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I recently attended SXSW, a tech, film, comedy, and music festival in Austin. For a recap of the transportation, AI, social media, and creator economy news from the conference, I recommend checking out our live blog.

Austin has undergone significant changes over the years, with both positive and negative outcomes. One welcome development is the introduction of protected bike lanes, which I appreciated while riding Lime scooters and Mod Bikes e-bikes around the city. Additionally, Austin is becoming a hub for autonomous vehicle activity, with companies like Avride, Zoox, and Waymo operating in the area.

I was fortunate enough to experience Waymo’s robotaxi service, which is available through the Uber app. As I discussed earlier, the collaboration between Waymo and Uber is noteworthy. For more information, you can read about the history behind their partnership. You can also find out what I discovered during my ride.

A little bird

Do you have a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or reach out to Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. You can also find instructions on how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop here.

Deals!

Senior reporter Sean O’Kane has written about Leitmotif, a venture firm that has been quietly making deals for 16 months. The firm focuses on decarbonization and has invested in around 20 startups, including EV companies, space and battery plays, and four nuclear fusion startups. Notably, all of the money in its fund comes from the Volkswagen Group. You can read the full story to learn more about why Volkswagen has committed $300 million to Leitmotif’s first fund.

Other notable deals include Carpool Logistics raising $12 million in a Series A funding round, Daqus Energy securing $6 million in a seed round, and Nirvana raising $80 million in a Series C round. Additionally, Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.

Notable reads and other tidbits

ADAS

Rivian has released a hands-free version of its driver-assistance system for highway driving. This new feature puts Rivian in competition with Ford and GM, which offer similar hands-free systems.

Autonomous vehicles

Hugging Face has partnered with AI startup Yaak to expand its LeRobot platform with a training set for self-driving machines. Trucks VC general partner Reilly Brennan has written an interesting column on the differences between ridehailing and AV ridehailing.

Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber, believes that the company’s decision to abandon its autonomous driving program was a mistake. Waymo continues to expand its robotaxi service, including a recent launch in Silicon Valley, but has also received hundreds of parking tickets.

Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries

The Mint 400 off-road race featured two EVs, a Rivian R1T truck and a Chevrolet Silverado EV ZR2 off-road race truck concept. Rad Power has lost its CEO and gained a new one in a short span of time.

President Donald Trump has stated that he will label violence against Tesla dealerships as domestic terrorism, showcasing his support for Elon Musk.

This week’s wheels

This week, I tested the Mod Bikes Groove, an all-electric step-through bike with a sleek design and impressive features. The Groove has a souped-up beach cruiser look and feel, with a payload capacity of 275 pounds and a top speed of 28 miles per hour. The bike also comes with an integrated bike lock and easy-to-operate controls.

I found the Groove to be sporty and polished, with thoughtful details that make its $1,999 price seem like a steal. The bike is available with a single battery or a dual-battery option, which extends its range to 100 miles. One thing to note is that the bike is quite heavy, so it may take some time to get used to its weight.

I also tested Mod Connect, which allows users to wirelessly pair a Lumos ultra-smart helmet to sync and control turn signals directly from the bike. This feature made me feel more visible to drivers as I navigated the busy streets of downtown Austin.

“This week’s wheels” is a section where we share our experiences with various transportation products, including electric or hybrid cars, e-bikes, and autonomous vehicles.