As the transportation category evolves, mobility tech and automotive brands are raising capital to commercialize technologies spanning autonomous driving and navigation, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AL/ML), sustainable features and more. The past two weeks have seen mobility tech companies raise significant capital in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as smaller seed and Series A rounds that have generated coverage based on their unique and innovative approaches.
BMW, Lear, Bosch back $250M funding for startup that aims to replace traditional wire harnesses | Automotive News
“CelLink has developed a new method of connecting battery cells and packs, and transferring power and data across vehicle sensors, modules and electronic control units, according to the company. Founded in 2011 and based in San Carlos, CelLink has been scaling up production of its lightweight flexible circuits since 2019.
CelLink, which has raised about $315 million, said the latest funds will be used to build a factory in Georgetown, Texas, that will open later this year.”
Dott announces $70 million extension to Series B funding round
“European micro-mobility company Dott has announced a $70 million extension to its Series B funding round, bringing the total Series B funding raised to over $150 million in a mix of equity and asset backed debt, including the $85 million announced in spring 2021.
First created in October 2018, Dott has since grown its operations to cover 36 cities in nine countries across Europe. At the end of 2021, the micro-mobility company added 10,000 e-bikes to its fleet of over 40,000 e-scooters, broadening its offering and providing more choice to its riders, who took 130 per cent more trips than in 2020.”
Motorq eyes Europe and Japan after $40 million funding | Global Fleet
“New York-based connected car API company Motorq has raised $40 million to fuel its future expansion goals. Motorq will use the funding for product development, enhancing engineering teams and increasing collaboration with OEMs in the automotive industry…
…The cloud-based platform gathers data from over 51 million vehicles through global collaborations in the automotive and fleet industries. It does so via a vehicle’s onboard computer and runs analyses based on machine learning models while adding other data sets into the analysis to gather useful insights. This enriched data is then delivered to customers via APIs (application programming interfaces).”
API Platform Smartcar Raises $24 Million To Help Connect Cars To Consumers
“The company announced Wednesday that it has raised $24 million in a Series B funding round led by Energize Ventures and existing investors, Andreessen Horowitz and New Enterprise Associates.
The investment comes nearly four years after the Series A round of $10 million led by New Enterprise Associates and raises the API startup’s total VC funding to $36 million. Today, Smartcar’s technology is compatible with 22 vehicle makes and models and the new funding will help the company to expand its compatibility to include more car brands.
In recent years, a massive shift towards digitization and electrification in auto manufacturing has positioned cars to become an integral part of the Internet of Things ecosystem. Data forecasts suggest that by 2025, there will be more than 400 million connected cars on the road, up from some 237 million in 2021, according to Statista. John Tough, managing partner at Energize Ventures who is now a Smartcar’s board member, agrees.”
MORAI raises $20.8M for autonomous driving simulation
“The Seoul-based company plans to use the funding to expand its global reach. Last year, it established its U.S. office in San Francisco. MORAI hopes to establish offices in Germany, Japan and Singapore. According to CEO Jiwon Jung, the company will double its headcount worldwide by the end of the year.
Additionally, MORAI will use the funding to research different applications for its simulation technology, including urban air mobility (UAM). MORAI provides high-definition, map-based 3D simulation testing through it’s product MORAI SIM. Simulation testing is an important part of the autonomous vehicle development process. It provides companies the opportunity to perform repetitive simulation tests to prove the reliability of its systems.”
Morocco’s Freterium grabs $4M to scale its freight trucking software across MENA | TechCrunch
“San Francisco-based investor Partech led the round. CDG Invest, Y Combinator, Flexport, Swiss Founders Fund, Outlierz Ventures, and a few angel investors from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa participated.
There are other companies addressing various issues within the MENA’s freight and logistics space, particularly Egypt. Some are marketplaces or brokerage platforms connecting shippers with trucks, such as Trella. Others like ShipBlu and Flextock play in the e-commerce fulfillment segment and cater to last-mile and warehousing needs. But SaaS solutions to manage the flow of these shipments, collaborate internally with different departments within the company such as sales, customer service, finance and accounting, and aggregate data from multiple ERP systems are few and far between.”
Mobility tech and automotive brand seeking media relations?
FischTank has worked with a number of mobility tech and automotive brands to achieve media coverage for their technologies and innovations within autonomous driving, electric vehicle and EV charging, ride-sharing, AI/ML, sustainability features, navigation and many others. If you’re looking for a creative, results-driven PR firm for your brand, please email [email protected].
***Blog post authored by FischTank PR intern Anna Dillon***
