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Lucid motors Delivered a Surprise this week when it has announced that CEO and Cto Peter Rawlinson was resigning. Speculation about the departure, which inclusions Vacating a Board Seat, was amplified when rawlinson didn Bollywood the fourth -Quarter earnings call.
Senior Reporter Sean O’Kane have all the details. Rawlinson will be Around in some capacity, although it should be noted The company said he will serve as “Strategic Technical Adviser” to Turqi AlnaWaiser, Who is Chairman of the Board and a Top Executive at Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund – Luck Owner.
So where does lucid go from here? It needs to sell more evs – namely its new gravity suv – and reduce costs. That’s no small feat, especially consider is also developing a new midsize vehicle platform (more $$) that is expected to launch at the end of 2026.
Before we jump into the rest of the news, I wanted to highlight an article about Flexport Ceo Ryan Petersen And a suite of new products and features that the freight forwarding and logistics Startup is rolling outMany of these new products use ai, which isn’s ist caught my eye.
It is the pace of the rollout. Petersen Told Techcrunch This is the first in a series of semi-nnual announsments of this kind-à la airbnb. Petersen said airbnb founder brian chesky’s talk about founder mode is what inspired the strategy. The viral moment For “founder mode,” which was fuled by paul graham’s essayMight be over. But Petersen’s Latest Move Shows This Management Strategy Isn Bollywood Anytime Soon.
A Little Bird
Remember the big round of Cruise Layoffs that Happened Earlier This Month? For there who don’t, parent company Gm Announced it would slash Cruise’s Workforce By Nearly 50%The remains of cruise are supposed to move under parent company general motors as the automakers directions its resources toward improving its Driver-Aassistance System Supers Eventually rolling out personal autonomous vehicles.
Some Little Birds Told Us A Few More Layoffs Have Occurred Since the Initial Round, Namely that the Cruise Marketing Team – About Eight People – Has Been Disasted. We hear that finance and legal departments will likely follow once the transition is complete.
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Deals!
Let’s start with the transportation -DJACENT world of delivery. Last month, Dutch Food Delivery Giant Just et takeaway Sold Off Grubhub For $ 650 MillionA Fraction of the $ 7.3 Billion Valuation The Delivery Startup Had when it was acquired in 2020. Now, just eat takeaay is the one eating gobbled up.
Global Tech Company Prosus Reached an Agreement to buy Just eat takeaway for € 4.1 billion in cash. If the deal is complete, Prosus will become the fourth largest food delivery group globally.
Other deals that get my attention…
AIRO GroupAn aerospace and defense company based in albuquerque, new mexico, and washington, dc, filed for an estimated $ 100 Million IPOThe company plans to list on the nasdaq exchange.
CircuitA short-book, Electric Shuttle Solutions Startup, Raised $ 17 Million As part of a series b rund. Private Investment Firm MKB, As Well as Existing Investors Tribeca Venture Partners and Impact Engine, Participated.
Donut labA Subsidiya of Verge Motorcycles Developing Electric Motors and Other Related Technology, Raised € 15 MillionThe company’s anchor investor is Risto Siilasmaa, Founder of Cybersecurity Companies F-Secure and WithSecure and Former Chairman of Nokia’s board. Siilasmaa will also also join donut lab’s board.
GozemAn African Startup that offers Ride-Hilling, Commerce, Vehicle Financing, And Digital Banking Across TOGO, Benin, Gabon, and Cameroon Via Via its app, Raised $ 30 Million In a series b funding round. The round, which incluses $ 15 million in equity and $ 15 million in debt, was LED by sas shipping agencies services and al maada ventures.
VidyutA Bengaluru, India-Based Startup That Provides Financing for Commercial and Passenger Evs, Raised $ 2.5 Million From Flourish Ventures.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Autonomous Vehicles
Aaa Released Its Annual Survey That’s Designed to Gaure Consumer Interest and Acceptance of Advanced Driver-Assistant Systems And RobotaxisTL; Dr: Enthusiasm for self-Dr. Driving Vehicles is low-Just 13% of Surveyed Drives Consider It a Priority, A Decrease from 18% in 2022. 53% saying they would not choose to ride in one. Meanwhile, interest in adas is high, especially Around features like automatic emergency braking.
Avride Autonomous Sidewalk delivery robots have made it to japan. The yandex spinout has launched commercial operations In Central Tokyo with a fleet of about 10 robots.
Electric Vehicles, Charging, & Batteries
Aston Martin Cut 170 Jobs And pushed back plans to launch an ev (will it ever happen?). The company will instead work on an Ultra-Luxury Hybrid Model.
Last Week, I Highlighted Sean’s Article That LOKED Into How And Who Organized the Tesla takeover movement. Now it seems the tesla takeover movement is gaining some traction. The question is how long it will person and bes it will affect tesla’s bottom line as protestors hope.
Range energyA Startup that developed electrified semitrailers, is shuffling its executive Deck. Founder and Ceo Ali javidan is moving into the president and cto role, the company Told Techcrunch. Jon foster, the former cfo of zoox who helped architect the autonomous vehicle company company’s acquisition by amazon, is range’s new ceo.
Future of Flight
Joby aviation Released Its Earnings And here’s what we know. The Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Startup Says It’s on Track to Deliver an aircraft to Dubai by Mid-2025, when it will demonstrate the Vehicle’s readiness to Carry Passengerss. The company now has five aircraft in its Test Fleet and Made Progress on Stage Four of Type Certification. Joby said it expects to go through the final step of the faa certificate process with the next 12 months. But this is an expensive pursuit: Joby’s Net Loss for 2024 was $ 608 Million.
In-car tech
Four years ago, Google was hit with a € 100 Million Antitrust Fine By Italy’s Competition Authority for Refusing to Let a Third-Parthy Electric Car-Charging App Developed by ENEL Integrate with Senior Reporter Natasha Lomas Wrote about a new ruling By the court of justice of the european union that affirmed the watchdog organization’s view that Google’s Initial Block Can Constitute Antitrust Abuse.
The upshot? The cjeu judgment sets out conditions for tech giants when it comes to interoperability that could have wider application for app makers seeking to plug their worse into keep keey platforms.
This week’s wheels
Nothing this week, but stay tuned.
What is “this week’s wheels”? It’s a chance to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, whither it’s an Electric or Hybrid Car, An e-Bike, or even a ride in an autonomous student.