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 For regular readers of TechCrunch Mobility, you may be wondering, \u201cWhy did this newsletter land in my inbox on Friday?\u201d Folks, we\u2019re moving days in an effort to bring you a more complete rundown of the news of the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n I spent the last week at SXSW, the annual tech, film, comedy, and music festival in Austin. I recommend scrolling through our live blog<\/a> to catch up on all the transportation, AI, social media, creator economy \u2014 basically tech \u2014 news that happened during the conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019ve watched Austin evolve over the years with some good and bad outcomes. Protected bike lanes have been one positive development, which I appreciated as I rode a few Lime scooters and two Mod Bikes e-bikes around the city. Austin is also becoming a hub for autonomous vehicle activity with Avride headquartered there, Zoox testing on public roads, and Waymo launching a commercial robotaxi service.\u00a0<\/p>\n I was lucky enough to be matched with two Waymo robotaxis \u2014 all ride-hails occur through the Uber app, so it\u2019s never a guarantee. I also had one coordinated match courtesy of Waymo. As I wrote earlier this week, it is absolutely wild that Waymo and Uber are working together. Here\u2019s why<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oh, and here is what I discovered in my Waymo-Uber robotaxi ride<\/a>. Hint: some updates to the user interface.<\/p>\n Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at <\/em>kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/em><\/a> or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O\u2019Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com<\/a>, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com<\/a>.<\/em> Or check out <\/em>these instructions<\/em><\/a> to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.<\/em><\/p>\n Senior reporter Sean O\u2019Kane took a deep dive into a new venture firm called Leitmotif <\/strong>that\u2019s been quietly making loads of deals for the past 16 months. The firm, which has funded around 20 startups, broadly focuses on decarbonization with a portfolio that includes EV companies, space and battery plays, and four nuclear fusion startups.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s not the interesting part. Here\u2019s what is: All of the money in its fund came from the Volkswagen Group. Check out the full story<\/a> about why the German automotive giant has committed $300 million to Leitmotif\u2019s first fund.<\/p>\n Other deals that got my attention\u00a0\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Carpool Logistics<\/strong>, a vehicle logistics platform, raised $12 million<\/a> in a Series A funding round led by Wavecrest Growth Partners, with participation from CarMax, Impel founders Devin Daly and Michael Quigley, and automotive industry veteran David Metter.<\/p>\n Daqus Energy<\/strong>, a startup working on battery materials, raised $6 million<\/a> in a seed round led by Morningside with participation from unnamed individual investors.<\/p>\n Nirvana<\/strong>, an AI-based insurance platform that uses real-time driving telematics and 20 billion miles of truck driving data to build and manage insurance policies for truckers, raised $80 million<\/a> in a Series C round of funding led by General Catalyst. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Valor Equity Partners also participated. The investment values Nirvana at $830 million post-money.<\/p>\n Northvolt <\/strong>filed for bankruptcy<\/a> in Sweden, the latest blow to Europe\u2019s attempts to create a battery-manufacturing juggernaut that could rival the Chinese giants.<\/p>\n Rivian<\/strong> rolled out a hands-free version<\/a> of its driver-assistance system for highway driving, which founder and CEO RJ Scaringe discussed onstage at SXSW in Austin. The new hands-free feature puts Rivian in competition with Ford and GM, which have similar hands-free systems that control steering, acceleration, and braking under certain conditions and locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hugging Face<\/strong> teamed up with AI startup Yaak to expand LeRobot<\/a> \u2014 a collection of open AI models, datasets, and tools to help build real-world robotics systems \u2014 with a training set to allow robots and cars to navigate environments like city streets autonomously.<\/p>\n Trucks VC general partner Reilly Brennan <\/strong>had an interesting column, Don\u2019t mistake ridehailing for AV ridehailing<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Travis Kalanick<\/strong>, the former CEO of Uber, thinks the company\u2019s decision to abandon its autonomous driving program<\/a> was a mistake. Reminder: Uber ATG was burning through cash when it was sold to Aurora in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n Waymo<\/strong> keeps expanding \u2014 this time in Silicon Valley<\/a>. And that expansion has come with hundreds of parking tickets<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Mint 400 <\/strong>off-road race put two EVs \u2014 a Rivian R1T truck and a Chevrolet Silverado EV ZR2 off-road race truck concept \u2014 to the test<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rad Power<\/strong> lost its CEO and gained a new one<\/a> in a span of a few days.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/strong> said he will label violence against Tesla dealerships as domestic terrorism<\/a> \u2014 yet another sign of his deep support for Elon Musk. As reporter Sean O\u2019Kane<\/strong> notes, \u201cTesla Takeovers\u201d have been breaking out across the globe at Tesla dealerships as people protest what they see as a hostile takeover of the federal government by Musk (who is CEO of Tesla and its largest shareholder) and his Department of Government Efficiency<\/a>. Some of the protests have resulted in graffiti on Tesla signs, charging stations set on fire, even Molotov cocktails being thrown in one dealership\u2019s lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n This week I tried two e-bikes from Austin-based Mod Bikes<\/strong>. I\u2019ll focus on its newest one, the Groove<\/strong>, which launched earlier this week<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n I spent 24 hours with the Groove<\/strong>, an all-electric step-through bike with a souped-up beach cruiser look and feel. The Groove existed before, but Mod Bikes discontinued it. Now it\u2019s back and has been updated throughout, including the frame, battery, torque sensor, smart display, and motor.<\/p>\n The bike itself is sporty and polished with lots of thoughtful details that make the $1,999 price<\/a> seem like a steal. The design is thoughtful with easy-to-read and easy-to-operate controls and an integrated bike lock that folds neatly on the frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Groove is a throttle and pedal assist bike, and I found it easy to switch between the various modes. I rarely relied on the throttle alone because the assist provided plenty of oomph. The bike has a payload capacity of 275 pounds and reaches a top speed of 28 miles per hour. The Groove has 50 miles of range; however, there is a dual-battery option that pops it up to 100 miles.\u00a0<\/p>\n One note, though: Wow, this bike is hefty. And while that is generally a good thing, folks should give themselves a bit of time to adjust to its weight.\u00a0<\/p>\nA little bird<\/h2>\n
Deals!<\/h2>\n
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Notable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
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ADAS<\/h3>\n
Autonomous vehicles<\/h3>\n
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries<\/h3>\n
This week\u2019s wheels<\/h2>\n
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