Welcome again to The Station, your central hub for all previous, current and future technique of transferring individuals and packages from Level A to Level B.
I might be on the middle of the startup universe this subsequent week. The place is that, you say? Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco, in fact. I hope to see y’all there!
A history-making second occurred Thursday night time when the United Auto Staff determined to strike towards all three massive U.S. automakers — GM, Ford and North America’s Stellantis (generally known as Chrysler) — after either side failed to achieve a deal.
Staff didn’t strike all services without delay, as a substitute picketing at focused places for now. It is a fluid scenario and there has already been some repercussions. GM mentioned it expects to idle its Fairfax Meeting plant in Kansas due to a scarcity of stampings made on the Missouri manufacturing unit the place employees are placing. Ford additionally issued momentary layoffs to 600 employees at its Michigan Meeting plant close to Detroit.
Wish to attain out with a tip, remark or grievance? E mail Kirsten at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com.
Reminder that you would be able to drop us a word at suggestions@techcrunch.com. In case you favor to stay nameless, click on right here to contact us, which incorporates SecureDrop (directions right here) and varied encrypted messaging apps.
Micromobbin’
Lime as soon as once more touted its potential to show a revenue within the unforgiving scooter recreation this week, and as soon as once more I wanted the corporate would present me its stability sheets so I might again up these claims.
And maybe quickly I will peer behind the scenes. Together with the information that Lime had reached a formidable adjusted EBITDA profitability of $27 million in H1 2023 ($20.6 million unadjusted) and is on the trail towards free money circulation positivity in 2023, Lime mentioned that it’s lastly, really 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 to be like just like the market temper is lifting, with loads of different startups seeking to IPO in 2023 and past.
“If the market reacts nicely, and as extra firms come out [with IPOs], we’ve got the economics, the expansion, the profitability to take Lime public hopefully as quickly because the market permits,” CEO Wayne Ting informed TechCrunch.
In different information . . .
Germany seems to be mulling over whether or not it needs 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 referred to as the Motocompacto, which has an aesthetic that managing editor Darrell Etherington describes as “irresistibly, heartbreakingly dorky and cute.”
NYC voted to determine a trade-in program that may make it simpler for New Yorkers to swap their e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries made with aftermarket elements for ones that meet trade security requirements, both without cost or at a low price.
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 corporate mentioned it secured “greater than €2 billion” ($2.1 billion) to hurry up development of its Dunkirk gigafactory. Yeah, you learn that proper.
The massive sum consists of an €850 million Collection C funding spherical in addition to €600 million in loans from the EU’s European Funding Financial institution. The $2.15 billion determine additionally counts €650 million in yet-to-be-approved French subsides, pending a last OK from the European Fee. Macquarie, French infrastructure investor Meridiam and Renault participated within the Collection 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 Collection 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.
Different offers that received my consideration . . .
Dance, the German startup that provides electrical bikes and mopeds through subscription packages, added a handful of traders to high up its latest €12 million funding spherical and mentioned it now has 10,000 lively and paying members.
Evolectric, a Lengthy Seashore, California–primarily based EV tech firm, raised $15 million from Seismic Capital.
Kolors, a Mexico Metropolis–primarily based startup that connects intercity bus riders with bus drivers, acquired B2B van pooling supplier Urbvan for $12 million money.
Revel, the automobile subscription startup from Spain, raised €115 million ($123 million). The funding is a mixture of debt and fairness: €100 million is structured financing earmarked to construct out the automobile community, and €15 million is fairness invested within the enterprise itself. Traders embrace KKR, Santander Client 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. However don’t maintain your breath. We’ve been right here earlier than. The corporate 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 skilled human security operator to be current any time a self-driving, heavy-duty car 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 mentioned that closed-course testing of the driverless car would start in October. The car, referred to as the Cruise WAV, is the results of three years of product design, improvement and testing by Cruise and GM, together with its companions on the mission BraunAbility and Q’Straint.
San Francisco formally requested that state regulators redo an August listening to that expanded robotaxi permits for Cruise and Waymo.
Electrical 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 worth is so low.
The brand new Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson contained a lot of Tesla tidbits, together with a picture of a two-door, two-seater “Cybertruck-like” compact robotaxi idea.
The European Fee is contemplating imposing punitive tariffs to guard European Union automakers towards cheaper Chinese language electrical car imports, which the company says advantages from state subsidies.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe mentioned in an interview on the Morgan Stanley Laguna Convention how a {hardware} improve in its R1 automobiles — enhancements that might be rolled out subsequent 12 months — will cut back prices. One of many greatest payoffs will come from overhauling the digital management unit structure.
Tesla is planning to just about double its element sourcing from India to as much as $1.9 billion this 12 months, in response to the nation’s commerce minister.
Gig economic 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 choice for choosing up solely ladies riders. The choice characteristic, referred to as Ladies+ Join, might assist Lyft entice extra ladies drivers to the app, which at this time 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 corporate additionally rolled out new apps on its Android Auto product, together with Zoom and Webex by Cisco for audio-only convention calls.
Seize your move to TC Disrupt 2023
We’re masking all issues sustainable mobility at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, happening in San Francisco on September 19–21. Final-minute passes are nonetheless obtainable. Save 15% with code STATION. Register now!
