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I used to be out for a couple of days final week and we have now a little bit of catching as much as do! I received’t rehash an excessive amount of, however anticipate a couple of of the larger information gadgets — ahem, Wayve’s $1.2 billion elevate — to make it in right here.
Yet one more housekeeping be aware: I might be in Austin subsequent week for SXSW, the annual tech, music, movie, and tradition occasion that at all times attracts an attention-grabbing assortment of tech founders, creators, politicians, and different trade of us. I plan to attend the Rivian occasion, the place the corporate is anticipated to disclose full particulars of its upcoming R2 line. I will even be moderating a panel referred to as Innovation & Impact: Female Leaders Transforming Legacy Industries, alongside Rivian CFO Claire McDonough, Madison Reed CEO and founder Amy Errett, and Spotify chief public affairs officer Dustee Jenkins. If you happen to’re there, please attain out!
Talking of Rivian, the corporate is planning one of many quickest launches of a brand new all-electric automotive within the U.S. with its forthcoming R2 SUV. And the stakes couldn’t be any increased.
Senior reporter Sean O’Kane checked out historic gross sales knowledge in addition to Rivian’s personal projections for 2026. Rivian mentioned it expects to promote between 20,000 and 25,000 R2s this 12 months, the primary of which can head to clients in June as soon as manufacturing begins.
Meaning it has six months to succeed in that aim. Even when Rivian hits the low finish of that focus on, its gross sales fee will outpace each different comparable electrical automobile at or underneath $60,000 other than the Tesla Mannequin Y, O’Kane writes. Learn the total story right here.
My query is what tactical transfer is Rivian planning to make use of to succeed in that aim? It received’t be sufficient to merely state, “Pent-up demand, silly.” That is no small feat. I anticipate Rivian to strive a wide range of ways to unfold the phrase and switch curiosity in its EVs into precise gross sales. What do you suppose the corporate will do? Electronic mail me!
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October 13-15, 2026
Somewhat fowl
No little birds this week — or at the least ones we will share. Bear in mind, when you’ve got a tip for us, you possibly can both electronic mail me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or attain me via Sign at kkorosec.07. Sean O’Kane’s electronic mail is sean.okane@techcrunch.com
Offers!
That is from final week, nevertheless it’s value commenting on. I’m speaking about Wayve and its $1.2 billion elevate (as much as $1.5 billion if it may possibly unlock a $300 million milestone-based funding from Uber). As I discussed in my article, everybody appears to need a piece of this U.Okay. startup, which is now valued at $8.6 billion.
Wayve is taking a special method to automated driving. It doesn’t wish to be the operator. As an alternative it needs to license its software program — each a completely automated driving product and a much less succesful one meant for superior driver-assistance methods — to automakers and robotaxi operators. Wayve has taken a self-learning method to its software program. The corporate developed a software program layer utilizing an end-to-end neural community that doesn’t require high-definition maps and solely makes use of knowledge to show the automobile tips on how to drive. It’s {hardware} agnostic, which could possibly be interesting to Wayve backers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis.
Different offers that acquired my consideration …
Denso, the Toyota Motor-affiliated auto-parts provider, made a takeover proposal for Kyoto-based chip maker Rohm, the WSJ reported.
Einride, the Swedish startup identified for constructing each electrical vehicles and autonomous pods which can be designed to hold freight, secured an oversubscribed $113 million PIPE (personal funding in public fairness) forward of its public debut, which is anticipated for the primary half of 2026.
Harbinger acquired autonomous-driving software program firm Phantom AI. Phrases weren’t disclosed.
Holyvolt, the Swedish battery tech firm backed by Volvo, acquired battery supplies firm Wildcat Discovery Applied sciences in a deal valued at $73 million.
Momenta, the Chinese language autonomous automobile developer backed by GM and Tencent Holdings, has filed confidentially for an preliminary public providing in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported. The corporate might search to lift at the least $1 billion in its IPO.
Nominal, a software program startup that helps protection, house, power, and automotive firms check their manufacturing processes, raised $80 million in a Collection B extension spherical at a $1 billion valuation, led by Founders Fund.
Toyota upped its offer price for provider Toyota Industries to $30 billion.
Zeno, an African startup, raised $25 million in a Collection A spherical to broaden its app-controlled battery-swap community and produce extra of its Emara bikes. About $20.5 million of that was an fairness fundraise led by Congruent Ventures with participation from Energetic Influence and Lowercarbon Capital. The remaining $4.5 million is a debt facility from Camber Street and Trifecta Capital.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Chinese language automaker BYD unveiled a brand new battery pack that it says is able to charging from 10% to 70% in 5 minutes. That is definitely a sport changer, however there is a crucial caveat to this declare: It wants a selected EV charger.
Hyundai, Toyota, and Chinese language automakers like Chery probably face probably the most affect from the U.S.-Israel struggle with Iran, because the Center East accounts for a big share of their deliveries, in line with an evaluation from Bernstein, CNBC reported.
Volkswagen Group surpassed an EV milestone this week. The corporate mentioned it has delivered 4 million all-electric vehicles because it launched its first mannequin in 2013. Half of these got here from the Volkswagen model. The remaining gross sales got here from Škoda, SEAT/CUPRA, Volkswagen Industrial Automobiles, and Porsche.
A video reveals a Waymo robotaxi blocking an ambulance because it responded to the scene of a mass taking pictures in Austin over the weekend. A spokesperson for Austin-Travis-County EMS told Axios that an officer adopted established protocol to deal with the state of affairs and was in a position to shortly transfer the automobile. Waymo didn’t present an announcement to shops on the time. The incident is the newest during which a primary responder was used to maneuver a Waymo and raises questions in regards to the readiness of the expertise.
Yet one more factor …
The Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration has scheduled a discussion board on autonomous automobile security for Tuesday. A who’s who of AV leaders are anticipated to attend, together with Aurora co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, and Zoox CEO Aicha Evans.
