Hi ,
Here are the past week's AutoTech and Mobility transactions. For a more detailed monthly recap, check out our
. Enjoy!
Last Week's Auto-Tech Transactions:
Special Announcement:
Automotive Ventures portfolio company
, the world's first mobile EV charging network, announced today it is continuing its journey to scale the first mobile and intelligent EV charging network in the U.S. with a Series A funding investment of $23 million co-led by Tale Venture Partners and Pendulum. (
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Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce:
Cairo-based
is a new player in a market where unorganized dealers and classifieds dominate the sales volume. The automotive marketplace, which allows customers to sell and buy used cars, has raised a pre-seed round of $12.6 million–the largest of its kind in MENA and sub-Saharan Africa. (
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Autonomy:
John Deere has made another acquisition related to the development of autonomous tractors. John Deere has acquired numerous patents and other intellectual property from
, which specializes in depth-sensing and camera-based perception for autonomous vehicles. John Deere also hired a team of employees from Light. (
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Vehicle Connectivity:
will go public through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal that values the automobile technology company at $3.82 billion. The deal with COVA Acquisition Corp. includes a $45 million investment from mobility tech company GEELY Holding Group, lidar sensor maker Luminar Technologies Inc. and automotive company Lotus Technology. (
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Vehicle Assembly, Supply Chain & Logistics:
KPIT Technologies, a global partner to the automotive and mobility ecosystem for making software-defined vehicles a reality, announced the acquisition of cloud-based vehicle diagnostics specialist
. (
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Fleet management solutions provider
, formerly known as KeepTruckin, announced Wednesday it has raised $150 million in series F funding. Motive has reached a $2.85 billion valuation, up from $2.3 billion after the company’s series E raise last June. The series F round was co-led by Insight Partners and Kleiner Perkins. (
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Trucking compliance solutions startup
announced Thursday it has raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by Dynamo Ventures with participation from QED Investors and 9Yards Capital to continue growing its team and platform to automate carriers’ compliance processes. This is LogRock’s first raise and values the company at $13.5 million. (
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Electrification & Alternative Fuels:
Daimler Truck AG will buy a 9% stake in German engineering firm
for 30.6 million euros ($32.7 million) to join forces in the area of battery production. As part of the deal, Manz, which produces the machines needed to build batteries, will issue 774,408 new shares, to be bought by Daimler Truck at 39.53 euros apiece. (
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Electric vehicle battery startup Britishvolt said it will buy German battery cell developer and manufacturer EAS from Bulgaria's
for 36 million euros ($38.6 million) to help it scale up its own production. (
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Nano One Materials Corp. TSX: NANO, a clean technology innovator in battery materials, has entered into a binding agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of
(“JMBM Canada”) for approximately C$10.25 million. (
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Public Transport & Smart City:
Mass transit has made a rebound with the return of city life post-COVID 19, and today a startup that’s building tech to help it run more smoothly is announcing a big round of funding to meet the rush.
, which uses AI to help public transportation bodies and their mass transit partners plan and operate their networks, has raised $100 million, funding that it will be using to continue expanding its product set and wider business footprint. (
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Micromobility:
, an Amsterdam-based circular bicycle brand, announced that it has secured €1.8M in growth capital from Veth Investments. Roetz says it will use the funds to accelerate production to meet the growing demand for e-bikes. Also, the capital will enable the Dutch company to prepare for its first circular e-bike that Roetz will launch this year for production. (
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Shared Mobility & Subscription:
Car subscription platform
has raised $110 million in equity to expand in the U.S. and Europe and reach 30,000 subscriptions by the end of the year. (
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Gig economy business platform startup
has closed a $12.7 million Series A round. The funding was led by Cross Capital, with follow-on support from Autotech Ventures, Switch Ventures, Massive Ventures, Mountain State Capital, Scribble Ventures, 412 Venture Fund LP, RiverFront Investment Group and DashAngels. The Gridwise app enables drivers in the rideshare and delivery gig economy to better understand how they can maximize earnings and understand key metrics of their jobs, like earnings, expenses and mileage tax deductions all in one place. It also aims to connect them to resources and worker benefits like health insurance, phone plans and credit boosters. (
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Finance & Insurance:
Auto Services Group Limited, a provider of digitalized auto services and auto insurance through Shanghai-based SunCar Online Insurance Agency, entered into a definitive merger agreement with Goldenbridge Acquisition. The deal values the combined company at an estimated enterprise value on a pro-forma basis of approximately $858 million, assuming no redemptions. (
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Aftermarket:
raised $125 million to fuel growth of its mobile gas service used by fleet operators including Amazon, UPS, Imperfect Foods, and others. (
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Air Mobility & Space:
Private plane operator
will go public through a merger with a blank-check company, the company said Wednesday. Surf Air, which operates with a membership model, will have a valuation of $1.42 billion through the merger with the SPAC TUSCAN (HOLDINGS) LIMITED Corp. II. The deal will provide up to $467 million in gross cash proceeds. (
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Have a great week,
Steve Greenfield
678.576.9972
