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President-elect Trump He wasted little time selecting Cabinet members, including naming the former Wisconsin state representative. Sean Duffy As the next Minister of Transport. If Duffy’s appointment is confirmed by the Senate, the new secretary will oversee an annual budget of about $107 billion, not to mention a wide range of issues that will touch the world of technology, including fuel efficiency standards, advanced driver assistance technologies, and self-driving vehicles. .
I looked at his legislative record and there was nothing on transportation, except for a bill on logging. This makes it difficult to predict exactly what his priorities will be. Stay tuned.
Two more fun things. During an episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, the co-founder and CEO of Salesforce Marc Benioff He talked about some of his favorite tools. And, you guessed it, cars and trucks — many of which are electric vehicles — were in the lead.
This isn’t exactly transportation related, so forgive me. Tesla Optimus bot has a new friend: Kim Kardashian.
Before we get to the news, one housekeeping item: We won’t have an edition of TechCrunch Mobility next Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. For all our US-based readers — as well as those celebrating the holiday abroad — stay safe out there on those roads. I know what I’ll give away with this vacation: good health and the ability to do what I love, which includes writing this newsletter.
birdie
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or see these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Offers!
last month, Pony AI It has joined the list of Chinese companies going public on the US stock market following a multi-year ban imposed by Beijing on raising capital abroad. Now we know what Pony AI is intended for.
Sean O’Kane reports that Pony AI wants to raise about $260 million, up from its previous goal of about $224 million. To achieve this goal, Pony will sell up to 20 million American Depositary Shares.
That’s still short of the much higher target of $425 million, which Pony was aiming to achieve earlier this year before its board agreed to lower its minimum valuation from about $8 billion to $4 billion.
Other deals that caught my attention…
Amplea San Francisco-based electric vehicle battery swap company, has raised $25 million from new investor Mitsubishi Corporation.
Class8a Toronto-based trucking fleet operations startup formerly called FleetOps, It raised $22 million In a Series A round led by Xplorer Capital. New investor Commerce Ventures and returning backers Inspired Capital and Resolute Ventures also joined.
ecoelectrowhich makes hydrogen-producing electrolyzers, has raised $10.5 million in a Series A round led by Toyota Ventures Climate Fund with participation from Cornell University, New Climate Ventures, Starshot Capital, and Techstars.
Electronic planeAn India-based startup developing electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft has raised $14 million in a Series B round co-led by Speciale Invest and Antares Ventures. The full equity round also included participation from Micelio Mobility, Naval Ravikant, Java Capital, Samarthya Investment Advisors, Redstart (from Naukri), and Anicut. The round valued the startup at US$46 million, more than double its previous valuation of US$21 million.
Fliptorna New York-based startup that has developed software to help fleets manage the charging of their electric vehicles, It raised $11 million In a Series A round led by CRV with participation from Accel.
Notable Readings and Other Stories
Self-driving vehicles
cruise He admitted to filing a false report with the intent to influence a federal investigation into a safety incident last year. The GM subsidiary agreed to pay a $500,000 criminal fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.
May navigation It has begun testing driverless shuttles (self-driving Toyota Sienna minivans) in Ann Arbor.
Nuru It has begun rolling out a test fleet of driverless and passenger-less R3 vehicles across the Bay Area and Houston, two months after changing its business strategy to license its autonomous vehicle technology to automakers and mobility providers. the reason? Show potential customers what they have.
Xiaodi Huco-founder and former CEO of the self-driving trucking company TuSimpleIt urged a California district court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the company from transferring its remaining US assets to China. This battle is getting messy.
Electric cars, charging and batteries
Hyundai unveiled the new Ioniq 9, a three-row SUV expected to arrive in the US in spring 2025. Read more from Contributor Amy Hall About this new electric car and its many features.
Do you remember the Ram Charger? Good Stellantis He has New details released around the STLA frame, the basic vehicle platform on which the Ram Charger will eventually be built. TL;DR: This is designed to be a multi-power platform, which means it could be the basis for an internal combustion, hybrid, battery-powered vehicle, or even a gas-powered vehicle like the Ram Ram Charger.
The $7,500 tax credit is in play Trump Chopping block.
Technology inside the car
Ford It agreed to pay a $165 million fine to federal regulators after moving too slowly to recall vehicles with defective rear cameras.
the people
GM It eliminated another 1,000 jobs in the United States, none of which were for hourly workers. and Ford He said he would Another 4,000 jobs cut In Europe as part of a cost-cutting strategy as the growth rate of electric vehicles slows.
RivianHead of Communications, Sarah O’Brien, who once held a similar role at Teslaleaving the electric car maker. she has Join LoveFromthe creative group founded by Jony Ive, former chief design officer at Apple.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen He tapped the former Rivian exec Kjell Gruner To operate its business in the United States.
Wheels this week
What are “This Week’s Wheels”? It’s an opportunity to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, whether it’s an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in a self-driving vehicle. Includes future vehicles Clear air,More time in the next generation Rivian R1S, and Volkswagen Buzz ID. Stay tuned.
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