Vehicle Connectivity:
Samsara, backed by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, is aiming for a valuation of $11.5 billion in a U.S. initial public offering (IPO). The software startup is looking to raise up to $805 million in the IPO by selling 35 million shares priced between $20 and $23 per share. (Link to article)
Stratio, the world’s leading real-time predictive fleet maintenance platform, announced a $12M Series A funding round to further accelerate its growth. (Link to article)
Autonomy:
Robotic Research, a self-driving technology company that has spent the last two decades developing on and off-road autonomous vehicles for the Department of Defense, raised a $228 million Series A round. (Link to article)
Serve Robotics, the autonomous sidewalk delivery company that spun out from Uber-owned Postmates by Uber in March, has closed an expanded seed round at $13 million. (Link to article)
Intel Corporation plans to list shares of its Mobileye self-driving car business by the middle of next year, letting the chipmaker capitalize on its investment in a burgeoning industry. (Link to article)
Shared Mobility & Subscription:
An oversubscribed $18 million Series A round is going to help Spare further build out its mobility software platform for public transit, ride-sharing, and other shared transportation. (Link to article)
JOKR, an instant grocery delivery startup based in New York and operating in the Americas raised a $260 million in Series B, just five months after raising $170 million in Series A funding. (Link to article)
Indian ride-hailing giant Ola has raised $139 million at a valuation of about $7.3 billion, it said in a filing, ahead of its plans to file for an initial public offering early next year. Edelweiss led the new investment tranche. (Link to article)
Electrification:
LG Energy Solution plans to raise as much as 12.75 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in what would be South Korea’s biggest-ever initial public offering, defying concerns over fires involving its batteries that led to a mass recall of Chevrolet Bolt EVs. (Link to article)
Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup JSC is restructuring its automobile unit VINFAST LLC ahead of a planned U.S. initial public offering in the second half of 2022. (Link to Article)
Ola Electric raised $52.7 million in a round led by Temasek. This investment comes two months after Ola Electric, which spun out of Ola in 2019, raised $200 million at a $3 billion valuation in a round led by Alpha Wave Global, LP (formerly known as Falcon Edge Capital). (Link to article)
Solid Power, Inc., the solid-state battery developer backed by Ford Motor Company and BMW Group, started trading on Thursday (NASDAQ: SLDP). Solid Power announced the merger with special purpose acquisition company Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp III in June, at a post-deal implied market valuation of $1.2 billion. (Link to article)
BP took its first major step into electrification in the U.S. on Dec. 7 with the acquisition of AMPLY Power, Inc., an EV charging and energy management provider for fleets that operate trucks, transit and school buses, vans and light-duty vehicles. Financial details of the agreement are not being disclosed. (Link to article)
Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce:
UK-based all-things-auto platform carwow has secured $55 million in new funds to further scale its ‘Sell Your Car’ product. The new $55 million was provided by Hercules Capital, Inc. in the form of venture debt funding. (Link to article)
Australia online car shopping site Carma raised a $20 million (AUD $28 million) seed round from Tiger Global Management. Carma has been operating in stealth for the past nine months and said the funding enabled the company to recruit an executive team, develop its website, and establish its first inspection and reconditioning facility in Sydney. (Link to Article)
Vehicle Assembly, Supply Chain & Logistics
Nuvocargo, a logistics startup out to help simplify the challenges of cross-border trade, has raised $20.5 million in a round led by Tiger Global Management. (Link to article)
Candela Electric Hydrofoil Boats has raised $24 million to accelerate production of its existing small watercraft and a larger commercial one, in pursuit of cleaner and generally more future-proof waters. The $24 million round was led by EQT Ventures. (Link to article)
Volvo Cars has invested $2 million in the startup Spectralics , the developer of a new type of thin optics film that could be used to turn a vehicle’s entire windshield into an augmented reality (AR) display screen. (Link to article)
BMW i Ventures announced a lead investment in the seed financing round of RLP, Rapid Liquid Print which brings the benefits of 3D printing to elastomers with a revolutionary gel-printing technology that uses industry-standard materials, such as soft rubber, silicone and foams, to produce soft, flexible products without retooling or post-processing. (Link to article)
DispatchTrack, a global last mile logistics software-as-a-service leader that powers positive, predictable, and visible experiences for shippers, drivers, and recipients, today announced the purchase of Beetrack, the Latin American leader in logistics software. (Link to article)
Media and Lifestyle
Hagerty (NYSE: HGTY) an automotive lifestyle brand and a leading specialty insurance provider focused on the global automotive enthusiast market, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate its recently completed public listing. (Link to article)
