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Lucid Motorsdelivered a surprisal this week when it announced that CEO and CTOPeter Rawlinsonwas step down . conjecture about the deviation , which include rescind a board seat , was amplified when Rawlinson did n’t serve the 4th - quarter earnings call .
aged reporterSean O’Kanehas all the details , including how the EV Creator performed , who is filling the top spot ( for now ) , and what the troupe ’s goals are displace forward . Rawlinson will be around in some content , although it should be take down that he will not be there day by day , nor will he have any conclusion - making authorisation . The company said he will suffice as “ strategic proficient consultant ” to Turqi Alnowaiser , who is chairwoman of the board and a top administrator at Saudi Arabia ’s sovereign wealth fund — Lucid ’s majority possessor .
So where does Lucid go from here ? It needs to sell more electron volt — namely its new Gravity SUV — and reduce costs . That ’s no modest feat , especially consider Lucid is also develop a fresh midsize vehicle political program ( more $ $ $ ) that is expected to launch at the death of 2026 .
Before we stick out into the rest of the newsworthiness , I wanted to highlight an clause aboutFlexportCEORyan Petersenand a suite of new production and features that the freight forwarding and logistics startupis rolling out . Many of these fresh product utilise AI , which is n’t what catch my middle .
It is the pace of the rollout . Petersen told TechCrunch this is the first in a serial publication of semi - yearly promulgation of this kind — à la Airbnb . Petersen sound out Airbnb founder Brian Chesky ’s public lecture about founder mode is what inspired the scheme . Theviral momentfor “ laminitis fashion , ” which was fueled by Paul Graham’sessay , might be over . But Petersen ’s late move shows this management scheme is n’t fading anytime before long .
A little bird
call up the boastful troll ofCruiselayoffs that happened to begin with this month ? For those who do n’t , parent companyGMannounced it would slashCruise ’s workforce by nearly 50 % . The clay of Cruise are supposed to move under parent company General Motors as the automaker point its resource toward improving its hand - free machine driver - assistance system Super Cruise — and eventually roll out personal autonomous vehicles .
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Some little birds told us a few more layoffs have occurred since the initial rhythm , namely that the Cruise marketing squad — about eight people — has been dismissed . We find out that finance and legal departments will likely follow once the transition is complete .
Got a tip for us ? Email Kirsten Korosec atkirsten.korosec@techcrunch.comor my Signal at kkorosec.07 , Sean O’Kane atsean.okane@techcrunch.com , or Rebecca Bellan atrebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com . Or check outthese instructionsto memorise how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop .
Deals!
have ’s start with the transport - side by side world of speech . Last month , Dutch food obstetrical delivery giantJust Eat Takeawaysold offGrubhubfor $ 650 million , a fraction of the $ 7.3 billion rating the manner of speaking startup had when it was larn in 2020 . Now , Just consume Takeaway is the one being gobbled up .
Global tech companyProsusreached anagreement to buyJust rust Takeaway for € 4.1 billion in cash . If the pile is completed , Prosus will become the fourth orotund food livery mathematical group globally .
Other deals that got my attention …
AiDEN Auto , a connected vehicle engineering and data privacy startup , raised $ 4.2 millionin a seeded player financial support round led by Nuri Venture Partners . Other investor include IF Insurance , Tengro Ventures , Band of Angels , Mentors Fund , Start Equity Ventures , Conxcity and Weltham Capital as well an unknown group of holy man investors and family unit offices . The San Francisco - based inauguration , founded by former Volvo technologist , has raised $ 6.1 million to date .
AIRO Group , an aerospace and denial company based in Albuquerque , New Mexico , and Washington , D.C. , register for an estimated$100 million IPO . The society plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange .
Circuit , a short - slip , electric bird solution startup , raised $ 17 millionas part of a Series B bout . Private investment house MKB , as well as existing investor Tribeca Venture Partners and Impact Engine , participated .
Donut Lab , a subsidiary of Verge Motorcycles developing electrical motors and other related technology , raised € 15 million . The company ’s anchor investor is Risto Siilasmaa , founder of cybersecurity party F - Secure and WithSecure and former chairman of Nokia ’s add-in . Siilasmaa will also fall in Donut Lab ’s board .
Gozem , an African startup that offers ride - hailing , commercialism , vehicle financing , and digital banking across Togo , Benin , Gabon , and Cameroon via its app , raised $ 30 millionin a Series B funding daily round . The round , which includes $ 15 million in equity and $ 15 million in debt , was led by SAS Shipping Agencies Services and Al Mada Ventures .
Vidyut , a Bengaluru , India - based startup that allow financing for commercial and passenger EVs , produce $ 2.5 millionfrom Flourish Ventures .
Notable reads and other tidbits
Autonomous vehicles
AAAreleased its one-year survey that ’s designed to guess consumer interest and acceptance of in advance driver - assistance systemsand robotaxis . TL;DR : ebullience for self - driving vehicles is low — just 13 % of surveyed driver consider it a precedence , a decrease from 18 % in 2022 . And it seems many are not concerned in using them , either , with 53 % say they would not choose to ride in one . Meanwhile , involvement in ADAS is high , specially around features like Automatic Emergency Braking .
Avrideautonomous sidewalk delivery golem have made it to Japan . The Yandex spinout haslaunched commercial operationsin key Tokyo with a fleet of about 10 robots .
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
Aston Martincut 170 jobsand pushed back program to establish an EV ( will it ever happen ? ) . The company will instead ferment on an ultra - luxury hybrid example .
Last week , I foreground Sean ’s article that look into how and whoorganized theTesla Takeovermovement , which led to protestation at Tesla showrooms in dozens of U.S. cities . Now it seems the Tesla Takeover movement is gaining some traction . The question is how long it will endure and whether it will involve Tesla ’s bottom line as protestors hope .
Range Energy , a inauguration that evolve electrified semitrailers , is shuffling its executive deck . Founder and CEOAli Javidanis moving into the president and CTO office , the caller told TechCrunch . Jon Foster , the former CFO of Zoox who aid architect the autonomous fomite company ’s acquisition by Amazon , is Range ’s young chief operating officer .
Future of flight
Joby Aviationreleased its earningsand here ’s what we know . The galvanising vertical takeoff and landing startup say it ’s on path to deliver an aircraft to Dubai by mid-2025 , when it will demonstrate the vehicle ’s preparation to carry passenger . The company now has five aircraft in its trial run fleet and made progress on stage four of character credential . Joby sound out it bear to go through the final step of the FAA certification summons within the next 12 months . But this is an expensive sideline : Joby ’s net deprivation for 2024 was $ 608 million .
In-car tech
Four age ago , Googlewas hit with a € 100 million antitrust fine by Italy ’s competition government agency for refuse to let a third - party electric railway car - charging app developed by Enel mix with its Android Auto political platform . Senior reporterNatasha Lomaswrote about anew rulingby the Court of Justice of the European Union that sustain the watchdog governing body ’s survey that Google ’s initial blocking can nominate antimonopoly vilification .
The upshot ? The CJEU judgment sets out condition for tech giants when it comes to interoperability that could have wider applicability for app makers seeking to plug their wares into central platforms .
This week’s wheels
Nothing this workweek , but appease tune .
What is “ This workweek ’s wheel ” ? It ’s a fortune to get a line about the different transportation products we ’re prove , whether it ’s an electric or intercrossed car , an e - bike , or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle .
