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Your traditional host Kirsten has handed the reins to me, Rebecca Bellan, for the day, and I need to discuss Aurora Innovation and its last-minute save.
Aurora had been promising to launch the U.S.’ first absolutely autonomous industrial trucking service in April this yr, after pushing again its unique 2024 debut. With simply (proverbial) minutes to spare, Aurora pulled off the win.
Aurora says it has run over 1,200 miles of freight this week between Dallas and Houston with launch prospects Hirschbach Motor Traces and Uber Freight. That’s with a single truck, for now. Aurora plans to construct as much as “tens of self-driving vans” and broaden to El Paso and Phoenix by the top of 2025 because it continues to run extra freight for purchasers with its fleet of supervised autonomous vans.
It’s an enormous step for Aurora, and for the trade. However as Trump’s tariffs grind many shipments to a halt, is Aurora nicely positioned to grab the second, or may extended delays threaten its survival?
Just a little fowl
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Offers!
AeroVironment, a drone maker, has accomplished its acquisition of area and protection engineering firm BlueHalo. The $4.1 billion all-stock deal will see the merged corporations change into a brand new form of protection tech referred to as AV that may construct tech throughout all warfighting domains: air, land, sea, area, and cyber.
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True Anomaly, a defense-focused aerospace startup constructing spacecraft and software program for U.S. nationwide safety missions, raised $260 million in a Sequence C spherical led by VC agency Accel.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Autonomous automobiles
Could Mobility is the newest to hitch Uber’s roster of autonomous automobile collaborators. The 2 introduced this week plans to deploy Could’s autonomous automobiles on the Uber platform by the top of 2025, beginning in Arlington, Texas, as a part of a multi-year partnership.
Momenta, the Chinese language AV startup, can be working with Uber. The 2 plan to launch Momenta robotaxis on the Uber platform beginning in Europe in 2026.
Waymo and Toyota are exploring a deal that might someday result in a brand new self-driving automobile designed for ride-hailing and presumably even private autonomous automobiles. It’s nonetheless early days, so consider it as extra of a soft-launch of their budding relationship.
Electrical automobiles, charging, & batteries
Canoo’s chapter proceedings are nonetheless happening, and now a mysterious London investor has requested the choose to cease the sale of the EV startup’s belongings to its CEO, calling it a “flawed course of.” He’s throwing down a proposal of $20 million for the belongings, which trumps Canoo CEO Anthony Aquila’s $4 million bid.
Rivian is sitting fairly on a stockpile of batteries for its vans, SUVs, and industrial vans that it constructed up earlier than and after Donald Trump’s election. That’ll soften the blow of the president’s tariffs, that are hitting the auto trade onerous.
Slate Auto, the buzzy new Jeff Bezos-backed EV startup that broke out of stealth final week, is eyeing a printing plant positioned in Warsaw, Indiana, as the long run place the place it’ll produce its low-cost electrical truck.
Tesla’s board reportedly started searching for a successor to CEO Elon Musk because the chief’s cavorting in Washington has devalued the model, and its margins, onerous. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm denied the reporting from The Wall Road Journal.
Whereas we’re with reference to Tesla’s board, let’s flip our consideration to board member Joe Gebbia (who can be linked to DOGE). Gebbia acquired about 4,000 shares of Tesla inventory at a $1 million worth, which is notable as a result of it’s so uncommon to see board members straight up purchase inventory.
Miscellaneous
Ford has shut down its FNV4 software program structure initiative, a venture it had as soon as considered crucial to compete with EV leaders like Tesla. Closing the initiative means an finish to years of improvement that might vertically combine automobile software program throughout Ford’s fuel and electrical lineups.
Joby Aviation transitioned its eVTOL from horizontal to vertical flight for the primary time with a pilot on board. It’s a essential step as the corporate works towards FAA certification.
Trip-hailing and supply
DoorDash desires a California choose to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Uber that accuses the supply firm of stifling competitors by intimidating restaurant homeowners into unique offers. DoorDash mentioned the lawsuit was nothing however a scare tactic from Uber to keep away from “actual competitors.”
