Uber snags another robotaxi deal, aviation startups land VC bucks, and where Rivian Foundation money is going

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!

I’ve been thinking a bit about time — and specifically what trends, music, cultural practices, and even ways we move around that encapsulate a season or particular year. Gaming the algorithms seems to be an emerging symbol of this era of app-based transportation and gig workers.

Take the NYT’s recent feature on a handful of Lyft “bike angels,” folks who receive incentives to help the company’s docked Citi Bike program meet demand. It seems that gaming the Citi Bike algos was a lucrative side hustle for a while.

OK, enough deep thoughts about time and space. How about we get into the transportation news of the day!

A little bird

This is not a transportation story, but I have to share because it involves Travis Kalanick, an old character from the early and chaotic days of ride-hailing who co-founded Uber. For those who forgot: Kalanick stepped down as CEO of Uber in 2017 after Susan Fowler’s viral blog post sparked an investigation into that workplace’s culture. He went on to other projects, including becoming CEO of CloudKitchens.

Here’s where our little bird, who shared some troubling information about the workplace culture at CloudKitchens, comes in. The story bloomed far beyond that tip and into an article that uncovered a wrongful termination lawsuit that alleges sexual discrimination and a hostile work environment. The bro culture, which had become a cornerstone of Uber in its early days, seems to have cropped back up.

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com, Sean O'Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.

Deals!

See, folks, there are startups outside of the AI hype cycle that are raising money! I don’t typically call out themes, but I would note that in this issue of TechCrunch Mobility, there sure are a lot of aviation-related raises.

Here are some deals that got my attention …

Air Company, a sustainable aviation fuel startup, raised $69 million in a Series B funding round led by Avfuel, with participation from Lowercarbon Capital, In-Q-Tel, Alaska Airlines, Connecticut Innovations' Climate Tech Fund, Duncan Aviation, JSSI, and the owners of Sheltair Aviation. Existing investors Carbon Direct Capital, JetBlue Ventures, and Toyota Ventures also participated.

Ayrton Energy, a startup working on hydrogen storage, raised a $6.8 million seed round led by Clean Energy Ventures and BDC Capital, with participation from Antares Ventures, EPS Ventures, SOSV, The51, and UCeed Investment Funds.

Cariqa, a Berlin-based EV charging marketplace startup, raised €1 million ($1.1 million) in a pre-seed funding round from Anthemis, Vento Ventures, Hatcher+, Techstars, Golden Egg Check, and Plug and Play.

DeepDrive, the German startup working on dual-rotor electric vehicle motors, raised €30 million ($33.5 million) in a Series B fundraising round led by Leitmotif. Existing investors BMW i Ventures, Co-Pace, UVC Partners, and Bayern Kapital also participated.

Point.me, the real-time flight rewards search engine, raised $15 million in a Series B funding round led by Nyca Partners and Citi Ventures. Other investors include Brian Kelly (founder of the Points Guy), Samsung Next, RiverPark Ventures, Four Cities Capital, and MoreThan Capital, among others. Thayer Ventures and PAR Capital Ventures, who led earlier fundraising rounds, also participated.

Pyka, the autonomous electric aviation startup developing crop-dusting and cargo plane lines, raised $40 million in a Series B round led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet Holdings, and Y Combinator.

REE Automotive raised $45 million and signed a major global manufacturing agreement with Motherson Group, a $17 billion revenue powerhouse operating in 44 countries. Today the company also announced it has kicked off U.S. production in Detroit with Roush.

Twelve, a Berkeley-based startup developing sustainable aviation fuel and other products from captured carbon dioxide, raised $200 million in a Series C funding round co-led by TPG Rise Climate, Capricorn Investment Group, and Pulse Fund. Fifth Wall, Northstar VC, TGVP, Alaska Airlines, DCVC, Munich Re Ventures, and Emerson Collective also participated. The startup also secured another $400 million in project equity led by TPG Rise Climate and $45 million in credit facilities.

VELA, a French company developing wind-powered maritime cargo transport, raised €40 million ($43 million) in a funding round led by Crédit Mutuel Impact, 11th Hour Racing, and BPI - French Public Investment Bank.

Xiaodi Hou, the founder of failed autonomous trucking startup TuSimple, hasn't given up on AVs. He has a new self-driving truck startup called Bot Auto and has raised $20 million. Forbes had the initial story; stay tuned for more details from us.

Notable reads and other tidbits

Autonomous vehicles

Another day, another Uber AV partnership. This time, Uber is partnering with WeRide to bring the Chinese company’s robotaxis to the ride-hailing platform starting in Abu Dhabi later this year.

Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries

BMW makes the case for battery and hydrogen EVs.

EV startup Harbinger is developing its first hybrid powertrain for an RV made by customer Thor Industries with 500 miles of range. One important note, though: In this case, "hybrid" doesn't mean a gasoline engine working alongside an electric powertrain. Harbinger is adding a small gas generator that can feed energy into the 140 kWh battery pack. Thor says RVs using the hybrid platform "will be commercially available in 2025" across its various sub-brands.

Northvolt, the battery startup, laid off 20% of its workforce. Reporter Tim De Chant lays out what this means and why maybe we shouldn’t worry.

Rad Power Bikes has partnered with Best Buy to bring the e-bike brand into the retailer’s stores.

Rivian has revealed the first $10 million worth of grants from the Rivian Foundation, three years after the EV maker vowed the philanthropy would receive 1% of its equity to make the “natural world” a “stakeholder in our success.” Read on to get a deeper understanding of where the money is going and why it took so long.

Tesla Supercharger: Here are the latest updates on which non-Tesla brands can access the EV network.

Future of flight

Wing is expanding its drone delivery program beyond the Dallas-Fort Worth area and into Charlotte, North Carolina, TechCrunch has learned. Wing didn’t reveal which retailer it planned to partner with in that city. The company homed in on North Carolina after evaluating its recent survey of 5,000 American shoppers. The survey found 84% of North Carolina residents cited interest in ultra-fast grocery delivery, meaning 30 minutes or less.

Future of water

Pure Watercraft, the electric outboard startup that GM took a 25% stake in, is selling itself for parts. Editor Devin Coldewey got an up-close look at Zin Boats’ bigger, faster electric leisure craft.

In-car tech

How will President Biden’s new proposed Chinese software ban affect U.S. automakers? Reporter Rebecca Bellan dug into the proposed rule and spoke to SAFE’s Avery Ash to find out what it might mean.

This week’s wheels

Welp, I planned to share my thoughts on the GMC Sierra EV Denali, but then reporter Rebecca Bellan wrote a full review of the Pedego Cargo e-bike. I’d be remiss not to highlight it here. (Sierra EV waits one more week.)

The upshot? After spending the summer riding around on Pedego’s Cargo e-bike, Bellan was taken by the sporty styling and design and its cargo capacity. But it wasn’t all smooth pedaling. Some tech issues, as well as its heaviness, might give some pause on shelling out $4,000. Read on for the full review. 

What is “This week’s wheels”? It’s a chance to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, whether it’s an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.