Techcrunch Mobility: Toyota Makes A $1.5b Bet On The Startup Ecosystem

1 month ago

Welcome backmost to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for each things “future of transportation.” To get this successful your inbox, motion up present for free — conscionable click TechCrunch Mobility!

More than a period ago, I asked you, beloved reader, really you thought EV income would play retired erstwhile nan $7,500 national taxation in installments expired connected September 30. The mostly of those who responded to nan canvass predicted that EV income would autumn disconnected a cliff.

Now, it’s excessively early to show yet; we are conscionable a fewer days past nan extremity of nan quarter. But nan expiring taxation in installments did springiness galore automakers a spot of a income bump arsenic consumers raced to bargain EVs earlier nan deadline.

Tesla, which has seen income maturation diminish, conscionable registered its best 4th of deliveries ever astatine 497,099 vehicles. That’s a monolithic 29% jump from nan 2nd quarter, astir a 7% summation complete nan aforesaid play past year, and much than it has ever delivered successful a azygous quarter.

Ford Motor, General Motors, and Hyundai besides reported grounds quarterly income of EVs. Rivian saw deliveries jump to 13,201 vehicles, up from 10,661 and 8,640 successful nan 2nd and first quarters, respectively.

The looming mobility is really will automakers navigate a imaginable slowdown successful EV income successful this post-tax in installments era? Rivian has already adjusted its guidance down for 2025. Others whitethorn follow.

The crux for automakers is really to get free of inventory arsenic nan caller 2026 models travel successful without reducing aliases eliminating profit margins (and successful immoderate cases deepening nan losses)?

Techcrunch event

San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025

A small bird

The Department of Energy canceled 321 cleanable power projects but wasn’t sharing nan specifications pinch TechCrunch aliases nan public. Luckily, a small vertebrate shared nan complete database of awards nan Trump management had canceled, and nan results were revealing.

Altogether, nan canceled awards totaled $7.56 billion, pinch California base nan brunt, losing $2.2 cardinal worthy of grants, including a $630 cardinal grid-modernization programme that could person go a template for nan nation. Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon rounded retired nan apical eight, losing betwixt $300 cardinal and $600 cardinal each.

It wasn’t until farther down nan database that a reddish authorities popped up. Indeed, nan mostly of projects were sited successful states that had voted for Kamala Harris successful nan past statesmanlike election, thing galore media outlets reported aft Office of Management and Budget main Russell Vought tweeted arsenic much.

But moreover successful bluish states, immoderate awards stuck, perchance owed to governmental connections pinch nan Trump management aliases aligned interests. Whatever nan case, nan move by nan DOE suggests nan authorities mightiness beryllium a little reliable partner for businesses, particularly mini startups.

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

Deals!

Toyota whitethorn not beryllium nan first institution that springs to mind erstwhile 1 thinks astir startups. But possibly it should be.

The Japanese automaker is committing $1.5 cardinal successful caller capital to attraction on, and put in, nan life rhythm of startups — from nan first seeds of an invention done its maturation shape and yet to mature companies.

Toyota has created a strategical finance subsidiary called Toyota Invention Partners Co. pinch astir $670 cardinal successful capital, while its growth-stage task limb Woven Capital launched a 2nd $800 cardinal fund.

I said to Woven Capital wide partner George Kellerman astir Toyota’s superior committedness and its finance strategy. He described Toyota Invention Partners arsenic a bookend of sorts to nan company’s different finance organizations. Check retired my article to study why.

Other deals that sewage my attraction …

Remember Einride, nan Swedish startup known for its unusual-looking electrical and autonomous pods? The institution is still plugging on and has now raised $100 million from respective caller and existing investors, including its largest shareholder, EQT Ventures. The raise included an undisclosed strategical finance from quantum computing institution IonQ. It’s worthy noting that while $100 cardinal is simply a batch of coin, it’s acold little than nan $500 cardinal successful equity and indebtedness it raised a fewer years ago.

Electroflow, a startup processing a cheaper LFP battery, raised $10 million successful a seed information led by Union Square Ventures and Voyager pinch information from Fifty Years and Harpoon Ventures.

Flai, a San Francisco-based AI-for-car-dealerships startup, raised a $4.5 cardinal seed round led by Liz Wessel astatine First Round Capital. YC, RedBlue Capital, Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures, and Innovation Endeavors besides joined.

This highly different woody is becoming much communal nether nan Trump administration. The Department of Energy took a 5% equity stake successful Canadian company Lithium Americas and a 5% liking successful its Nevada mining associated task pinch General Motors arsenic portion of a renegotiation of a $2.26 cardinal national loan. This follows nan national authorities taking equity stakes successful Intel and MP Materials.

The U.K. authorities will guarantee a commercial slope indebtedness of £1.5 billion ($2 billion) for carmaking elephantine Jaguar Land Rover aft a hack forced nan institution to unopen down its accumulation lines and near downstream suppliers astatine consequence of bankruptcy.

Early-stage heavy tech money Wave Function Ventures closed its first fund of $15.1 million. Senior newsman Sean O’Kane profiles its laminitis Jamie Gull and his way from aerospace technologist to VC.

Notable sounds and different tidbits

Two Amazon Prime Air transportation drones collided pinch nan roar of a crane adjacent its same-day tract successful Tolleson, Arizona — nan company’s 1 commercialized location. Federal agencies are investigating, and aft a impermanent pause, Amazon has restarted nan service.

DoorDash has spent years moving connected an autonomous transportation robot that tin navigate roads, motorcycle lanes, and sidewalks. Senior AI newsman Max Zeff spent clip pinch “Dot” and Ashu Rege, a erstwhile executive astatine nan Amazon-owned AV institution Zoox, who now leads DoorDash’s autonomy division.

Faraday Future still exists and we cognize this because 1 of nan troubled EV startup’s electrical SUVs caught occurrence astatine its Los Angeles headquarters, starring to an explosion that blew retired portion of a wall.

The Trump administration’s crackdown successful Chicago is affecting nan gig economy, nan laminitis of e-bike subscription startup Whizz tells TechCrunch.

Waymo scored a regulatory win successful New York City and received an hold for its testing permit.

WestJet, Canada’s 2nd largest airline, said nan individual accusation of 1.2 cardinal passengers was stolen successful a cyberattack and information breach.

Zoox will commencement mapping nan streets of Washington, D.C., arsenic it ramps up to statesman testing its self-driving vehicles successful nan nation’s superior this year.

One much point …

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025is conscionable a fewer weeks away. I dream you travel and opportunity hi! And yes, location are immoderate noteworthy proscription folks who will beryllium connected our stage, including Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana, Waabi laminitis and CEO Raquel Urtasun, Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall, and Slate CEO Chris Barman.

In nan weeks starring up to nan event, we’ve been showcasing immoderate of nan Startup Battlefield 200 companies, including Hance, a startup moving connected debased energy-consuming, on-device processing that’s already attracted nan likes of Intel.