Hi
,
Here are the past week's AutoTech and Mobility transactions. For a more detailed monthly recap, check out our
. Enjoy!
First, a Special Announcement:
Automotive Ventures is honored to be working with Shell on the "
" which will award grants to top early-stage automotive technology startups that are innovating in the areas of mobility, customer experience, net-zero emissions and new energies. Interested pre-seed and seed-stage automotive technology startups
have only a of couple days left
to apply
.
Steve Greenfield, Founder and CEO of Automotive Ventures sat down with Arne Steenstra of Shell Lubricants to discuss the Shell Startup Showdown.
Last Week's Auto-Tech Transactions:
Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce:
Indonesia-based used-vehicle marketplace
has officially gone public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), with its share price jumping 25% immediately after IPO launch. (
)
Vehicle Connectivity:
Solera, Inc., the leading global provider of integrated vehicle lifecycle and fleet management software-as-a-service, data, and services, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire
, one of North America's largest device-independent telematics and connected vehicle intelligence companies, from Greenbriar Equity Group. (
)
Connected vehicle solution
has closed a $115 million Series C funding led by SoftBank Group Corp. Vision Fund 2 with participation from new investor Chimera Capital and existing investors including 8VC, Daimler Truck AG, Prologis, Next Play Ventures and Four More Capital. The company has raised $194.47 million since 2017 for its platform that helps commercial vehicles better manage and deploy applications including electronic logging devices, messaging programs and other workflow solutions. With its latest raise, Platform Science is now valued at $575 million, according to PitchBook Data. (
)
Vehicle Assembly, Supply Chain & Logistics:
has completed its acquisition of a controlling stake in lighting supplier
in a 5.3 billion euro ($5.95 billion) deal that is one of the biggest in the European automotive supply chain deals in the past three years. (
)
, a leading freight technology company, announced it has closed a $200 million round of Series D financing led by SoftBank Group Corp. Latin America Fund, with participation from Series C investor funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, rail transportation supplier CSX, and global active asset manager Janus Henderson Group PLC. The significant cash infusion now values the company at $1.3 billion, more than three times its Series C valuation just over one year ago. Loadsmart leverages technology to build efficiency around how freight is priced, booked and shipped. The company introduced the first transparent instant pricing and booking experience for truckload shippers in the U.S., and created the first API framework for its distribution, which is now becoming the new industry standard. (
)
Pakistan’s
has raised $13 million in early-stage funding, the largest for a logistics startup in the Middle East, North Africa and its home country. The Karachi-based startup’s seed round is jointly led by venture capital firms Global Founders Capital and Fatima Gobi Ventures. The other investors in the round include Picus Capital, Millville, Wamda Capital, Zayn Capital, i2i Ventures, ADB Ventures, Cianna Capital LP, Reflect Ventures and K3 Ventures. Truck It In allows truckers to connect with shippers, and launched two years ago. The three founders worked together at Dubai-based ride hailing company Careem. It is now going on a hiring spree to double its workforce to more than 400 employees. (
)
Electrification:
Two-year-old
, a startup developing fast-charging lithium-metal batteries for future electric vehicles, announced a Series A raise of $11 million from GM Ventures, KTB network and Lotte Ventures, an affiliate of Korea's LOTTE chemical. (
)
Electric vehicle (EV) subscription platform
has raised $4M in seed funding from Porsche heir Toni Piëch's AMYP Ventures AG, Venn Ventures, and angel investors Adam Forst and Lisa Besserman. Ferry enables users to obtain a short-term (6, 12, or 24 month) lease on a new electric vehicle with no down payment and delivery to their door, transacting the entire process within the app. Users can choose from a range of new EV models at a single, transparent monthly price and no down payment. 1,000 miles per month (with the ability to upgrade), maintenance, and taxes are included. (
)
Autonomy:
Hyundai MOBIS, South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, has invested $4 million in US radar startup
to develop autonomous driving technologies. Through the stake investment, Hyundai Mobis aims to develop imaging radar optimized for Level 4 autonomous driving technology. Imaging radar extends existing radar's ability beyond detecting bulky objects to recognizing a vehicle's environment more precisely by processing data from radars on the vehicle. Radar is one of three core technologies that enable autonomous vehicles to see, together with light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and cameras. (
)
Self-driving tech firm
on Tuesday said investor SoftBank Group Corp.'s Vision Fund has agreed to invest an additional $1.35 billion through a second tranche as Cruise works to launch its commercial ride-hailing service in San Francisco. (
)
Auto technology supplier Aptiv and AUDI AG are investing a combined $285 million in vehicle software company
, giving the Austrian firm a valuation of $1 billion. (
)
Swedish-based
, a startup that makes software to assess the performance of autonomous systems’ perception capabilities and how to improve them, has raised a $24 million Series A round. The financing is being co-led by Metaplanet and NordicNinja VC. Previous backers Ernström & C:o AB and @Sessan AB also participated. (
)
Micromobility:
Shared e-scooter company
has closed a $125 million Series C round, which consists of both equity and debt. The investment comes from Jefferies, Antara Capital LP, the Sony Innovation Fund by IGV and FM Capital alongside existing backers like Spark Capital, General Catalyst and Citi via the Citi Impact Fund. Superpedestrian would not share the terms of the debt agreement, nor which investors contributed to equity versus debt. (
)
Urban mobility startup
has raised an extension to its Series B round. Originally announced in the spring of 2021, the company raised an $85 million Series B round — it was a mix of equity and asset-backed debt financing. And today, the company is adding another $70 million to this round —once again, it’s a mix of equity and debt. Dott is a European micromobility startup that is better known for its scooter-sharing service. More recently, the company added an electric bike-sharing service in some cities. abrdn is leading the Series B extension with Dott’s existing investor Sofina. Other existing investors put more money on the table, such as EQT Ventures and Prosus Ventures. (
)
Many thanks,
Steve Greenfield
678.576.9972
