Alaska Airlines, Connecticut Innovations’ Climate Tech Fund, Duncan Aviation, JSSI, and Sheltair Aviation. Existing investors Carbon Direct Capital, JetBlue Ventures, and Toyota Ventures also participated.
Ayrton Energy, a hydrogen storage startup, raises $6.8 million in a seed round led by Clean Energy Ventures and BDC Capital with participation from Antares Ventures, EPS Ventures, SOSV, The51, and UCeed Investment Funds .
Cariqa, a Berlin-based EV charging marketplace startup, has raised €1 million ($1.1 million) in a pre-seed funding round from Anthemis, Vento Ventures, Hatcher+, Techstars, Golden Egg Check, and Plug and Play. did.
DeepDrive, a German startup developing dual-rotor electric vehicle motors, has raised €30 million ($33.5 million) in a Series B funding round led by Leitmotif. Existing investors BMW i Ventures, Co-Pace, UVC Partners and Bayern Capital also participated.
Point.me, a real-time airline award search engine, has raised $15 million in a Series B funding round led by Nyca Partners and Citi Ventures. Other investors include Brian Kelly (founder of Points Guy), Samsung Next, RiverPark Ventures, Four Cities Capital, MoreThan Capital, and more. Thayer Ventures and PAR Capital Ventures, which led previous funding rounds, also participated.
Pyka, an autonomous electric aviation startup developing a line of crop dusters and cargo planes, has raised $40 million in a Series B round led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet Holdings, and Y Combinator. Participated.
REE Automotive raised $45 million and signed a major global manufacturing agreement with Motherson Group, a $17 billion revenue company with operations in 44 countries. The company also announced today that it has begun U.S. production in Detroit with Roush.
Berkeley-based startup Twelve, which develops sustainable aviation fuel and other products from captured carbon dioxide, raises $200 million in Series C funding round co-led by TPG Rise Climate, Capricorn Investment Group, and Pulse Fund. raised dollars. Fifth Wall, Northstar VC, TGVP, Alaska Airlines, DCVC, Munich Ventures, and Emerson Collective also participated. The startup also secured an additional $400 million in project capital and $45 million in credit facilities led by TPG Rise Climate.
VELA, a French company developing wind-powered ocean freight transportation, has raised €40 million ($43 million) in a funding round led by Crédit Mutuel Impact, 11th Hour Racing and BPI (French Public Investment Bank).
Xiaodi Hou, founder of failed self-driving trucking startup TuSimple, isn’t giving up on AVs. He launched his new self-driving truck startup called Bot Auto and raised $20 million. The first article was on Forbes. Please stay tuned for further information.
Notable reads and other trivia
self-driving car
Another day, another Uber AV partnership. Now, Uber is partnering with WeRide to bring the Chinese company’s robotaxis to its ride-hailing platform starting in Abu Dhabi later this year.
electric car, charging, battery
BMW is making the case for battery EVs and hydrogen EVs.
EV startup Harbinger is developing the first hybrid powertrain for customer Thor Industries’ 500-mile range RV. However, there is one important point. “Hybrid” in this case does not mean a gasoline engine working in parallel with an electric powertrain. Harbinger adds a small gas generator that can provide energy to a 140 kWh battery pack. Toll said RVs using the hybrid platform “are expected to be commercially available under the company’s various sub-brands in 2025.”
Battery startup Northvolt has laid off 20% of its employees. Reporter Tim de Chant explains what this means and why we probably don’t need to worry.
Rad Power Bikes has partnered with Best Buy to bring its e-bike brand to retail stores.
Rivian receives its first $10 million from the Rivian Foundation, three years after the EV maker pledged that charities would receive 1% of its capital to make “the natural world” a “stakeholder in our success.” revealed grants worth US$. For a deeper understanding of where the money goes and why it took so long, keep reading.
Tesla Supercharger: Here’s the latest information on how non-Tesla brands can access the EV network.
the future of flight
TechCrunch has learned that Wing is expanding its drone delivery program beyond the Dallas-Fort Worth area to Charlotte, North Carolina. Wing declined to say which retailers it plans to partner with in the city. The company focused on North Carolina after evaluating a recent survey of 5,000 U.S. shoppers. According to a survey, 84% of North Carolinians say they are interested in super-fast grocery delivery, meaning delivery within 30 minutes.
the future of water
Pure Watercraft, an electric outboard motor startup in which GM has a 25% stake, is selling itself for parts. Editor Devin Caldwee got an up-close look at Gin Boats’ larger, faster electric leisure craft.
Automotive technology
How will President Biden’s new proposed ban on Chinese software affect U.S. automakers? Reporter Rebecca Beran spoke to SAFE’s Avery Ash to take a closer look at the proposed rule and find out what it means.
wheel of the week
Image credit: Pedego
Well, I was going to share my thoughts on the GMC Sierra EV Denali, but then reporter Rebecca Beran wrote a full review of the Pedego Cargo electric bike. It would be a shame not to emphasize it here. (Sierra EV will have to wait another week.)
What’s the result? After spending a summer riding around on his Cargo e-bike from Pedego, Bellan fell in love with its sporty styling and design, as well as its carrying capacity. But it wasn’t all smooth pedaling. Some technical issues and its weight might put you off spending $4,000 a little. Keep reading for the full review.
What is “Wheel of the Week”? This is an opportunity to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, including electric and hybrid cars, e-bikes, and even self-driving car rides.
