Welcome again to The Station, your central hub for all previous, current and future technique of transferring individuals and packages from Point A to Point B.
I can be on the middle of the startup universe this subsequent week. Where is that, you say? Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco, after all. I hope to see y’all there!
A history-making second occurred Thursday evening when the United Auto Workers determined to strike towards all three massive U.S. automakers — GM, Ford and North America’s Stellantis (often known as Chrysler) — after either side failed to succeed in a deal.
Workers didn’t strike all services without delay, as an alternative picketing at focused places for now. This is a fluid scenario and there has already been some repercussions. GM stated it expects to idle its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas due to a scarcity of stampings made on the Missouri manufacturing facility the place employees are putting. Ford additionally issued momentary layoffs to 600 employees at its Michigan Assembly plant close to Detroit.
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Micromobbin’
Lime as soon as once more touted its capability to show a revenue within the unforgiving scooter sport this week, and as soon as once more I wanted the corporate would present me its steadiness sheets so I may again up these claims.
And maybe quickly I will peer behind the scenes. Along with the information that Lime had reached a powerful adjusted EBITDA profitability of $27 million in H1 2023 ($20.6 million unadjusted) and is on the trail towards free money circulate positivity in 2023, Lime stated that it’s lastly, truly contemplating going public.
Lime has been teasing plans to go public for years, however market forces like a pandemic and an financial downturn have thwarted the corporate’s path. Now it appears just like the market temper is lifting, with loads of different startups trying to IPO in 2023 and past.
“If the market reacts well, and as more companies come out [with IPOs], we have the economics, the growth, the profitability to take Lime public hopefully as soon as the market permits,” CEO Wayne Ting advised TechCrunch.
In different information . . .
Germany seems to be mulling over whether or not it desires scooters on its streets — simply a few weeks after the Paris ban on shared e-scooters went into impact.
Honda has a brand new e-scooter known as the Motocompacto, which has an aesthetic that managing editor Darrell Etherington describes as “irresistibly, heartbreakingly dorky and adorable.”
NYC voted to determine a trade-in program that can make it simpler for New Yorkers to swap their e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries made with aftermarket components for ones that meet business security requirements, both without cost or at a low value.
Deal of the week
Battery firms proceed to land completely bonkers quantities of cash from traders and governments.
Take Verkor, the Renault-backed French battery firm that produces pouch and cylindrical battery modules for electrical automobiles and energy-storage websites. The firm stated it secured “more than €2 billion” ($2.1 billion) to hurry up development of its Dunkirk gigafactory. Yeah, you learn that proper.
The big sum consists of an €850 million Series C funding spherical in addition to €600 million in loans from the EU’s European Investment Bank. The $2.15 billion determine additionally counts €650 million in yet-to-be-approved French subsides, pending a ultimate OK from the European Commission. Macquarie, French infrastructure investor Meridiam and Renault participated within the Series C spherical.
As TechCrunch reporter Harri Weber notes, this eye-popping spherical follows different sizable raises from battery startups, together with Lyten, which introduced this week that its raised $200 million in a Series B spherical. That spherical was led by Prime Movers Labs, a enterprise agency from OpenGov co-founder Dakin Sloss, and included investments from Stellantis, FedEx and Honeywell.
Other offers that bought my consideration . . .
Dance, the German startup that gives electrical bikes and mopeds by way of subscription packages, added a handful of traders to prime up its current €12 million funding spherical and stated it now has 10,000 lively and paying members.
Evolectric, a Long Beach, California–primarily based EV tech firm, raised $15 million from Seismic Capital.
Kolors, a Mexico City–primarily based startup that connects intercity bus riders with bus drivers, acquired B2B van pooling supplier Urbvan for $12 million money.
Revel, the automotive subscription startup from Spain, raised €115 million ($123 million). The funding is a mix of debt and fairness: €100 million is structured financing earmarked to construct out the automotive community, and €15 million is fairness invested within the enterprise itself. Investors embody KKR, Santander Consumer Finance and others that aren’t being named.
Turo, the peer-to-peer car-sharing firm, possibly simply possibly is preparing for the IPO roadshow, if its newest submitting is any indication and if a report from Bloomberg citing unnamed sources is to be believed. But don’t maintain your breath. We’ve been right here earlier than. The firm first filed its S-1 (intentions to go public) in January 2022, and it repeatedly put a pin in these plans because it awaited higher financial circumstances. Is now the time?
Notable reads and different tidbits
Autonomous automobiles
The California Senate handed a invoice that requires a educated human security operator to be current any time a self-driving, heavy-duty automobile operates on public roads within the state — successfully banning driverless AV vans. The invoice, AB 316, is now sitting on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.
Cruise revealed a prototype of a custom-built, wheelchair-accessible, self-driving robotaxi and stated that closed-course testing of the driverless automobile would start in October. The automobile, known as the Cruise WAV, is the results of three years of product design, growth and testing by Cruise and GM, together with its companions on the challenge BraunAbility and Q’Straint.
San Francisco formally requested that state regulators redo an August listening to that expanded robotaxi permits for Cruise and Waymo.
Electric automobiles, charging & batteries
Canoo is, welp, not doing nice over within the land of public markets. A submitting on Friday reveals the corporate has requested a switch to Nasdaq Capital Market, a tier for early-stage firms with low market capitalizations. Why? Canoo has been confronted with delisting as a result of its inventory value is so low.
The new Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson contained numerous Tesla tidbits, together with a picture of a two-door, two-seater “Cybertruck-like” compact robotaxi idea.
The European Commission is contemplating imposing punitive tariffs to guard European Union automakers towards cheaper Chinese electrical automobile imports, which the company says advantages from state subsidies.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe mentioned in an interview on the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference how a {hardware} improve in its R1 automobiles — enhancements that can be rolled out subsequent yr — will scale back prices. One of the largest payoffs will come from overhauling the digital management unit structure.
Tesla is planning to almost double its element sourcing from India to as much as $1.9 billion this yr, in keeping with the nation’s commerce minister.
Gig financial system
Lyft rolled out a brand new characteristic in 5 U.S. cities, together with Chicago and San Francisco, that lets ladies and nonbinary drivers set a desire for choosing up solely ladies riders. The desire characteristic, known as Women+ Connect, may assist Lyft entice extra ladies drivers to the app, which right this moment stands at about 23%.
In-car tech
Google introduced that automobiles with Google built-in, beginning with Polestar 2 and choose Volvo vehicles, will now have Amazon Prime video. The firm additionally rolled out new apps on its Android Auto product, together with Zoom and Webex by Cisco for audio-only convention calls.
Grab your cross to TC Disrupt 2023
We’re protecting all issues sustainable mobility at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, happening in San Francisco on September 19–21. Last-minute passes are nonetheless accessible. Save 15% with code STATION. Register now!