Deal of the week It’s been a SPAC-tacular week. Yes, I went there. SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, have received a lot of attention in this newsletter. And that’s because the financial instrument, which allows a faster but more expensive path to an IPO, has inundated the transportation sector. Some 22 mobility SPACs occurred in 2020 with the majority of them involving electric vehicle manufacturers like the troubled Nikola Motors and Lordstown Motors, as well as Canoo, which has had its own drama, and Fisker. In 2021, we’ve seen aviation-related companies take the SPAC plunge along with lidar companies and autonomous vehicle startups. This week, we had solid state lidar company Quanergy and self-driving trucks startup Embark make SPAC deals. Other deals that got my attention this week … BMW's Silicon Valley-based venture capital arm is investing in Kodiak Robotics, a company that develops autonomous trucking technology. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Kodiak told TechCrunch that BMW’s investment was financial, not strategic, meaning there’s no technical partnership between the two companies. Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Program awarded vouchers for mobility projects worth $18 million to eligible under-resourced communities and $2 million set aside and awarded specifically to Native American tribal governments. The funds will be used to support projects that includes on-demand shuttles and microtransit, electric vehicle car sharing, bike and scooter-sharing, carpooling and vanpooling and ride-on-demand services. Electra Vehicles, which develops software to optimize EV battery system performance, raised $3.6 million in seed funding. The round was led by BlackBerry Limited and the Italian investment group LIFTT S.p.A, with further participation from Club degli Investitori, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Hyperplane Venture Capital, Prithvi Ventures, Launchpad Venture Group and TiE Boston Angels. Holy Grail, a two-year-old startup based in Mountain View, California that is taking a micro approach to solving the outsized problem of capturing carbon, raised $2.7 million in seed funding from LowerCarbon Capital, Goat Capital, Stripe founder Patrick Collison, Charlie Songhurst, Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt, Songkick co-founder Ian Hogarth, Starlight Ventures and 35 Ventures. Existing investors Deep Science Ventures, Y Combinator and Oliver Cameron, who co-founded Voyage, the autonomous vehicle acquired by Cruise, also participated. IoTecha, an electric vehicle charging company, has raised $13.2 million in a round led by BP Ventures. The venture firm invested $7 million into the fund. IoTecha connects EV chargers with the electricity grid through its software platform. Their product allows private and fleet vehicles from any manufacturer to communicate with charging stations to signal when they need recharging. It works by gathering information over time, identifying patterns and the energy requirements of each user across all forms of EV charging. IoTecha said that it will use the investment to scale its technology throughout BP’s electrification network. Lendbuzz, an auto finance platform, has raised $360 million in capital and debt. The $60 million in funding was led by Wellington Management joined by Goldman Sachs & Co and MUFG Innovation Partners. The $300 million in debt financing was led by Goldman Sachs Bank USA. The company, which sells its loan origination and servicing software to dealerships, said it will use the funds to continue its expansion in the United States. Nikola Corporation is investing $50 million in cash and stock in exchange for a 20% equity in a clean hydrogen project being developed by Wabash Valley Resources LLC. The project will use solid-waste and biomass to produce hydrogen for transportation fuel and electricity generation. Pablo Koziner, Nikola’s President of Energy and Commercial, said in a press release that the project should support future truck sales and the rollout of hydrogen stations throughout the Midwest. Sendle, a shipping carrier that uses carbon offsetting to run carbon neutral operations for small businesses, has raised a $35 million Series C. The round was led by AP Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Federation, Full Circle and NRMA. Sendle said it would use the funds to expand its operations in the U.S. Uber reached a deal to become the sole owner of Latin American delivery startup Cornershop, one year after acquiring a majority stake in the company. Uber is acquiring the remaining 47% interest in Cornershop in exchange for 29 million shares. The transaction, which will make Cornershop a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber, is expected to close in July. |
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