Another self-driving car startup exits, Zoox expands driverless testing, investors’ enthusiasm for AI grows

Image credits: Zoox

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welcome home TechCrunch Mobility — A central hub for news and insight on the future of transportation.

Spent a few days in Austin SXSWThere I met with App’s founders and executives, heard several talks, and moderated two more panels. While it was clear that generative AI was a big draw, the future of transportation still attracted attention from investors, urban planners, founders, businesses, and the media. I heard a lot of conversations about how self-driving cars fit into cities and what technologies could help alleviate traffic and reduce emissions.

We caught an interesting conversation with Mayor Austin kirk watson and Uber CEO Dara KhosrowshahiHe predicted that the company would become greener, more affordable and challenge Amazon in the future. Now that Uber has finally checked the profitability box, those goals seem a little more achievable and higher on the priority list.

waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana She also attended SXSW and announced that her robotaxi service will be available to the public this week in Los Angeles and in Austin by the end of the year. Side note: I’ve heard that service in Austin will probably launch this summer. You’ll probably be back in town sooner than expected.

Now, on to the rest of the news this week!

small bird

Starting an EV fisker The company has spent the past few months negotiating with dealers to shift away from a Tesla-style direct sales model after struggling to sell half of the cars it produced in 2023.

The company appears to have made some progress in that regard. However, Kotori told us that one of the dozen or so distributors they had contracted with had already asked to withdraw. Fisker Woolismann was supposed to be the latest expansion of Woolismann Automotive Group, but just a month after signing the deal, it exited the startup and deleted the website it had set up to promote Fisker’s Ocean SUV.

The dealership’s losses came as the Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Fisker had hired outside help to consider the possibility of filing for bankruptcy.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether other dealers followed suit. Mike Domenicone, owner and operator of Classics of Atlanta, said the first shipment of Ocean SUVs has sold out after more than 150 test drives at the new Classics of Fisker branch store. .

Any tips? Email Kirsten Kolosek kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Sean O’Kane sean.okane@techcrunch.com. If you wish to remain anonymous, Click here to contact usthis includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.

This week’s sale

If you’re looking for another example of investor enthusiasm for AI, take a look at the latest funding for a self-driving car software company. applied intuition.

The company raised $250 million in a round that valued it at up to $6 billion and included a roster of high-profile investors. The Series E round was led by Lux Capital’s Bilal Zuberi, investor Elad Gil, and Porsche Investment Management, the sports car maker’s independent venture arm. Other participants in the round included Andreessen Horowitz, Mary Meeker’s growth fund Bond and even F1 world champion Nico Rosberg.

Applied Intuition says it is driving the introduction of artificial intelligence into the automotive, defense, construction and agriculture sectors.as a reporter Sean O’Kane The company has hit a particular sweet spot for venture capitalists looking for big-budget AI product startups to tap into large-scale industries (defense being one of the hot spots). There are seemingly endless opportunities.

Other sales that caught my attention…

anaphyteBattery technology startup has raised £1.6 million ($2 million) through a government-backed grant investment led by Elbow Beach Capital.

india liveThe mobility app, which includes ride-hailing and other city services, has expanded its funding agreement with General Catalyst to $300 million from the original $150 million secured in 2023.

joyride, a micromobility software provider, has raised $5.2 million in a Series A funding round led by Yamaha Motor. This includes return investments from the Urban Innovation Fund, Proeza Ventures, Two Small Fish Ventures, and Export Development Canada (EDC).

motionalSelf-driving technology startup Motional has secured a bridge loan that will provide a temporary financial reprieve as the company searches for long-term funding sources, TechCrunch has learned exclusively.

terrorism, an electric vehicle startup aiming to produce pint-sized pickup trucks, has raised $5.4 million in a round from Neo and Spero Ventures. Spero Venture’s partner and Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning will join the board of directors.

volvo cars Invested an undisclosed amount in British startup Breathe Battery Technologies. Volvo plans to integrate the startup’s battery management software into its next-generation electric vehicles, reducing charging times by 30%.

Notable reads and other trivia

self-driving car

aputronic, an Austin-based robotics startup, has partnered with Mercedes-Benz. The two companies will work together to identify and test applications for advanced robotics in Mercedes-Benz manufacturing. ”

aurora unveiled its self-driving car system at an analyst and investor day held at its headquarters in Pittsburgh. The company demonstrated how his Peterbilt 579 semi-truck (with no one at the wheel) equipped with the latest Aurora Driver system handles real-world driving situations on a closed course.

phantom auto, a remote-driving startup launched seven years ago amid buzz around self-driving technology, shut down after failing to secure new funding. The startup has raised $95 million since its founding and has customers. And they were said to have almost raised even more money before it failed. I’d like to keep an eye on what happens to Phantom Auto’s IP.

Zoox has expanded its unmanned testing near its Foster City, Calif., headquarters and in Las Vegas due to operating hours, conditions, and geography. The driverless Zoox is not yet open to the public, but it is currently operating along a stretch of road five miles from the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. Zoox is scheduled to open to the general public in Las Vegas in late 2024.

electric car, battery, charging

core shellBattery materials startup has revealed a breakthrough discovery that could lower the cost of lithium-ion batteries.

lucid motors is embroiled in a trademark battle over the name of its SUV Gravity. In December, Google Ventures-backed EV charging company Gravity Inc. filed a “cancellation petition” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) seeking to cancel Lucid’s Gravity trademark.

India Tesla could strengthen its plans to enter the South Asian market by reducing import taxes on certain electric vehicles for companies that commit to investing at least $500 million and setting up local manufacturing facilities within three years This will be a policy change.

lordstown motors The company emerged from bankruptcy with a new name: Nu Ride Inc. And it remains almost singularly focused on continuing its lawsuit against iPhone maker Foxconn for “destroying the business of American startups.” A restructured version of Lordstown Motors will also pursue “potential business combinations,” but it has not said what type of merger it is pursuing.

ride-hailing service

Uber and lift He’s leaving Minneapolis over minimum wage laws.

wheel of the week

Image credits: Kirsten Kolosek

While in Austin, I took a demo ride on a public road. Self-driving VW ID Buzz prototype. This was not a true driverless operation, as a human safety operator was still at the wheel.But it gave me an insight on how VW ADMT The German automaker’s autonomous driving, mobility and transportation subsidiary is making progress. Final product version of Driverless ID. Buzz AD is designed for ride-hailing services and is expected to be launched in 2026.

You may remember that Volkswagen’s self-driving car ambitions were encompassed by Argo AI, a startup backed solely by the automaker and partner Ford. Both companies withdrew funding from Argo AI, leading to its closure. VW then turned to Mobileye and has since pursued a different path to self-driving as opposed to Waymo, Cruise, Zoox, and Motional.

VW and Mobileye believe in a progressive approach that the technology found in advanced driver assistance systems used in modern cars can be developed into unmanned systems used in robotaxis. Same as Tesla’s claim.

Although I wasn’t expecting it, my ride wasn’t exactly smooth. However, when a vehicle driven by a person suddenly came out of the alley, the vehicle recognized this and stopped suddenly. One problem arose when we approached a double-parked emergency vehicle. ID. Buzz sat for a while, then was driven around by a safety operator.