Another Robotaxi Operation heads to Texas, with Archer winning $300 million in defense mission

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At TechCrunch, we focus on helping readers (that’s you!) get information. That’s not like blowing up information in your way. Instead, we work to answer “Why should I care?” Provides questions and important context.

Take Ministry of TransportThe decision is to suspend funding for the $5 billion EV charging infrastructure program. As a senior reporter Sean Okane Notes on his reportthis is not the latest attempt from the Trump administration, but rather a attempt to hack out federally funded renewable energy projects across the country.

It also shows the growing conflict between Elon Musk’s politics and the automotive company’s goal of moving towards sustainable energy. Tesla, the largest shareholder run by Musk, received $31 million in funding from the program.

Other informed actions on how they are maintained will monitor specific topics of interest and provide updates when guaranteed. Reporter Rebecca Berran I’m tracking Tesla’s Dojo Programupdates regularly. Check it out.

Little bird

He recently reached out to me to share this nugget. This was confirmed in a LinkedIn post. Brian Lernera former Apple software engineer who spent the past four years at Build Robotics, was hired as director of Ford’s factory software.

Any tips for us? Email Kirsten Korosec kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.comby Sean Okane sean.okane@techcrunch.comOr at Rebecca Veran rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out These instructions To learn how to contact us via an encrypted messaging app or SecureDrop.

Great deal!

Dual-Used Technology – It means that it can be used by civilians and military personnel – attracting considerable investment in 2023 and 2024. This year, it gets even bigger as founders use President Donald Trump’s platform.

Archer AirlinesElectric Vertical and Takeoff Vehicle Developers are the latest company to fine-tune its mission to win sweet, sweet double use dollars.

Archer Aviation, published in September 2021 through a special purpose acquisition merger, raised $300 million From institutional investors such as BlackRock and Wellington. This funding will mainly be used to accelerate the work Archer is doing with Andrill, building Hybrid Crafts (VTOL).

The pay raise will bring Archer’s total funding to approximately $3.36 billion. As reporter Rebecca Veran pointed out, this fresh capital is $430 million In December, we will fund a new Archer Defense Program.

Reminder: It wasn’t long ago that Archer’s to-market strategy was an air taxi network across several cities in the US and overseas.

Other deals that caught my attention…

Automatic shipping company exchangea Michigan startup that developed a digital market for vehicle transport, raised $5 million Series A funding round led by MHS Capital. Golden Ventures, who led the Auto Hauler Exchange seed round, also invested in the Series A round.

Which onean electric bus manufacturer in Ohio, raised $49 million Fairness and debt. The round included a $36 million stock investment led by Magnetar. Pulse Fund also participated. The total also included a $13 million line of credit.

Greenspark Softwarea New York City-based startup announced software software for the metal recycling industry, last month. $9.4 million From Investors Zero Infinity Partners, Third Prime, Bienville Capital, and several unnamed strategic investors. We know that now BMW I Ventures It’s one of them.

InnovizLidar Company, raised $40 million Stock prices from institutional investors at a stock price of $1.39 are discounts when the stock price drops sharply. As of Wednesday, the company’s shares had fallen 37% since its closing price of $1.59 on Friday.

JLR Expanding the US technology hub in Portland Investment of $180 million It will spread over the next 10 years. This hub develops next-generation connected cars and what is known as “autonomous driving technology” for future JLR vehicles. History Lessons: JLR opened Tech Hub in 2014 and expanded its facilities in 2016, 2017 and 2024.

levelz Secured a $60 million loan From NY Greenbank, New York’s clean energy investment fund, to more than three times as much as New York City’s current public fast charging network.

Self-examinationthe San Diego-based startup has developed an AI-powered vehicle inspection service. raised $3 million Costanoa Ventures and DVX Ventures are a seed round co-led with the company. It is run by former Tesla president John McNeill.. The round was Westlake Financial, which handles more than 1 million vehicle transactions per year.

Notable readings and other information

Adas

byd “God’s Eye” has been announced. The entire model lineupIncludes a $9,600 Seagull hatchback.

