Welcome again to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the way forward for transportation and now, greater than ever, how AI is enjoying a component. To get this in your inbox, join right here totally free — simply click on TechCrunch Mobility!
After years of hints and preparation, the Uber-backed electrical bike and scooter rental startup Lime filed for an preliminary public providing. A micromobility firm going public? In 2026? Absolutely it’s the fallacious 12 months.
Lime CEO Wayne Ting has been speaking about an IPO for years. TechCrunch spoke to him about it in 2020, 2021, and 2023. It by no means materialized and I type of forgot about it, till — growth — the S-1 doc, the registration assertion filed with the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee, posted early Friday morning.
There are some fascinating threat elements within the S-1, though we nonetheless are ready for Lime to share phrases of the providing.
Income is climbing, it has constructive free money stream, and internet losses narrowed after 2023, though there was a slight uptick between 2024 and 2025. Uber, which invested in Lime a number of years in the past, nonetheless performs an vital position for the corporate. Lime stated about 14.3% of its income got here by its partnership with Uber, which permits prospects to seek out and hire scooters and e-bikes by its app.
All of this implies Lime is a development firm headed towards profitability. However there’s one substantial headwind. Lime has about $1 billion in present liabilities, and about $675.8 million of that’s due by the tip of 2026. In all, about $846 million is due inside 12 months. Lime doesn’t have ample liquidity to pay that, in response to its submitting. Lime states it plainly within the S-1: If it may’t go public and lift the mandatory capital, or change its debt agreements, it might not have the ability to proceed working as a enterprise.
Senior reporter Sean O’Kane, who likes digging by an S-1 as a lot as I do, noticed another tidbits within the threat elements. Funding by cities of their public street infrastructure is a threat issue, in response to the corporate. Lime particularly lists potholes, which made me chuckle after which nod in settlement. Potholes should not form to shared scooters.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
Lime additionally warned that a good portion of rides are concentrated in a comparatively small variety of markets by which it operates. One such market, which accounted for 22.2% of its income in 2025, is the U.Ok.
A bit of hen
Final summer season, Uber introduced a plan to launch a premium robotaxi service utilizing Lucid Gravity automobiles geared up with Nuro’s autonomous automobile expertise. That is greater than a collaboration. Uber stated it could make investments $300 million in Lucid and would individually purchase “at the least” 20,000 of the EV maker’s new Gravity SUV over the following six years. Uber just lately raised its funding in Lucid to $500 million and pushed the automobile order to 35,000.
The small print about Uber’s funding in Nuro, a privately held startup based mostly in Silicon Valley, have been slim — till now. On the time, we solely knew that Uber invested an undisclosed “multi-hundred-million-dollar” quantity into Nuro. One little hen has shared extra particulars.
Uber’s complete monetary dedication to Nuro, which incorporates its participation within the startup’s Collection E spherical final 12 months and future milestone-based investments, is almost $500 million, per a supply accustomed to the deal.
My educated guess is that Nuro simply unlocked a kind of milestones. The corporate is testing the Lucid automobiles in autonomous mode with a human security operator within the driver’s seat. And final month it expanded testing to permit Uber staff to request an autonomous journey in a Lucid robotaxi with a human security operator nonetheless on board. However the firm simply obtained two crucial permits — a driverless testing allow from the Division of Motor Autos and a allow from the California Public Utilities Fee.
Acquired a tip for us? Electronic mail Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Sign at kkorosec.07, or e mail Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Offers!
Kodiak AI’s first-quarter earnings affords a case research for a way difficult it’s to commercialize frontier tech. The corporate introduced a lot of offers that confirmed progress. It locked in a industrial contract with Roehl; launched a pilot program to check Kodiak-equipped autonomous vehicles at West Fraser Timber Co.’s log-hauling operations in Alberta, Canada; and introduced a collaboration with the army automobile maker Common Dynamics Land Methods to create autonomous floor automobiles for protection functions.
However traders weren’t pleased with the phrases of its $100 million capital elevate. The corporate bought shares at $6.50 every — a steep low cost from its closing share value of $9.10. The elevate additionally included warrants — devices that give traders the suitable to purchase extra shares later at a set value, on this case as little as $6.
The financing got here from current backer Ares Administration and several other unnamed institutional traders.
Kodiak’s inventory value fell 37% in after-hours buying and selling moments after the financing and Q1 earnings had been launched. Shares have recovered a bit since, maybe as shareholders digested the information and checked out it from a glass-half-full perspective.
Kodiak will probably want extra capital because it continues to burn money because it pushes towards its large aim: driverless trucking operations on public highways.
Different offers that bought my consideration this week …
Second Vitality, a startup that’s developed a novel method to repurposing EV batteries, raised a $40 million Collection B funding spherical led by Canadian VC agency Evok Improvements, with extra funding from grocery retailer fund W23, becoming a member of current traders like Amazon’s Local weather Pledge Fund and In-Q-Tel, the CIA-funded VC agency.
Rocsys, a startup that has developed hands-free depot options for autonomous electrical automobiles, raised $13 million in an prolonged Collection A spherical led by Capricorn Companions, with participation from Scania Make investments, Forward.One, SEB Greentech Enterprise Capital, and Graduate Enterprise.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Aurora has began hauling masses in driverless vehicles in Texas for distribution big McLane. The industrial contract exhibits some progress by the self-driving vehicles firm. Disclaimer: These driverless vehicles nonetheless have human observers within the cab, and the corporate tells us they can’t function the automobile.
Lucid’s first-quarter earnings revealed an organization nonetheless feeling the consequences of a provider challenge earlier this 12 months that triggered it to recall its Gravity SUV and pause deliveries. The corporate, which can also be going by a management transition, modified its steering and stated it was not positive what number of EVs it can construct or promote this 12 months.
In 2024, the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration up to date the New Automobile Evaluation Program and added 4 new pass-fail checks to evaluate the efficiency of superior help methods, beginning in 2026. And we’re lastly seeing the outcomes. The later-release 2026 Tesla Mannequin Y is the primary automobile to fulfill the company’s new benchmark.
Ouster is launching a brand new lineup of coloration lidar sensors that CEO Angus Pacala believes will exchange cameras.
EV startup Slate has misplaced a notable board member. The top of Jeff Bezos’ household workplace left the board, in response to quite a few state filings reviewed by TechCrunch.
Volkswagen is now Rivian’s largest shareholder, pushing Amazon out of the highest spot.
Another factor …
Properly, perhaps two extra.
Senior reporter Rebecca Bellan interviewed Aurora founder and CEO Chris Urmson just lately for the Fairness podcast. Hearken to the episode right here.
And, lastly, we had a ballot final week! Right here was what I posed to readers: “The California DMV issued new guidelines for AVs. Self-driving vehicles can now take a look at and deploy within the state. Reporting, knowledge assortment, and operations necessities have been expanded and regulation enforcement can challenge visitors violations. These guidelines: go too far, hit the mark, or aren’t restrictive sufficient.”
About 41% picked “hit the mark,” whereas 27.6% stated the principles go too far, and 31% stated they aren’t restrictive sufficient.
To take part in our polls, signal as much as get the Mobility e-newsletter in your inbox!
While you buy by hyperlinks in our articles, we could earn a small fee. This doesn’t have an effect on our editorial independence.
