Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!
Another week, another batch of transportation news. Our senior reporter Sean O’Kane is on top of the latest developments in the world of Fisker.
Fisker had a positive milestone this week amidst its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. A judge has approved the sale of over 3,000 Fisker Ocean SUVs to a leasing company, potentially bringing in $46.25 million for the EV startup. O’Kane details the process and remaining challenges in his coverage.
Aside from the Fisker news, there have been a lot of exciting updates this week. Let’s dive into them.
A little bird
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. You can also reach us through encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Deals!
A significant moment occurred for Yandex NV this week, with the completion of the sale of its Russian business for $5.2 billion. The new entity, Nebius Group, plans to invest in projects like Avride, an autonomous vehicle technology company. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting development.
In addition to these updates, there are several other noteworthy deals that caught our attention.
– Hayden AI Technologies raised $90 million in a Series C round led by The Rise Fund for their AI-powered camera systems.
– Huture is set to go public in the U.S. through a merger, valuing the combined company at $1 billion.
– Moving Tech raised $11 million in a pre-Series A round, with support from investors like Google.
– Northbound secured €1.3 million in pre-seed funding for their global shipping logistics software platform.
– Tekion Corp received $200 million in growth capital, pushing their valuation over $4 billion.
– UP.Partners is looking to raise $230 million for its second mobility-focused VC fund.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Autonomous vehicles
A discussion with Aurora co-founder Sterling AndersonTesla‘s robotaxi reveal, along with news on Waymo‘s robotaxis, adds to the excitement in this space.
Electric vehicles, charging & batteries
From the innovative strategies of Helixx to the resurgence of VanMoof in the e-bike market, there’s a lot happening in the EV and battery sector.
Future of flight
The partnership between Archer Aviation and Southwest Airlines signals exciting developments in electric air taxis. Southwest’s customer data plays a key role in this collaboration.
This week’s wheels
The Nissan Ariya Empower+ packs a punch with its impressive battery and motor specs. Despite some minor drawbacks in the user interface, the overall experience of driving this electric SUV is modern and comfortable.
With continuous improvements in the EV space, the future looks bright for electric vehicles, charging technologies, and the mobility sector as a whole.