micromobility

Startups, Transportation

“Stellantis Chief Executive Spills Secrets on Waymo, Rivian Layoffs, and the Ongoing Decline of EV Enthusiasm”

TechCrunch Mobility is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click TechCrunch Mobility — to receive the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Of course, as he talked, I wondered if this was wishful thinking or an attempt to show the company was still part of the autonomous vehicle conversation? Robotic Research Autonomous Industries (RRAI), an autonomous vehicle company with a history of working with the Department of Defense, changed its name to Forterra.

Dylan Williams
February 25, 2024

Enterprise

“Cityscoot Acquired by Cooltra: A Step Forward in Micromobility Consolidation”

Paris’ commercial court has accepted Cooltra’s offer to acquire Cityscoot. These two companies provide shared electric mopeds that you can unlock and ride to go from one place to another. At the same time, foreign micromobility companies also started to look at Paris as a potentially interesting market, including Cooltra and Yego. Cityscoot, Cooltra and Yego won a tender process organized by the city of Paris to limit mopeds to three operating licenses. Cooltra’s mopeds will also get new stickers to show that Cityscoot and Cooltra are now the same service to ease the transition.

Dylan Williams
February 22, 2024

Enterprise, Startups

Gbike, a Korean Micromobility Startup, Plans to Acquire Rivals Before their 2025 IPO

Gbike acquired a local micromobility platform called ZET from Hyundai Motor for an undisclosed amount last year to bolster its technological synergies. Gbike posted an EBITDA of $40 million and revenue of $13.7 million in 2022, Yoon said. “Based on this fully integrated capability, we set out our vision to innovate the micromobility ecosystem through battery-[swapping] infrastructure. One of the things that set Gbike apart from its competitors is its capability to build its own vehicles — e-scooters, e-bikes and batteries, Yoon mentioned. Gbike launched its own-developed e-bikes in May last year and now operates a fleet of 35,000 e-bikes.

Dylan Williams
January 5, 2024

Enterprise

Bird, Leading Electric Scooter Company, Declares Bankruptcy

Bird has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, capping off a turbulent year for the electric scooter company. This decline led the NYSE to issue a warning that Bird’s share price was too low. Separately, Bird also announced a round of layoffs shortly after buying rival Spin for $19 million. Chapter 11A Chapter 11 bankruptcy will enable Bird to restructure its financials without disrupting day-to-day operations, with Apollo Global Management division MidCap Financial among existing lenders providing $25 million in financing through the bankruptcy proceedings. And in Europe, dockless scooter startup Tier recently laid off 22% of its workforce, which followed Dutch e-bike startup VanMoof’s bankruptcy proceedings.