🏙️Urban Tech Digest - 5.31.2023

A bi-weekly briefing on the intersection between cities and new technologies

📰 Notable News

• Waymo’s self-driving vehicles will be available to book off Uber’s app, beginning later this year in Phoenix

• Ford is giving its EV drivers access to Tesla’s supercharger network across US and Canada; future vehicles will be equipped with Tesla’s NACS charge port beginning 2025

• Meanwhile, Serve Robotics plans to to deploy up to 2,000 autonomous delivery robots on Uber’s platform by 2026

• Over 1.8M Stellantis vehicles in the US and Canada will be equipped, via the Uconnect vehicle platform system, with a V2X feature that detects incoming emergency vehicles and roadway hazards

• eVTOL developer Vertical Aerospace announced its second delay of entry into service, telling investors it is targeting type certification by end of 2026

• eVTOL developer Archer Aviation is expected to bring onboard Billy Nolen, the FAA Acting Administrator, after he leaves the agency this summer

• Kodiak Robotics hires Steve Kenner, a former Apple, Uber, Ford, and GM safety executive as its new VP of Safety

• Lyft hires Erin Brewer, who was previously the Managing Director of Enterprise Finance at Charles Schwab, as it new CFO

💰 Funding and M&A

• Flink, a Berlin-based instant grocery delivery company, raised €150M in funding from investors including REWE Group and Doordash; the company was purportedly undergoing a sale to Getir which was called off

• Chalo, an India-based bus commute startup for digital payments and commute tracking, raised a $45M Series D led by Avataar Ventures

• ConnectDER, a Philadelphia-based smart home technology providing fast connection adaptors for distributed energy resources (DERs) raised a $27M Series C round led by Energy Innovation Capital

• Phantom Auto, a SF-based teleoperations startup, raised a $25M Series B-2 led by ConGlobal Industries

• PIONIX, a Germany-based EV charging software startup, raised a €5M seed round led by Pale Blue Dot and Yabeo Impact AG

• Loewi, a Paris-based ebike refurbishment startup, raised €1M in funding from Antler France, Satgana, the Centrale-Supelec 21st fund, and the Cameleon Invest Family Office

• Dcbel, a Montreal-based smart home energy startup developing bidirectional chargers, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Volvo Cars Tech Fund

• Ola Electric, an India-based electric moped company, is preparing for an IPO by the end of the year; the company was valued at $5B in its last fundraise

• Embark, a SF-based self-driving trucking company, was acquired by Applied Intuition for $71M in an all-cash transaction; the company was valued at $5.2B when its debuted on the public markets in 2021

📊 Trends and Interesting Reads

• Santa Barbara is setting up a library that allows members to check on ebikes for unlimited one-hour rides

• When will we know when self-driving cars are safe?

• The problem with EV chargers in America (and everywhere else)

• The rise of software-based 4D radars for automated vehicles

• The struggle to reduce car dependency in Berlin where car culture reigns supreme

• The Saudi crown prince reveals his new renderings of NEOM, its planned megacity