Special Announcement:
Automotive Ventures is very excited to lead the Pre-Seed round for Wrapmate. We look forward to working closely with Chris Loar and his team to accelerate the company’s growth! Wrapmate is an all-in-one digital platform for business owners and consumers to get their vehicle wraps & graphics projects designed, produced and installed in any US city. (Link to article)
Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce:
CDK Global (NASDAQ:CDK) to be acquired by Brookfield Asset Management for a total enterprise value of $8.3B. Brookfield will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of CDK at $54.87 per share in cash, representing a 30% premium on the closing price of the company on the last full trading day prior to market speculation regarding a potential sale of the company on Feb. 18, 2022. (Link to article)
Autonomy & Robotics:
Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation announced plans to acquire fellow robotics firm RE2 Robotics. The deal, valued at $100 million, includes $30 million in cash and $70 million in Sarcos stock. Pittsburgh-based RE2 is best known for its teleoperated mobile manipulation systems — one of the categories its future parent has a toehold in. (Link to article)
Built Robotics, a provider of the technology behind autonomous excavators and other construction equipment like dozers and loaders, raised a $64 million Series C round, led by Tiger Global Management and backed by Built’s existing investors NEA Ventures, Founders Fund, Fifth Wall, and Building Ventures. This round brings Built’s total funding to $112 million. (Link to article)
Shared Mobility & Subscription:
Turo, a San Francisco-based car rental company announced that recently it has raised $35.2 million in a venture round. The latest round brings the company’s total funding to $502.6 million. Terms of that funding were not disclosed. (Link to article)
Micromobility:
Shared micromobility company TIER Mobility has acquired Fantasmo, a U.S.-based computer vision-powered e-scooter parking startup whose tech Tier had been trialing in multiple cities in Europe. (Link to article)
Electric bicycle manufacturer Ride1UP closed a $6.5 million Series A, led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund. (Link to article)
Vehicle Assembly, Supply Chain & Logistics:
Autosled, the modern automotive digital logistics marketplace, has closed a $5 million Series A round as the company continues its mission to revolutionize the automotive transport marketplace. Leading the round was Lyndon Rive, who co-founded SolarCity (now Tesla Energy) in 2006 along with his brother Pete and cousin, Elon Musk. (Link to article)
BMW i Ventures led a CHF 32.4 million ($35 million) investment in sustainable lightweighting specialist Bcomp Ltd, as the Swiss startup closed its Series B financing round this month. (Link to article)
Electrification & Alternative Fuels:
JetBlue Technology Ventures participated in a $13 million fundraising round by Electric Power Systems. The company develops battery systems primarily for the new propulsion systems needed for electric aircraft but also for other transportation applications, including for cars, trucks, and boats. (Link to article)
Porsche AG has joined a group of investors making a $260 million equity bet on a startup that aims to harness wind power to make a gasoline substitute. Porsche is investing $75 million for a 12.5 percent stake in electricity-based fuel developer HIF Global, who is building a plant in Chile to produce electricity-based synthetic fuels from hydrogen and carbon dioxide using wind energy, starting midyear. (Link to article)
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