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Your same old host Kirsten has handed the reins to me, Rebecca Bellan, for the day, and I wish to discuss Aurora Innovation and its last-minute save.
Aurora were promising to release the U.S.’ first absolutely self sustaining industrial trucking carrier in April this yr, after pushing again its authentic 2024 debut. With simply (proverbial) mins 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 release consumers Hirschbach Motor Strains and Uber Freight. That’s with a unmarried truck, for now. Aurora plans to construct as much as “tens of self-driving vans” and make bigger to El Paso and Phoenix by way of the tip of 2025 because it continues to run extra freight for purchasers with its fleet of supervised self sustaining vans.
It’s an enormous step for Aurora, and for the business. However as Trump’s price lists grind many shipments to a halt, is Aurora neatly situated to take hold of the instant, or may just extended delays threaten its survival?
Slightly hen
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Offers!
AeroVironment, a drone maker, has completed its acquisition of house and protection engineering corporate BlueHalo. The $4.1 billion all-stock deal will see the merged corporations transform a brand new roughly protection tech referred to as AV that may construct tech throughout all warfighting domain names: air, land, sea, house, and cyber.
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True Anomaly, a defense-focused aerospace startup development spacecraft and tool for U.S. nationwide safety missions, raised $260 million in a Sequence C spherical led by way of VC company Accel.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Independent cars
Would possibly Mobility is the most recent to enroll in Uber’s roster of self sustaining automobile collaborators. The 2 introduced this week plans to deploy May’s autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform by way of the tip of 2025, beginning in Arlington, Texas, as a part of a multi-year partnership.
Momenta, the Chinese language AV startup, could also be running 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 sooner or later result in a brand new self-driving automobile designed for ride-hailing and in all probability even private self sustaining cars. It’s nonetheless early days, so bring to mind it as extra of a soft-launch in their budding courting.
Electrical cars, charging, & batteries
Canoo’s chapter complaints are nonetheless happening, and now a mysterious London investor has requested the pass judgement on to stop the sale of the EV startup’s belongings to its CEO, calling it a “incorrect procedure.” He’s throwing down an be offering of $20 million for the belongings, which trumps Canoo CEO Anthony Aquila’s $4 million bid.
Rivian is sitting lovely on a stockpile of batteries for its vans, SUVs, and industrial vehicles that it constructed up prior to and after Donald Trump’s election. That’ll melt the blow of the president’s price lists, which might be hitting the automobile business laborious.
Slate Auto, the buzzy new Jeff Bezos-backed EV startup that broke out of stealth final week, is eyeing a printing plant located in Warsaw, Indiana, as the longer term position the place it’ll produce its affordable electrical truck.
Tesla’s board reportedly started shopping for a successor to CEO Elon Musk as the executive’s cavorting in Washington has devalued the logo, and its margins, laborious. Tesla chair Robyn Denholm denied the reporting from The Wall Boulevard Magazine.
Whilst we’re in the case of Tesla’s board, let’s flip our consideration to board member Joe Gebbia (who could also be connected to DOGE). Gebbia acquired about 4,000 shares of Tesla inventory at a $1 million price, which is notable as it’s so uncommon to peer board contributors instantly up purchase inventory.
Miscellaneous
Ford has shut down its FNV4 software architecture initiative, a undertaking it had as soon as considered crucial to compete with EV leaders like Tesla. Ultimate the initiative method an finish to years of construction that might vertically combine automobile tool 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 important step as the corporate works towards FAA certification.
Trip-hailing and supply
DoorDash desires a California pass judgement on to dismiss a lawsuit filed by way of Uber that accuses the supply corporate of stifling pageant by way of intimidating eating place homeowners into unique offers. DoorDash mentioned the lawsuit was once not anything however a scare tactic from Uber to steer clear of “actual pageant.”
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