TechCrunch Mobility: Lime’s IPO gamble - BERITAJA

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After years of hints and preparation, the Uber-backed electrical motorcycle and scooter rental startup Lime revenge for an initial nationalist offering. A micromobility institution going public? In 2026? Surely it’s the incorrect year. 

Lime CEO Wayne Ting has been talking about an IPO for years. TechCrunch said to him about it successful 2020, 2021, and 2023. It ne'er materialized and I benignant of forgot about it, until — roar — the S-1 doc, the registration connection revenge pinch the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, posted early Friday morning. 

There are immoderate absorbing consequence factors successful the S-1, though we still are waiting for Lime to stock position of the offering.

Revenue is climbing, it has affirmative free rate flow, and nett losses narrowed aft 2023, though location has been a flimsy uptick betwixt 2024 and 2025. Uber, which invested successful Lime respective years ago, still plays an important domiciled for the company. Lime said about 14.3% of its gross came done its business pinch Uber, which allows customers to find and rent scooters and e-bikes done its app.

All of this suggests Lime is simply a maturation institution headed toward profitability. But location is 1 important headwind. Lime has about $1 cardinal successful existent liabilities, and about $675.8 cardinal of that is owed by the extremity of 2026. In all, about $846 cardinal is owed wrong 12 months. Lime does not person capable liquidity to salary that, according to its filing. Lime states it plainly successful the S-1: If it can’t spell nationalist and raise the basal capital, aliases alteration its indebtedness agreements, it whitethorn not beryllium capable to proceed operating arsenic a business.

Senior newsman Sean O’Kane, who likes digging done an S-1 arsenic overmuch arsenic I do, spotted immoderate different tidbits successful the consequence factors. Investment by cities successful their nationalist roadworthy infrastructure is simply a consequence factor, according to the company. Lime specifically lists potholes, which made maine chuckle and past motion successful agreement. Potholes are not benignant to shared scooters. 

Lime besides warned that a important information of rides are concentrated successful a comparatively mini number of markets successful which it operates. One specified market, which accounted for 22.2% of its gross successful 2025, is the U.K. 

A small bird

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

Last summer, Uber announced a scheme to motorboat a premium robotaxi service utilizing Lucid Gravity vehicles equipped pinch Nuro’s autonomous conveyance technology. This is much than a collaboration. Uber said it would put $300 cardinal successful Lucid and would separately bargain “at least” 20,000 of the EV maker’s caller Gravity SUV complete the adjacent six years. Uber precocious raised its finance successful Lucid to $500 million and pushed the conveyance bid to 35,000. 

The specifications about Uber’s finance successful Nuro, a privately held startup based successful Silicon Valley, person been slim — until now. At the time, we only knew that Uber invested an undisclosed “multi-hundred-million-dollar” magnitude into Nuro. One small vertebrate has shared much details. 

Uber’s full financial committedness to Nuro, which includes its information successful the startup’s Series E information past twelvemonth and early milestone-based investments, is about $500 million, per a root acquainted pinch the deal. 

My knowledgeable conjecture is that Nuro conscionable unlocked 1 of those milestones. The institution is testing the Lucid vehicles successful autonomous mode pinch a quality information usability successful the driver’s seat. And past period it expanded testing to let Uber labor to petition an autonomous thrust successful a Lucid robotaxi pinch a quality information usability still connected board. But the institution conscionable received 2 captious permits — a driverless testing permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles and a licence from the California Public Utilities Commission.

Got a extremity for us? Email Kirsten Korosec astatine kirsten.korosec@beritaja.com aliases my Signal astatine kkorosec.07, aliases email Sean O’Kane astatine sean.okane@beritaja.com.

Deals!

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

Kodiak AI’s first-quarter net offers a lawsuit study for really challenging it is to commercialize frontier tech. The institution announced a number of deals that showed progress. It locked successful a commercialized statement pinch Roehl; launched a aviator programme to trial Kodiak-equipped autonomous trucks astatine West Fraser Timber Co.’s log-hauling operations successful Alberta, Canada; and announced a collaboration pinch the subject conveyance shaper General Dynamics Land Systems to create autonomous crushed vehicles for defense applications.

But investors were not happy pinch the position of its $100 cardinal superior raise. The institution sold shares astatine $6.50 each — a steep discount from its closing stock value of $9.10. The raise besides included warrants — instruments that springiness investors the correct to bargain further shares later astatine a group price, successful this lawsuit arsenic debased arsenic $6.

The financing came from existing backer Ares Management and respective unnamed organization investors.

Kodiak’s banal value fell 37% successful after-hours trading moments aft the financing and Q1 net were released. Shares person recovered a spot since, possibly arsenic shareholders digested the news and looked astatine it from a glass-half-full perspective.

Kodiak will apt request much superior arsenic it continues to pain rate arsenic it pushes toward its large goal: driverless trucking operations connected nationalist highways.

Other deals that sewage my attraction this week …

Moment Energy, a startup that’s developed a caller attack to repurposing EV batteries, raised a $40 cardinal Series B backing round led by Canadian VC patient Evok Innovations, pinch further backing from market retailer money W23, joining existing investors for illustration Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and In-Q-Tel, the CIA-funded VC firm.

Rocsys, a startup that has developed hands-free depot solutions for autonomous electrical vehicles, raised $13 million successful an extended Series A information led by Capricorn Partners, pinch information from Scania Invest, Forward.One, SEB Greentech Venture Capital, and Graduate Venture.

Notable sounds and different tidbits

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

Aurora has started hauling loads successful driverless trucks successful Texas for distribution elephantine McLane. The commercialized statement shows immoderate advancement by the self-driving trucks company. Disclaimer: These driverless trucks still person quality observers successful the cab, and the institution tells america they cannot run the vehicle. 

Lucid’s first-quarter net revealed a institution still emotion the effects of a supplier rumor earlier this twelvemonth that caused it to callback its Gravity SUV and region deliveries. The company, which is besides going done a activity transition, changed its guidance and said it was nary longer judge how galore EVs it will build aliases waste this year. 

In 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration updated the New Car Assessment Program and added 4 caller pass-fail tests to measure the performance of precocious assistance systems, starting successful 2026. And we’re yet seeing the results. The later-release 2026 Tesla Model Y is the first conveyance to meet the agency’s caller benchmark.

Ouster is launching a caller lineup of color lidar sensors that CEO Angus Pacala believes will switch cameras.

EV startup Slate has mislaid a notable committee member. The caput of Jeff Bezos’ family agency left the board, according to galore authorities filings reviewed by TechCrunch.

Volkswagen is now Rivian’s largest shareholder, pushing Amazon retired of the apical spot.

One much point …

Well, possibly 2 more. 

Senior newsman Rebecca Bellan interviewed Aurora laminitis and CEO Chris Urmson precocious for the Equity podcast. Listen to the section here. 

And, finally, we had a canvass past week! Here was what I posed to readers: “The California DMV issued caller rules for AVs. Self-driving trucks could now trial and deploy successful the state. Reporting, information collection, and operations requirements person been expanded and rule enforcement could rumor postulation violations. These rules: spell excessively far, deed the mark, aliases aren’t restrictive enough.” 

About 41% picked “hit the mark,” while 27.6% said the rules spell excessively far, and 31% said they aren’t restrictive enough.

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