BY AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES | 24 APRIL 2023 | VIEW ONLINE ➡️

We are closing the Automotive Ventures DealerFund to new investors at the end of this month (April 30th). (Link)

The power is shifting back from automakers to the consumer: New car inventory is building and automakers have started bringing back incentives for buyers. But the shift might not be happening quickly enough to help auto dealers. (Link)BYD, which has Warren Buffett as a shareholder, unveiled the Seagull, a $11,000 EV. The BYD Seagull comes with two range versions: 305 to 405 kilometers (190 to 252 miles) on a single charge. (Link)Fully autonomous driving is “basically impossible” and the technology would be better applied to manufacturing, according to Chinese battery and electric car company BYD. (Link)Tesla is cutting prices again. For the 6th time this year. During this week's earnings call, Tesla was expected to report automotive gross margins of 23%. A year earlier, Tesla reported a 33% percent gross margin. (Link)Elon Musk said on a conference call last week that Tesla has the wherewithal to sell cars at “zero profit” and then earn immense sums later off driverless software. The trouble with that for investors? His predictions since at least 2019 that autonomous Teslas are just around the corner haven’t panned out. (Link)CB Insights tracks where investments are going into Generative AI. (Link)Have a great week,Steve Greenfield

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🗞️ On this week's Future of Automotive segment on CBT News, I explore how Tesla is wielding their industry-high profit margins to wage an EV price war. (Link)🎤 I caught up with Martin Jenns from Assurant to discuss the state of the automotive industry. (Link)🗞️ My outlook on AutoTech M&A for the remainder of 2023, on CBT News. (Link)

🎤 I was the keynote speaker at last week's Equipment and Tool Institute (ETI) ToolTech conference. (Link)

🎤 I hosted the "Emerging 8" companies onstage at the Auto Intel Summit in Raleigh, NC. (Link)

🌟 

Ocra

is centralized channel management for parking operators to optimize pricing structures and manage inventory, rates, blackouts, & reporting for all channels, all in one place. (Link)

🌟 

Titan Advanced Energy Solutions

 spans the battery lifecycle - from manufacturing to first use, second life and recycling, envisioning a world where batteries are safer, last longer, perform better, and empower a more sustainable future. (Link)

🚗 Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce

Autochek Africa, the automotive technology company making car ownership more accessible and affordable across Africa, has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in AutoTager, an Egyptian automotive technology company that makes it easier to find and buy cars. (Link)Motobyo, an e-commerce marketplace that allows people to buy and sell used cars, is raising $4 million to expand across PA, NJ, and NY. The company presents prospective sellers with an option to accept a cash offer or put the car up for a seven-day auction. (Link)

✈️ Air Mobility & SpaceWhisper Aero recently closed a $32 million Series A. The company has validated that it can fly a 55-pound drone with its electric ducted fan at an altitude of 200 feet that is completely undetectable, at least by noise, from the ground. (Link)

🦾 Autonomy, Robotics & AI

Warehouse robotics company Robust.AI announced a $20 million Series A-1 round. Carter (an autonomous warehouse cart) is paired with Grace, Robust’s software offering. The company will offer clients the two products bundled, with a Robot-as-a-Service payment model. (Link)

⚡Electrification & Alternative Fuels

ChargeLab has raised $15 million in Series A extension bringing the startup’s total round size to $30 million. ChargeLab’s software platform manages EV charging equipment, with the key element being that it can be used across a variety of charging networks. (Link)French startup Kate has raised $7.6 million (€7 million). The company plans to use the funding to develop an alternative to regular cars (electric or not) by making something smaller, cheaper and easier to maintain. (Link)Novalith Technologies, creator of a novel lithium extraction process that will unlock vast resources and deliver them without the environmental toll of traditional approaches, has raised AU$23 million in Series A funding. Novalith uses carbonated water to extract the lithium directly as battery-grade lithium carbonate and leaves a byproduct of inert, CO2-infused rock. (Link)Singapore-based Oyika, a company developing battery charging and swapping infrastructure for EVs, has raised a $10.8 million series B round. Oyika said it plans to fast-track its expansion, widen its network of swap stations, and onboard more clients. (Link)SK On, the world’s fifth-largest battery maker, is slated to attract 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion) from a consortium of BlackRock, Hillhouse Capital, Qatar Investment Authority, MBK Partners and other financial investors. (Link)Veloce Energy has closed its Series A. The company is the creator of the FastGrid hardware and software infrastructure platform which reduces the time and cost to deploy and operate EV charging stations and commercial and solar storage. (Link)

🅿️ Parking, Traffic & Smart CitiesSmart-city tech company Miovision raised $260 million and acquired Global Traffic Technologies to give priority to emergency vehicles and transit at intersections. Miovision improves the flow of traffic through and around signalized intersections. (Link) 

🛴 MicromobilityLondon-based startup Skarper has raised £4 million for its patented technology that transforms regular bikes into high-performing e-bikes in seconds. The clip-on e-bike drive system uses a specially designed disc brake rotor to provide power to your bike. (Link)

📱Shared Mobility & Subscription

Jatri, a Bangladesh-based public transportation platform, has raised a Series A round, bringing its total funds to $5.25 million. The company has supported digitalizing of operations with thousands of bus partners and processed over 100 million ticket sales. (Link)SmartRyde, a Japan-based marketplace for pre-booked airport transfers, has raised around 450 million yen (US$3.4 million). The company provides its transfer services to over 700 airports worldwide and has partnered with more than 650 transportation operators and over 25 online travel agencies (OTAs), including Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, Traveloka, and Despegar. (Link)

 🚛Supply Chain & Logistics

Aperia Technologies, the leading supplier of tire management technologies that improve the safety and efficiency of commercial vehicles, closed a $45 million growth equity financing. Aperia’s Halo Tire Management suite improves the fuel economy of traditional diesel vehicles, extends the range of electric vehicles, and can serve broad fleet applications across vehicle classes. (Link)Chargel matches shippers with transporters, digitizing processes that were previously largely offline. The startup raised a $2.5 million seed round. (Link)U.K. startup Evermile claims to simplify and automate deliveries, bringing enterprise-grade logistics to small businesses. It’s now raised $6 million in a seed funding round. The company says it has an optimization engine that analyzes the options and chooses the provider with the most competitive price and performance scores. It claims this can reduce delivery costs by 30% to 50%, and make deliveries economic for small businesses, by matching merchants to the right partner for each delivery task. (Link)

🏎️ Early-stage AutoTech or Mobility founder? We'd love to hear from you.🏁 Interested in investing directly into early-stage AutoTech and Mobility companies? Check out The Automotive Ventures Investment Club (AVIC)📈 Are you an auto dealer interested in investing in early-stage AutoTech? Learn more about the DealerFund here.✨ Looking for our Dealership AutoTech Company Landscape? View that here.✨ Looking for our Mobility Tech Company Landscape? View that here.🚀 Interested in exploring Automotive Ventures' portfolio companies shown below? Check them out here.