{"id":5112,"date":"2025-02-14T07:32:23","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T07:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/robotaxi-heads-to-texas-archer-scores-300m-in-defense-mission\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T07:32:23","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T07:32:23","slug":"robotaxi-heads-to-texas-archer-scores-300m-in-defense-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/robotaxi-heads-to-texas-archer-scores-300m-in-defense-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Robotaxi heads to Texas, Archer scores $300M in defense mission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/p>\n
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Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility<\/strong> \u2014 your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Raise your hand if you\u2019re exhausted by the firehose of information coming from every direction. Yeah, me too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At TechCrunch, we\u2019re focused on helping readers (that\u2019s you!) become informed; that\u2019s different than blasting information your way. Instead, we work to answer the \u201cWhy should I care?\u201d question and provide important context.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Take the Department of Transportation<\/strong>\u2019s decision to pause funding for a $5 billion EV charging infrastructure program. As senior reporter Sean O\u2019Kane<\/strong> notes in his coverage<\/a>, this is more than just the latest attempt from the Trump administration to hack away at federally funded renewable energy projects around the country, which has been a stated priority of the president.<\/p>\n

It also illustrates the growing conflict between Elon Musk\u2019s politics and his car company\u2019s goal of advancing the transition to sustainable energy. Tesla, which Musk runs and is the largest shareholder of, received $31 million in funding from the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other how-we-are-keeping-you-informed actions, we also monitor certain topics of interest and provide updates when warranted. Reporter Rebecca Bellan<\/strong> has been keeping track of Tesla\u2019s Dojo program<\/a>, updating it on the regular. Check it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A little bird<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"blinky
Image Credits:<\/strong>Bryce Durbin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A little bird reached out to me recently to share this nugget, which was confirmed via a LinkedIn post. Brian Lerner<\/strong>, a former Apple software engineer who spent the past four years at Built Robotics, was hired as director of factory software at Ford.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/a>, Sean O\u2019Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com<\/a>, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com<\/a>.<\/em> Or check out these instructions<\/a> to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.<\/p>\n

Deals!<\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong>Bryce Durbin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dual-use technology \u2014 meaning it can be used by civilians and military \u2014 attracted quite a bit of investment in 2023 and 2024. This year is shaping up to be even bigger as founders take advantage of President Donald Trump\u2019s platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Archer Aviation<\/strong>, the developer of electric vertical and take-off vehicles, is the latest company to tweak its mission in order to capture those sweet, sweet dual-use dollars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Archer Aviation, which went public in September 2021 via a special purpose acquisition merger, raised $300 million<\/a> from institutional investors, including BlackRock and Wellington. The funds will mainly be used to accelerate the work Archer is doing with Anduril to build a hybrid craft (VTOL).<\/p>\n

The raise brings Archer\u2019s total funding to around $3.36 billion. And as reporter Rebecca Bellan noted, this fresh capital comes off the back of a $430 million round<\/a> in December to fund its new Archer Defense program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reminder: It wasn\u2019t too long ago that Archer\u2019s go-to-market strategy was an air taxi network across several cities in the U.S. and abroad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other deals that got my attention\u00a0\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Auto Hauler Exchange<\/strong>, the Michigan startup that developed a digital marketplace for vehicle transportation, raised $5 million<\/a> in a Series A funding round led by MHS Capital. Golden Ventures, which led Auto Hauler Exchange\u2019s seed round, also invested in the Series A round.<\/p>\n

Endera<\/strong>, an electric bus manufacturer in Ohio, raised $49 million<\/a> in equity and debt. The round included a $36 million equity investment led by Magnetar. Pulse Fund also participated. The total also included a $13 million credit facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

GreenSpark Software<\/strong>, a New York City-based startup building software for the metal recycling industry, disclosed last month it raised $9.4 million<\/a> from investors Zero Infinity Partners, Third Prime, Bienville Capital, and several unnamed strategic investors. We now know that BMW i Ventures<\/a> is one of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Innoviz<\/strong>, the lidar company, raised $40 million<\/a> from institutional investors at a share price of $1.39 \u2014 a discount that caused its stock price to fall steeply. As of Wednesday, the company\u2019s stock had fallen 37% since its Friday closing price of $1.59.<\/p>\n

JLR<\/strong> is expanding its U.S. technology hub in Portland with a $180 million investment<\/a> that will be spread out over the next decade. The hub is developing the next generation of connected cars and what it described as \u201cautonomous driving technologies\u201d in future JLR vehicles. History lesson: JLR opened its tech hub in 2014 and expanded the facility in 2016, 2017, and 2024.<\/p>\n

Revel<\/strong>, the electric shared moped-turned-EV-charging-infrastructure startup, secured a $60 million loan<\/a> from New York\u2019s clean energy investment fund NY Green Bank to more than triple its current public fast-charging network in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Self Inspection<\/strong>, a startup based in San Diego that has developed an AI-powered vehicle inspection service, raised $3 million<\/a> in a seed round co-led by Costanoa Ventures and DVx Ventures, the firm run by former Tesla president Jon McNeill<\/a>. Joining the round was Westlake Financial, which handles more than 1 million vehicle transactions annually.<\/p>\n

