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Lucid Motors delivered a shock this week when it introduced that CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson was resigning. Hypothesis in regards to the departure, which incorporates vacating a board seat, was amplified when Rawlinson didn’t attend the fourth-quarter earnings name.
Senior reporter Sean O’Kane has all the small print, together with how the EV maker carried out, who’s filling the highest spot (for now), and what the corporate’s targets are transferring ahead. Rawlinson will probably be round in some capability, though it must be famous that he won’t be there day by day, nor will he have any decision-making authority. The corporate stated he’ll function “strategic technical adviser” to Turqi Alnowaiser, who’s chairman of the board and a prime government at Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — Lucid’s majority proprietor.
So the place does Lucid go from right here? It must promote extra EVs — particularly its new Gravity SUV — and scale back prices. That’s no small feat, particularly contemplating Lucid can also be creating a brand new midsize car platform (extra $$$) that’s anticipated to launch on the finish of 2026.
Earlier than we bounce into the remainder of the information, I wished to focus on an article about Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen and a collection of recent merchandise and options that the freight forwarding and logistics startup is rolling out. Many of those new merchandise use AI, which isn’t what caught my eye.
It’s the tempo of the rollout. Petersen advised TechCrunch that is the primary in a sequence of semi-annual bulletins of this type — à la Airbnb. Petersen stated Airbnb founder Brian Chesky’s discuss founder mode is what impressed the technique. The viral second for “founder mode,” which was fueled by Paul Graham’s essay, could be over. However Petersen’s newest transfer reveals this administration technique isn’t fading anytime quickly.
Somewhat fowl
Bear in mind the massive spherical of Cruise layoffs that occurred earlier this month? For many who don’t, dad or mum firm GM introduced it might slash Cruise’s workforce by practically 50%. The stays of Cruise are supposed to maneuver below dad or mum firm Basic Motors because the automaker directs its sources towards enhancing its hands-free driver-assistance system Tremendous Cruise — and finally rolling out private autonomous automobiles.
Some little birds advised us just a few extra layoffs have occurred because the preliminary spherical, particularly that the Cruise advertising and marketing group — about eight individuals — has been dismissed. We hear that finance and authorized departments will doubtless comply with as soon as the transition is full.
Acquired a tip for us? Electronic mail Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Sign at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or try these directions to discover ways to contact us through encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Offers!
Let’s begin with the transportation-adjacent world of supply. Final month, Dutch meals supply big Simply Eat Takeaway offered off Grubhub for $650 million, a fraction of the $7.3 billion valuation the supply startup had when it was acquired in 2020. Now, Simply Eat Takeaway is the one being wolfed up.
International tech firm Prosus reached an settlement to purchase Simply Eat Takeaway for €4.1 billion in money. If the deal is accomplished, Prosus will change into the fourth largest meals supply group globally.
Different offers that obtained my consideration …
AIRO Group, an aerospace and protection firm primarily based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C., filed for an estimated $100 million IPO. The corporate plans to checklist on the Nasdaq alternate.
Circuit, a short-trip, electrical shuttle options startup, raised $17 million as a part of a Collection B spherical. Personal funding agency MKB, in addition to current buyers Tribeca Enterprise Companions and Impression Engine, participated.
Donut Lab, a subsidiary of Verge Bikes creating electrical motors and different associated expertise, raised €15 million. The corporate’s anchor investor is Risto Siilasmaa, founding father of cybersecurity firms F-Safe and WithSecure and former chairman of Nokia’s board. Siilasmaa will even be a part of Donut Lab’s board.
Gozem, an African startup that gives ride-hailing, commerce, car financing, and digital banking throughout Togo, Benin, Gabon, and Cameroon through its app, raised $30 million in a Collection B funding spherical. The spherical, which incorporates $15 million in fairness and $15 million in debt, was led by SAS Delivery Businesses Providers and Al Mada Ventures.
Vidyut, a Bengaluru, India-based startup that gives financing for business and passenger EVs, raised $2.5 million from Flourish Ventures.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Autonomous automobiles
AAA launched its annual survey that’s designed to gauge shopper curiosity and acceptance of superior driver-assistance programs and robotaxis. TL;DR: Enthusiasm for self-driving automobiles is low — simply 13% of surveyed drivers think about it a precedence, a lower from 18% in 2022. And it appears many are usually not curious about utilizing them, both, with 53% saying they might not select to experience in a single. In the meantime, curiosity in ADAS is excessive, particularly round options like Automated Emergency Braking.
Avride autonomous sidewalk supply robots have made it to Japan. The Yandex spinout has launched business operations in central Tokyo with a fleet of about 10 robots.
Electrical automobiles, charging, & batteries
Aston Martin minimize 170 jobs and pushed again plans to launch an EV (will it ever occur?). The corporate will as an alternative work on an ultra-luxury hybrid mannequin.
Final week, I highlighted Sean’s article that seemed into how and who organized the Tesla Takeover motion, which led to protests at Tesla showrooms in dozens of U.S. cities. Now it appears the Tesla Takeover motion is gaining some traction. The query is how lengthy it’s going to persist and whether or not it’s going to have an effect on Tesla’s backside line as protestors hope.
Vary Vitality, a startup that developed electrified semitrailers, is shuffling its government deck. Founder and CEO Ali Javidan is transferring into the president and CTO position, the corporate advised TechCrunch. Jon Foster, the previous CFO of Zoox who helped architect the autonomous car firm’s acquisition by Amazon, is Vary’s new CEO.
Way forward for flight
Joby Aviation launched its earnings and right here’s what we all know. The electrical vertical takeoff and touchdown startup says it’s on observe to ship an plane to Dubai by mid-2025, when it’s going to exhibit the car’s readiness to hold passengers. The corporate now has 5 plane in its take a look at fleet and made progress on stage 4 of sort certification. Joby stated it expects to undergo the ultimate step of the FAA certification course of inside the subsequent 12 months. However that is an costly pursuit: Joby’s web loss for 2024 was $608 million.
In-car tech
4 years in the past, Google was hit with a €100 million antitrust wonderful by Italy’s competitors authority for refusing to let a third-party electrical car-charging app developed by Enel combine with its Android Auto platform. Senior reporter Natasha Lomas wrote a few new ruling by the Court docket of Justice of the European Union that affirmed the watchdog group’s view that Google’s preliminary block can represent antitrust abuse.
The upshot? The CJEU judgment units out situations for tech giants on the subject of interoperability that would have wider applicability for app makers in search of to plug their wares into key platforms.
This week’s wheels
Nothing this week, however keep tuned.
What’s “This week’s wheels”? It’s an opportunity to be taught in regards to the totally different transportation merchandise we’re testing, whether or not it’s an electrical or hybrid automobile, an e-bike, or perhaps a experience in an autonomous car.