Tesla Winning the honour and loss lawsuit In February 2021, Chanyazoo, a passenger in a Tesla Model 3 car, was hospitalized for four days by his parents, who allegedly crashed due to a defective brake. Tesla has finally released telemetry data from her car. This clearly shows that the brakes are functioning as intended.

Self-driving cars

Aurora’s innovation According to the fourth quarter, the company plans to commercially deploy self-driving trucks from April 2025. Shareholder letter. The Aurora was supposed to be released at the end of 2024, but it pushed back the schedule and verified its autonomous driving technology.

lyft Plan to bring A completely autonomous Robotaxismounted mobileyeDallas’ “Suddenly in 2026” apps will allow more markets to continue. Lyft has not spilled any details on which car manufacturer it will partner with. Malbeni, a Japanese conglomerate with experience in managing the fleet, knows that he owns and funds MobileYe equipped vehicles that appear on the Lyft app.

The Lyft-Mobileye deal made me think about Texas. It wasn’t long ago that California and Arizona were the main breeding grounds for Robotaxi activities. But Texas is becoming a hub for commercial operations, not just testing. Austin is one of the Texas AV hotspots: Tesla Planning to release In June of this year, the driverless ride hale service was held in the city. Waymo and Uber We plan to start service soon. Avride I have it We will also set up a shop in Austin.. Meanwhile, self-driving truck companies Aurora and Kodiak Robotics There are footprints in Texas too. this 2023 TechCrunch Articles I raised the question that I might finally answer in 2025.

It is mobility First launched Completely unmanned commercial services Peachtree Corners, Georgia. In May, there will be a different operational strategy than Waymo and Zoox. This is not a freewheel service you can go anywhere. Instead, there are eight pre-determined stops (for now).

Waymo This time, we are continuing to expand our service area in Los Angeles. The company has it Added 10 square miles To include parts of Westchester and Englewood and Crenshaw, you will be able to provide customers with access to popular destinations such as Sophie Stadium and HHLA Entertainment.

Electric cars, charging, batteries

Mercedes-Benz Starting from Vancouver this year, and at Toronto’s metro stations in 2026, it is bringing its EV charging network to Canada. The German automaker is currently building 300 charging stalls and 11 US states. In total, more than 2,500 charging stalls will be rolled out between Canada and the US

Livian Intention We sell commercial electric vans For a US business that wants to be more than a year after completing an exclusive contract with Backer. Amazon.

people

Jonathan MorrisonApple executives are like that I chose it for my head National Highway Traffic Safety Bureau. Morrison was the lead lawyer for the NHTSA during Trump’s first term. He was previously president of Automobile Advisory Services and director of legal and regulatory issues for the New Automobile Dealer Association in California.

Ridehale and Gig Economy

The revenue season is here, with two top ride hailing companies, Lyft and Uber, reporting revenue for the four quarter and full year. This is a simple breakdown:

lyft It has been reported Compared to the net loss of $340 million in 2023, net profit was $22.8 million, which recorded the profitability of the first annual GAAP in 2024 and its first annual GAAP profitability. Total first quarter reservations.

Lyft said Q1 will be late in the season, but the company expects bookings to be negatively affected by the loss of partnership with Delta. Another interesting info: Lyft’s board has granted $500 million share buybacks.

meanwhile, Uber Defeat your revenue expectations with Fourth Quarterincreased revenue by 20% to $119.6 billion. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.84 billion in the fourth quarter and $6.844 billion for the full year. Still, the stock fell after the company reported that it missed analysts’ expectations for EPS and provided soft guidance.

The company expects total bookings to reach between $42 billion and $435 billion in the first quarter. That’s under $44.2 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024. January weather. ”

This week’s wheels

This newsletter is getting longer, so there’s no wheels for this week! Stay tuned for new vehicles in the coming months.

What is “This Week’s Wheel”? This is your chance to learn about the various transportation products we are testing, electric and hybrid vehicles, e-bikes, and even self-driving vehicles.