Notable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
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Image Credits:<\/strong>Bryce Durbin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ADAS<\/h3>\n

BYD<\/strong> unveiled \u201cGod\u2019s Eye,\u201d an advanced driver-assistance system that will be installed on its entire model lineup<\/a>, including its $9,600 Seagull hatchback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tesla<\/strong> won a defamation lawsuit<\/a> against Zhang Yazhou, who in February 2021 was a passenger in a Tesla Model 3 car that allegedly crashed due to faulty brakes, resulting in a four-day hospital stay for both her parents. Tesla has finally released telemetry data from her car, which apparently showed that the brakes had functioned as intended.<\/p>\n

Autonomous vehicles<\/h3>\n

Aurora Innovation<\/strong>\u00a0is still on track to commercially deploy its autonomous trucks beginning in April 2025, according to its Q4 shareholder letter<\/a>. Aurora was supposed to launch at the end of 2024 but pushed back the timeline to validate its self-driving technology.<\/p>\n

Lyft <\/strong>plans to bring fully autonomous robotaxis<\/a>, powered by Mobileye<\/strong>, to its app \u201cas soon as 2026\u201d in Dallas, with more markets to follow. Lyft isn\u2019t spilling details about which carmaker it will partner with; we do know that Marubeni, a Japanese conglomerate with experience managing fleets, will own and finance the Mobileye-equipped vehicles that will show up on the Lyft app.<\/p>\n

The Lyft-Mobileye deal got me thinking about Texas. It wasn\u2019t that long ago that California and Arizona were the main hotbeds of robotaxi activity. But Texas is quickly becoming a hub, not just of testing, but also of commercial operations. Austin is one Texas AV hot spot: Tesla <\/strong>is planning to launch<\/a> its driverless ride-hail service in the city this coming June, and Waymo<\/strong> and Uber<\/strong> are set to launch a service soon<\/a>. Avride<\/strong> has also set up shop in Austin<\/a>. Meanwhile, self-driving truck companies Aurora<\/strong> and Kodiak Robotics<\/strong> also have a footprint in Texas. This TechCrunch article from 2023<\/a> posed a question that we may finally answer in 2025.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

May Mobility<\/strong> launched its first fully driverless commercial service<\/a> in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. May has a different operations strategy than Waymo or Zoox. This isn\u2019t a free-wheeling service that goes anywhere. Instead, it has (for now) eight pre-determined stops.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Waymo<\/strong> continues to expand its robotaxi service areas, this time in Los Angeles. The company has added 10 square miles<\/a> to include Westchester and parts of Inglewood and Crenshaw, giving customers access to popular destinations like SoFi Stadium and HHLA Entertainment.<\/p>\n

Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries<\/h3>\n

Mercedes-Benz<\/strong> is taking its EV charging network to Canada, starting with Vancouver this year and then to stations in metro Toronto in 2026. The German automaker has 300 charging stalls in operation and under construction in 11 U.S. states. In total, more than 2,500 charging stalls will be deployed between Canada and the U.S.<\/p>\n

Rivian<\/strong> will sell its commercial electric vans<\/a> to any U.S. business that wants one \u2014 more than a year since ending an exclusivity deal with backer Amazon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

People<\/h3>\n

Jonathan Morrison<\/strong>, an Apple executive, has been picked to head<\/a> the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration<\/strong>. Morrison was chief counsel for NHTSA during Trump\u2019s first term. He was previously president of Auto Advisory Services and director of legal and regulatory affairs at the California New Car Dealers Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ride-hailing and gig economy<\/h3>\n

Earnings season is here, and the two top ride-hailing companies, Lyft and Uber, have reported their fourth-quarter and full-year earnings. Here\u2019s a quick breakdown:<\/p>\n

Lyft<\/strong> reported<\/a> record growth and its first full-year GAAP profitability for 2024 with a net income of $22.8 million, compared to a net loss of $340.3 million in 2023. That\u2019s good news, but investors paid more attention to the company\u2019s lower-than-expected guidance for gross bookings in the first quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lyft says Q1 is just a slower season, but the company also anticipates bookings to be negatively affected by the loss of its partnership with Delta, which Uber has snagged. Another interesting tidbit: Lyft\u2019s board authorized $500 million in share buybacks, the company\u2019s first time doing such a program.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Uber<\/strong> beat revenue expectations in the fourth quarter<\/a>, growing its revenue 20% to $11.96 billion. Its adjusted EBITDA was $1.84 billion for Q4 and $6.84 billion for the full year. Still, shares fell after the company reported that it missed analyst expectations on EPS and offered soft guidance.<\/p>\n

The company expects gross bookings to hit between $42 billion and $43.5 billion in Q1, which would be less than the $44.2 billion Uber recorded in Q4 2024. Uber CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah cited currency headwinds and impact from the recent Los Angeles fires and \u201cextreme weather in January.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s wheels<\/h2>\n

This newsletter is getting long, so no this week\u2019s wheels! Stay tuned for new vehicles in the coming months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Source Link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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