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 Before we jump into the news, just a quick bit of housekeeping. I\u2019m putting \u201cThis week\u2019s wheels\u201d on hiatus for a few weeks as I get into more EVs, hybrids, e-bikes, and robotaxis. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n Waymo<\/strong> reached a deal with the San Francisco Airport Commission \u2014 and by extension the city \u2014 to use its vehicles to map the airport roadways. That news received widespread coverage because of the potential for the city to eventually give Waymo permission to expand its robotaxi service to the airport. For now, this only covers mapping and the vehicles will be manually driven.<\/p>\n Some little birds shared with us the terms of the agreement<\/a>, which include two important points. One source described these as \u201cconcessions.\u201d And it\u2019s likely these terms will show up in future agreements.\u00a0<\/p>\n Waymo has agreed to data-sharing after each mapping session per vehicle, according to the agreement that TechCrunch viewed. This \u201cdata interface agreement\u201d requires Waymo to track its vehicles as they enter and exit the airport and provide the time, geographic location, identification, trip identifier, transaction type, driver-based unique identifier, and vehicle license plate number, according to the agreement.<\/p>\n The agreement also prohibits Waymo from using autonomous vehicles to move commercial goods. Sure Waymo no longer has a self-driving trucks program, but language like this matters for groups like the Teamsters.<\/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 Just a few deals this week\u00a0\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Coreshell<\/strong>, the battery materials startup, raised $24 million<\/a> in a Series A2 round led by Ferroglobe, which is also Coreshell\u2019s silicon supplier. Asymmetry Ventures, Estrada Ventures, Foothill Ventures, Helios Climate Ventures, Lane Venture, Translink Investment, Trousdale Ventures, and Zeon Ventures also participated.<\/p>\n Einride<\/strong>, the Swedish driverless truck startup, is in talks about filing for an IPO that could value the company at more than $5 billion<\/a>, Financial Times reported.<\/p>\n Evera<\/strong>, a French EV subscription startup, raised 2 million euro<\/a> from Groupe Magellim and Newfund NAEH Innopy, MCapital, AstoryaVC, and business angel Eric Ibled.<\/p>\n Leta<\/strong>, the African logistics software-as-a-service provider, raised $5 million<\/a> in seed funding led by European VC firm Speedinvest. Google\u2019s Africa Investment Fund and Equator, an Africa-focused climate tech fund, also participated.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pulsetrain<\/strong>, a battery tech startup, secured \u20ac6.1 million in a seed round<\/a> co-led by Vsquared Ventures and Planet.\u00a0Climate Club also joined.<\/p>\n Seadronix<\/strong>, a South Korea-based autonomous ship navigation company, raised $11.3 million<\/a> in a Series B funding round that included new investors LB Investment, KB Investment, and the Korea Development Bank. The fund included existing backers Wonik Investment Partners and Lighthouse Combined Investment.<\/p>\n Ever wonder what inspired Nvidia<\/strong> to go \u201call in\u201d on self-driving cars? Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang <\/strong>snuck in a history lesson during his GTC keynote<\/a>. Speaking of Nvidia\u2019s GTC conference, there was a bunch of AV-related announcements. Check out this roundup<\/a>, which covers deals with Gatik, GM, Torc, and more.<\/p>\n Zoox<\/strong> issued a voluntary recall for 258 vehicles<\/a> due to issues with its autonomous driving system that could cause unexpected hard braking.<\/p>\n BYD<\/strong> announced new EV charging technology<\/a> that, if it comes to fruition, will blow away the competition and be as fast as fueling up a gas-powered car.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honda<\/strong> and its luxury and performance brand Acura will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network<\/a> in June. Dig in: We have a handy roundup<\/a> of all the brands that have access.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla<\/strong> and Rivian<\/strong> are nailing the EV-charging experience. The two companies have the fewest problems, according to a survey by Consumer Reports<\/a>. The worst: Shell\u2019s Recharge network, EVgo, and Blink.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Tesla is not doing so well with the Cybertruck<\/strong> \u2014 even though it continues to outsell other EV trucks. The automaker issued a recall<\/a> for around 46,000 Cybertrucks sold to date because of an exterior steel trim panel on the side of the windshield that can peel off.\u00a0<\/p>\n And finally, and still on the Tesla front, analyst Dan Ives <\/strong>at Wedbush Securities pleaded with Elon Musk<\/a> in a note published Thursday to reduce his role working with the Department of Government Efficiency. He said Musk is facing a \u201cmoment of truth\u201d at his EV company because of a \u201ccrisis\u201d he\u2019s created by spending so much time in the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Joby Aviation<\/strong> has partnered with Virgin Atlantic to launch electric air taxis<\/a> in the U.K., marking the seventh country in which the startup hopes to one day commercialize. Reminder: We first reported on this potential partnership in our \u201cA little bird\u201d section<\/a> last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Well, I suppose this is an in-car and out-of-the-car tech story. I\u2019m talking about the expanded collaboration between GM<\/strong> and Nvidia<\/strong>, which was announced at the GTC conference. TL;DR: GM will work with Nvidia to build custom AI systems using several of the tech giant\u2019s products. The idea is to bring AI to GM\u2019s physical world of factories, robots, and cars. More details here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla<\/strong> received a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, news that some have conflated or inaccurately reported on. Here\u2019s what Tesla can and cannot do<\/a> with this transportation charter permit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nA little bird<\/h2>\n
Deals!<\/h2>\n
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Notable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
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Autonomous vehicles<\/h3>\n
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries<\/h3>\n
Future of flight<\/h3>\n
In-car tech<\/h3>\n