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I’m back from a holiday in Denmark and Germany, where I managed to try almost every form of transport, from bikes to scooters, to driving the Autobahn and the train. I even took a few ferries. It’s safe to say that Copenhagen’s cycling culture made me jealous.
The TechCrunch team has been busy as always thanks to Tesla shareholder meeting, several financing deals and developments in the EV world. The big: Fisher filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Here’s a timeline of the events leading up to the bankruptcy filing, as well as a senior reporter Sean O’Kane piece on why Fisker failed.
And in case you missed it, I also highly recommend this in-depth article (from late May) by O’Kane that laid out the numerous problems at Fisker.
A little bird
Do you have a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or see these instructions to learn how to contact us through encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Agreements!
This week’s biggest deal comes from the self-driving truck startup Waabi. The company raised $200 million in a round from existing investors Uber and Khosla Ventures, along with a number of strong strategic investors such as Nvidia, Volvo Group VC, Porsche Automobil Holding SE and others.
Waabi plans to use the funds to reach a fully driverless commercial launch in 2025, but that’s not the only reason investors are so bullish on the young startup. Waabi’s fundamental AI model is capable of reasoning almost as a human would, without requiring reams of real data for training, according to the startup’s founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun. This makes the AI system more efficient and easier to scale to autonomous trucking and beyond.
Urtasun said AI’s ability to generalize and develop quickly means Waabi can expand the technology to other applications, such as robotaxis, humanoids or warehouse robotics.
Other offers that caught my eye…
Bitsensing raised a $25 million series to further develop high-resolution radar technology for autonomous vehicles. Investors include Korea Development Bank, HL Mando Corporation, Industrial Bank of Korea and Aju Capital.
LD Carbon raised $28 million in a Series C round led by Toyota’s growth fund Woven Capital to promote the circular economy by diverting used tires from landfills. The startup also aims to develop high-performance recycled auto parts, according to a statement sent to TechCrunch.
RBW EVa London-based EV manufacturer of new, hand-built classic British sports cars, raised £10 million by Meson Capital Partners. The startup currently offers a Roadster model with a starting price of around $135,000 and plans to debut the GT model later this year with a starting price of $151,000.
Unigrid raised $12 million in a round led by Transition VC and Ritz Venture Capital to make sodium-ion batteries, which promise to be a cheaper, safer alternative that can complement lithium-ion batteries.
Notable reads and other items
Autonomous vehicles
ONE University of Central Florida The study shows that autonomous vehicles (AVs) are safer than humans in routine daytime conditions. But in other conditions they struggle, according to Young Scientist.
California Senator Dave Cortese shelves his bill SB 915 (which would have given cities more control over AV development) after the Assembly committee proposed amendments that would have essentially stripped the bill of its original intent. The AV industry sees this as a victory, but Cortese said he will eventually bring it back.
Project 3 Mobilitythe Croatia-based autonomous vehicle startup co-founded by Mate Rimacis set up to do what he describes as a “Big Reveal” on June 26. As a reminder, the company recently raised 100 million euros ($107 million) in a Series A round that included backing from TASARU Mobility Investments, a company wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Electric vehicles, charging & batteries
Chinese automotive and battery manufacturer BYD signed a memorandum of cooperation with Ampersand, an African electric energy vehicle technology company, to decarbonise Africa’s commercial motorcycle transport system. The deal includes Ampersand’s purchase of BYD’s batteries to build around 40,000 e-bikes by the end of 2026.
ChargePoint is grouping with South Korea LG Electronics to install more EV charging stations in the US As part of the deal, ChargePoint will provide software to operate LG’s EV chargers, and LG will provide the hardware to power ChargePoint’s network.
I have fun has hired two more former Tesla employees to leadership positions in its EV infrastructure team, the startup announced. This appears to be part of a growing trend by automakers and electric vehicle charging companies to attract top talent that Elon Musk appears to have sparked on a whim six weeks ago.
Ultium workers at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, battery plant have voted to ratify a new contract that will give production workers $35 an hour through October 2027, plus benefits and health and safety protections.
Tesla
Tesla held its shareholder meeting last Thursday after an unprecedented social media battle waged by Musk and Tesla fans. It should come as no surprise to anyone that investors voted in favor of Elon Musk’s astronomical pay package. They also voted to reincorporate Tesla in Texas.
Now Tesla has started struggle for legal recognition of this shareholder vote. The automaker wrote to the Delaware judge who, in January, ruled that Musk’s pay package was unfair to say that the shareholder vote “significantly influenced” its decision to rescind the pay.
This isn’t the only legal battle Tesla has gotten into this past week. While some shareholders want to give Musk what he asked for, others are holding out. A group of shareholders sued Musk and Tesla’s board last week, alleging they breached fiduciary duties and unjustly enriched Musk by allowing the CEO to launch xAI, which they say is a competing artificial intelligence company.
Difference.
Fast trade startups promising 15-minute delivery have risen and fallen in US cities. But in India, the sector is growing alongside the rapid urbanization of the country. Will Indian fast-commerce startups, which are increasingly moving into the e-commerce market, be able to find product-market fit and strong financial units where US startups could not?
This week’s wheels
What are “This Week’s Wheels”? It’s an opportunity to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, whether it’s an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing our thoughts on it Fiat 500esome e-bikes, the 2024 Nissan Ariya Empower+and more.
