Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility<\/strong> \u2014 your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility<\/a>!<\/p>\n We knew this day was coming: Cruise<\/strong> is dead \u2014 at least as a robotaxi company. General Motors <\/strong>completed its acquisition of GM Cruise Holdings\u202fLLC; Cruise is now a wholly owned subsidiary of GM.\u00a0<\/p>\n The upshot is a 50% reduction in staff<\/a> \u2014 that\u2019s about 1,000 people.\u00a0The next step is to integrate the remaining employees into the folds of GM, where they\u2019ll work on improving the automaker\u2019s advanced driver-assistance system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among my many questions about this is whether GM will successfully retain the remaining talent, most of whom I have been told are engineers. And will that fresh talent translate into an improved advanced driver-assistance system, branded as Super Cruise, and eventually personal autonomous vehicles?\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019m not convinced that acquiring talent \u2014 who were inspired by and loyal to Cruise\u2019s now departed co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt \u2014 is a good match. But hey, I\u2019ve been wrong before.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the years, I\u2019ve spoken to lots of Cruise engineers, and every time I would walk away thinking, \u201cWell, there\u2019s a true believer.\u201d I haven\u2019t met every Cruise employee, but the ones I have exuded a belief in the autonomous vehicle mission and seemed thrilled to be working long hours to achieve it.\u00a0<\/p>\n For any current and former Cruisers out there, reach out. I would love to talk about the early days with you. Email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n A few more little birds came to us from Cruise<\/strong> in recent days. Much of the communication centered on the impending layoffs, which I addressed above. But I thought this was an interesting nugget from sources who shared how they thought \u2014 at least for a time \u2014 Cruise might restart its robotaxi operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n One indicator was this tidbit from sources who told us that Cruise had been ready to implement a retrofitted sensor solution, internally referred to as Project Rhino, that would have solved for the October 2 incident by creating additional visibility and awareness underneath the car.\u00a0 The \u201cincident\u201d is in reference to an event in 2023 when a pedestrian, who had initially been hit by a human-driven car, got stuck under and then dragged by one of the company\u2019s robotaxis.<\/p>\n Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/a>, Sean O\u2019Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com<\/a>, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com<\/a>.<\/em> Or check out these instructions<\/a> to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.<\/p>\n Just a bunch of deals this week!<\/p>\n Applied Intuition <\/strong>acquired EpiSys Science Inc.<\/a>, a company that developed autonomy software for national security, including uncrewed aerial systems, surface warfare, maritime tracking, and battle management command and control. Terms were not disclosed. Applied Intuition is perhaps best known as an autonomous vehicle software<\/a> company; lately it has been pushing deeper into defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n GenLogs<\/strong>, a startup that developed freight intelligence software,\u00a0raised $14.6 million<\/a>\u00a0in a Series A funding round led by Venrock and HOF Capital. Steel Atlas, AutoTech Ventures, Venture 53, TitletownTech, Plug and Play Ventures, and Heartland Ventures also participated in the round.<\/p>\n Presto<\/strong>, a startup that says it\u2019s building the Stripe of EV charging, raised $15 million<\/a> in a seed round led by Union Square Ventures, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The round also included investments from Congruent Ventures, Jetstream, and Powerhouse Ventures.<\/p>\n We covered Tesla<\/strong> earnings in last week\u2019s edition but wanted to flag this article by Sean O\u2019Kane<\/a>, which reminds us of all the promises Elon Musk has made around his Full Self-Driving software and his recent admission that some of its vehicles will, in fact, need a hardware upgrade.\u00a0<\/p>\n The California Department of Motor Vehicles<\/strong> released data that shows a 50% drop in autonomous vehicle test miles<\/a>. Yes, the end of Cruise is partially responsible. But there are other factors at play. Here\u2019s what else is going on.<\/p>\n Waabi<\/strong> has partnered with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks<\/a>. Reminder: Volvo also has a deal with Aurora.\u00a0<\/p>\n Waymo<\/strong> is now showing up on the Uber app<\/a> in Austin. For now, this doesn\u2019t translate into a Waymo picking people up. But it will soon.<\/p>\n The Chicago Auto Show<\/strong> is under way, and while most \u2014 like the Subaru Forester Hybrid <\/strong>\u2014 are mild hybrids or internal combustion engine-powered vehicles, there were EVs, too. Stellantis<\/strong> revealed the all-electric 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S Limited trim<\/a> that starts at $66,995 and has an estimated range of 294 miles.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ford<\/strong> reported earnings this week and, welp, its EV business lost about $5 billion in 2024. But that wasn\u2019t the only thing that caught my eye. Instead, it was CEO Jim Farley\u2019s comments on tariffs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Scout Motors<\/strong>, the Volkswagen spinout that plans to produce all-electric and range-extended electric trucks and SUVs, was sued by a group of VW and Audi dealers<\/a> in Florida over its plan to sell directly to consumers.<\/p>\n Lyft<\/strong> has partnered with AI startup Anthropic<\/strong> to build an AI assistant<\/a> that handles initial intake for customer service inquiries for both riders and drivers.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is an interesting feature<\/a> on a startup called Circularity Fuels<\/strong>, which will make diamonds on its path to creating e-fuels to power jet planes.<\/p>\n This week, we\u2019ll hear from TechCrunch reporter Rebecca Bellan and her time driving a 2024 Kia Niro<\/strong>. (Please note that the photo above is of a 2025 model.)<\/p>\n I rented a 2024 Kia Niro over the weekend to drive a couple hours north of New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a cute, zippy SUV, but I struggled in two areas needed for a road trip: battery life in winter and the location of the volume button\/knob.<\/p>\n It only took about an hour and a half of driving, or about 70 miles, for the battery to go from fully charged to half empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n This kicked my anxiety into gear, as I wasn\u2019t sure where in the sticks of Connecticut I\u2019d be able to find a charger. I found one, in the end, a lone EVgo charger in a Planet Fitness parking lot. \u201cMarsha\u201d was advertised to charge at 50 kW but ended up drip feeding my battery at a shocking pace of 17 kW. Let\u2019s just say, I sat in that parking lot for a while.<\/p>\n The volume button or knob was also conspicuously absent. This is my biggest pet peeve with software-defined vehicles: the obsession with touch screens instead of tactile knobs that you can manipulate while you\u2019re driving so you don\u2019t have to take your eyes off the road. Neither I, nor any one of my passengers, were able to figure out how to adjust the volume without using the button on the wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n I finally just googled \u201cKia Niro volume\u201d and sure enough I found a Reddit post<\/a> that I could have written myself. Apparently, one must tap the \u201cbutton\u201d above the orange fan to change out of climate control mode, and then one can use the left temperature knob to change the volume. Unbelievable.<\/p>\n What is \u201cThis week\u2019s wheels\u201d? It\u2019s a chance to learn about the different transportation products we\u2019re testing, whether it\u2019s an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nA little bird<\/h2>\n
Deals!<\/h2>\n
![\"money](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?w=680\")
Notable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?w=680\")
ADAS<\/h3>\n
Autonomous vehicles<\/h3>\n
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries<\/h3>\n
Ride-hailing and gig economy<\/h3>\n
Space and future of flight<\/h3>\n
This week\u2019s wheels<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/2025_Niro_EV.jpg?w=680\")