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Enjoy a long anniversary weekend for our based readers. If you’re on the road, expect it to be crowded. The AAA forecasts 45.1 million people travelling at least 50 miles from their homes during the Memorial Day holiday from Thursday through Monday. Approximately 39.4 million of those people use the cars.
Let’s get to that! This edition has news about many companies, including Aurora, Uber, Tesla, Waymo and more. Plus, many startups you might be interested in.
Little bird
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Great deal!
Luminar appears to have a grasp of capital as Lidar startups have become SPAC. Why do I sign a contract with a Yorkville Advisor who can bring another $200 million to finance through the sale of convertible preferred stock over 18 months?
Under the terms, Luminar issues $35 million in conversion preferred shares to investors. Luminar may issue additional tranches up to $35 million every 60 days at a purchase price equivalent to 96% of the stated value of the convertible preferred stock.
You may remember that Luminar’s board of directors recently replaced founder Austin Russell with CEO. The company is also undergoing another restructuring. This is the third time in a year.
Other deals that caught my attention…
Glitter, offering what is called “recharge as a service,” raised $15.5 million in the Series A-1 round led by Monte’s Fam, with participation from Cleveland Avenue, Collaboration Capital, Elemental Impact, Marcipen and non-SIBI ventures. In addition to the equity round, Kilute Charge has secured a $15 million venture loan from Horizon Technology Finance Corp.
Cairo-based online used car sales startup Sylndr has expanded to dealer auto funding, services and tools, raising $15.7 million. The round was led by the NCLUDE Fund of Development Partners International. The startup has also raised nearly $10 million in debt financing from local banks over the past year.
Is an auction a transaction? Probably for someone else. Valued at around $114 million, Nicola’s hydrogen truck is one of the last steps for the company that dropped all of its assets after filing for bankruptcy in February.
Notable readings and other information
Self-driving cars
Aurora has put human “observers” in their autonomous trucks at the request of their partner Paccar. To be clear, these “observers” are not human safety operators. That is, you cannot intervene. Aurora spokesperson confirmed and pointed out that he had a different role from the company’s supervised, fateful human safety operator.
The news has led people to send numerous messages, including questions like “Why?” And “What’s the point?”
Einride founder Robert Falck has stepped down from his CEO role. Einride’s CFO, Roozbeh Charli, will soon take over the effective CEO role.
Autonomous Airlines Trustworthy Robotics has appointed Marc Stoll as the new CFO. Stoll is Apple’s former Vice President of Treasury and a partner at Eclipse Ventures.
Zoox will complete the “Initial Mapping Phase” and begin testing self-driving cars in Atlanta later this summer.
The California Utilities Commission has approved Waymo’s request to expand the commercial Robotaki service area to a community south of San Francisco. Meanwhile, Waymo and Uber are set to launch Robotaxi rides in Atlanta to select customers who signed their waitlists earlier this year.
Tesla plans to limit where Lobotaxis in Austin, Texas operates, and according to Elon Musk, it plans to limit it to certain areas the company deems “the safest.” Using Geofence represents Musk’s major strategic shift that his company spent years claiming that it could create a generic, self-driving solution that could be dropped anywhere and do the job without human supervision.
Electric cars, charging, batteries
Ark has unveiled a new electric boat called the Ark Coast, a $168,000 vessel with a center console design.
Senate Republicans voted to overturn the exemption that would allow California to set stricter air pollution standards for vehicles. The state has received more than 100 exemptions since federal law granted its rights about 50 years ago.
Gig economy
Uber plans to launch a B2B logistics service in India through a partnership with a government-backed nonprofit organization aimed at breaking the control of Amazon and Walmart-backed e-commerce giant Flipkart.
ai
Uber Freight recently launched a suite of AI capabilities to shippers around the world as part of its existing supply chain software. This includes the expansion of Insights AI, which quietly launched Uber’s cargo in 2023, and more than 30 AI agents built to “perform key logistics tasks throughout the cargo lifecycle.” Senior reporter Sean Okane interviewed CEO Rior Ron about his company’s dive into AI.
This week’s wheels
Yes, “This Week’s Wheel” is back. Rebecca Veran writes about her time on the new Hay Bike Alpha, a sturdy, fat tire all-terrain E bike with a price tag of $1,699.
You can read the entire review here.
For those looking for highlights: Alpha has ticked many boxes, especially for its mid-drive motor, with torque sensors and long-lasting batteries. But there was also some frustration. It was a disappointment to put together the bike, the app, and the oversized horn. But generally, Rebecca felt that the Alpha is a great all-around e-bike, whether he wanted to take it on an off-road adventure or use it in town to do weekly trader Joe shopping.