TechCrunch Mobility: An acquisition that may not be hostile

Welcome back to Navigation TechCrunch – Your central hub for news and ideas about the future of transportation. Want another reason to get this for free in your inbox? The emailed version of this newsletter includes polls, including one this week asking readers what they think is the best business model for self-driving vehicle technology. Do you have an opinion about this? Email me your opinion at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com with the subject line “AV Poll.”

Okay, back to the show. Another development is on the way for LiDAR Luminar. And yes, it involves some boardroom intrigue.

First, let’s catch up. Maybe you remember that Austin Russellthe billionaire founder and CEO of Luminar, was more or less fired from the company by its board of directors after an ethics investigation. But Russell did not go quietly into the night.

It popped up again on our radar a few weeks ago with the launch of a new company called Russell AI Labs. And now (cue a deep, disturbing “dum dum duuuuummmmm”): He’s made a bid for Luminar.

Senior correspondent Sean O’Kane Breaking the story, which you can read here. He has since learned some additional details beyond what was disclosed in the SEC filing.

This may seem like a potentially hostile move, as it was revealed in a filing from Russell, and Luminar has not commented on the suggestion. But we learned from a source that Luminar board members approached the founder about the idea last month. (The word we were told was that they “encouraged” it).

The implication here is that some members of Luminar’s nine-member board really want him back, despite the fact that three board members on the audit committee conducted an ethics investigation into him just a few months ago, leading to his resignation.

The proposed acquisition as described in the filing is vague, but could involve Russell AI Labs acquiring a different automotive technology company and merging it with Luminar. Since this morning, we’ve heard that Russell has already been trained on some options as part of the diligence he’s done with Russell AI Labs, which he considers an incubator of sorts.

Offers!

Two notable deals were made this week in the electric aviation sector.

First up is Beta Technologieswhich took advantage of relaxed SEC rules during the US government shutdown to price shares in its initial public offering. Share prices range between $27 and $33, with hopes of raising up to $825 million. If the company attracts investors at the top of that range, it will debut at a valuation of about $7.2 billion.

The SEC earlier this month issued guidance allowing companies in IPO limbo to allow their statements on certain areas, including stock price, to automatically become effective after 20 days, even without SEC staff review. Several other companies, including Navan, have gone ahead with IPO plans under this rule.

And there Liliumwhich was involved in a completely different kind of deal. the The electric aircraft company may have gone out of business a year ago, but its technology lives on Archer Aviation.

Archer won a competitive bidding process – a process that also involved Ambitious Air Mobility Group and Joby Aviation – and purchased all 300 of Lilium’s patents. The price tag, €18 million ($21 million), is a staggering number compared to the more than $1 billion the defunct startup raised over its lifetime.

The question is what does Archer plan to do with these patents? The company is not explicit, but there are some hints, which you can read about in my story.

Other deals that caught my attention this week…

By airan Indian drone startup founded in 2020, has raised $8.65 million in seed funding led by Physical Intelligence co-founder Lachy Groom. Humba Ventures and Airbound’s existing investor, Lightspeed Venture Partners, are joining, as well as senior leaders at Tesla, SpaceX, and Anduril.

Dixorya warehouse robotics startup based in London, has raised $165 million in equity and debt. Eurazeo led the $100 million Series C round with participation from backers LTS Growth, Endeavor Catalyst, DTCP, Atomico, Lakestar, Elaia, Latitude Ventures, and Wave-X. The company also secured $65 million in debt financing from Bootstrap Europe.

FleetWorksa logistics startup developing an “always-on” AI transmitter, has raised $17 million in equity and debt, including a $15 million funding round led by Bill Trenchard of First Round Capital. Y Combinator, Saga Ventures, and LFX Venture Partners also participated in the FleetWorks Series A.

Pony.ai and We are riding The company has received key approval from Chinese securities regulators, paving the way for autonomous vehicle technology companies to pursue secondary listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Chinese companies are already publicly traded in the United States on the Nasdaq exchange.

Spacecraft technologiesan independent curbside delivery startup, has raised $50 million in a Series C round led by Plural. Karma.vc, Latitude, Efficiency Capital, SmartCap, and Skaala also joined.

Obsitya Paris-based smart city software company, has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Notion Capital. Other investors include Point Nine and Chalfen Ventures.

ZeptoThe Indian grocery delivery company has raised $450 million in funding ahead of a public listing, Bloomberg reported.

Notable Readings and Other Stories

the National Transportation Safety Board It affected OceanGate, the disaster that claimed five lives during a trip to view the wreck of the Titanic. The NTSB issued a report that found the Titan submarine did not meet manufacturing safety standards.

Stellantis And the Chinese self-driving car company Pony.ai We are working together to build robotaxis for use in Europe, but through a non-binding agreement. The plan is to integrate Pony’s self-driving software into Stellantis’ midsize electric truck platform.

As Stellantis delves into self-driving vehicle technology, it is backing away from electrification. The automaker said it will invest $13 billion to boost manufacturing in the United States over the next four years. (This plan was not well received by Canadian labor unions, by the way.) Five new vehicles will be developed and produced through 2029 as part of an investment in plants in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Only one of these aircraft will be electrified, a marked difference from Stellantis’ strategy of a few years ago.

Uber It offers a new kind of gig work: digital tasks like uploading photos to help train AI models.

Waymo Expanding to London. The company said it will introduce a commercial robotaxi service in London in 2026, marking the Alphabet-owned company’s second international expansion after Tokyo.

As usual, there was more than one Waymo news. The company has entered into a multi-year strategic agreement with DoorDash To deliver goods to customers in the Phoenix area using autonomous vehicles. It’s been a long time since Waymo has experimented with delivery. Is this an indication of what is to come? I think it is.

Another thing…

Speaking of Waymo and delivery, it got me thinking about the best business model. It’s been a minute since I ran a poll, so I hope you’ll participate if you sign up for the newsletter. I will share the results next week.