Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things “the future of transportation.” To get it in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!
I was out for a few days last week and we’ve got some catching up to do! I won’t rehash too much, but I’m waiting for some of the biggest news — ahem, Wayve’s $1.2 billion raise — to make it here.
One more housekeeping note: I’ll be in Austin next week SXSWthe annual tech, music, film and culture event that always attracts an interesting collection of tech founders, creators, politicians and other industry people. I plan to attend Rivian’s event where the company is expected to reveal all the details of its upcoming R2 series. I will also moderate a panel called Innovation & Impact: Women Leaders Transforming Legacy Industriesin parallel Rivian CFO Claire McDonough, Madison Reed CEO and founder Amy Errett, and Spotify public affairs chief Dustee Jenkins; If you’re there, get in touch!
Speaking of Rivian, the company is planning one of the fastest launches of a new all-electric car in the US with the upcoming R2 SUV. And the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Senior journalist Sean O’Kane looked at historical sales data as well as Rivian’s own forecasts for 2026. Rivian said it expects to sell between 20,000 and 25,000 R2s this year, the first of which will head to customers in June once production begins.
That means he has six months to reach that goal. Even if Rivian hits the low end of that goal, its sales percentage will outpace every other comparable electric vehicle at or below $60,000, except for the Tesla Model Y, O’Kane writes. Read the full story here.
My question is what tactical move does Rivian plan to use to achieve this goal? It will not be enough to simply state, “Forced demand, stupid.” This is no small feat. I expect Rivian to try a variety of tactics to spread the word and turn interest in its EVs into actual sales. What do you think the company will do? Email me!
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, California
|
13-15 October 2026
A little bird
No chicks this week — or at least the ones we can share. Remember, if you have a tip for us, you can either email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or contact me via Signal at kkorosec.07. Sean O’Kane’s email is sean.okane@techcrunch.com
Offers!
This is from last week, but it’s worth commenting on. I’m talking about Wave and raising $1.2 billion (up to $1.5 billion if it can unlock a $300 million milestone investment from Uber). As I mentioned in my article, everyone seems to want a piece of this British startup, which is now valued at $8.6 billion.
Wayve is taking a different approach to automated driving. He doesn’t want to be the operator. Instead, it wants to license its software — both a fully automated driving product and a less capable one intended for advanced driver assistance systems — to automakers and robot operators. Wayve has taken a self-learning approach to its software. The company developed a software layer using an end-to-end neural network that doesn’t require high-definition maps and uses only data to teach the vehicle how to drive. It’s hardware agnostic, which could be attractive to Wayve backers Mercedes-Benz, Nissanand Stellandis.
Other offers that caught my eye…
Densothe auto parts supplier linked to Toyota Motor has submitted a takeover bid for Kyoto-based Rohm, the WSJ reported.
Einridethe Swedish startup known for making both electric trucks and autonomous trucks designed to transport goods has secured a $113 million PIPE (private investment in public equity) oversubscription ahead of its public debut, which is expected in the first half of 2026.
Precursor acquired self-driving software company Phantom AI. Terms were not disclosed.
HolyvoltVolvo-backed Swedish battery technology company has acquired battery materials company Wildcat Discovery Technologies in a deal worth 73 million dollars.
Dotthe Chinese autonomous vehicle developer backed by GM and Tencent Holdings has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported. The company may seek to raise at least $1 billion in its IPO.
Nominala software startup that helps defense, space, energy and automotive companies test their manufacturing processes has raised $80 million in a $1 billion Series B expansion round led by Founders Fund.
Toyota raised his bid price for supplier Toyota Industries to $30 billion.
Zenoan African startup, has raised $25 million in a Series A round to expand its app-controlled battery sharing network and produce more of Emara’s motorcycles. About $20.5 million of that was an equity fund led by Congruent Ventures with participation from Active Impact and Lowercarbon Capital. The remaining $4.5 million is a loan facility from Camber Road and Trifecta Capital.
Notable reads and other items
Chinese car manufacturer BYD unveiled a new battery that it says can charge from 10% to 70% in five minutes. This is definitely a game changer, but there’s a major caveat to that claim: It needs a specific EV charger.
Hyundai, Toyotaand Chinese automakers like it Cherry may face the biggest impact from the US-Israeli war with Iran, as the Middle East accounts for a significant proportion of their deliveries, according to a Bernstein analysis, CNBC reported.
Volkswagen Group surpassed an EV milestone this week. The company said it has delivered 4 million pure electric vehicles since its first model was launched in 2013. Half of them came from the Volkswagen brand. The remaining sales came from Škoda, SEAT/CUPRA, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Porsche.
A video shows a Waymo robotaxi blocked an ambulance as it responded to the scene of a mass shooting in Austin over the weekend. Austin-Travis-County EMS representative Axios said that an officer followed standard protocol to deal with the situation and was able to move the vehicle quickly. Waymo did not issue a statement to the stores at the time. The incident is the latest in which a first responder was used to move a Waymo and raises questions about the readiness of the technology.
One more thing…
THE National Road Safety Agency has scheduled a forum on autonomous vehicle safety for Tuesday. Some of the AV leaders are expected to attend, including; Dawn co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana and Zoox CEO Aicha Evans.
