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Supplying the future
Hi there,
Tier 1 suppliers have shot to the fore of auto tech startup conversations, with both Delphi and Continental announcing $400M+ acquisitions (nuTonomy and Argus Cyber Security, respectively) in the span of two weeks.
We visualized these deals and the broader private market bets of the five most active suppliers in startups (including Delphi and Continental in addition to Bosch, Magna, and Harman).
Check out the research brief to see where suppliers have invested across IoT, cybersecurity, and self-driving software and hardware (see also our previous discussion of supplier performance and the lidar opportunity).
In that last field, OEMs and their self-driving units have also been busy. Mere weeks after GM added lidar maker Strobe to its Cruise Automation team, Ford's Argo AI acquired lidar veteran Princeton Lightwave, growing the club of AV players developing both software and sensor hardware.
These deals are another shakeup to the hasty partnerships and collaborations in the self-driving space; Ford had previously invested $150M with Baidu in lidar incumbent Velodyne. Other sensor startups (and their supplier backers) must also contend with more AV developers pulling sensor engineering in-house.
Another implication for any AV investors and startups hoping for blockbuster exits by supplier/OEM acquisition: the field of viable suitors is narrowing.
EV infrastructure charges ahead
By one estimate, mass-market electric vehicles will demand $2.7 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next two decades, covering everything from retooled assembly plants to charging stations.
Over the last month, EV charging networks have gained momentum from new utilities, automakers, and transport provider projects:
- An automaker consortium announced their "Ionity" initiative to roll out fast-charging stations across Europe; Utility E.ON then disclosed plans to expand its European EV charge network
- Didi Chuxing formed a joint venture to build out its own charging network
- Royal Dutch Shell acquired NewMotion, and Enel bought eMotorWerks
For related reading, see our map of renewable utility and energy deals outside of the US:
Licensing with GE Ventures
At our last Councils meeting, Pat Patnode, President of Licensing for GE Ventures, shared how the company internally sold a centralized licensing group across GE, which generated new revenue opportunities and furthered business unit collaboration.
CB Insights Councils provides members with:
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- Custom research and member case studies with experience-based insights
- Access to innovators and big thinkers to inform and grow your network
Councils are limited to SVP, EVP, President and C-level execs at companies with at least $1B in revenue. The next Councils meeting is December 11-12, 2017 in San Francisco at Dropbox HQ. Learn more.
Have a great week, everybody!
Kerry
@kerrygwu
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We dig into the ramp-up in private markets activity by major automotive suppliers like Bosch, Delphi, Continental, and more. Check out the social graph.
Deals and funding to auto commerce startups have grown steadily since 2012, with this year on track to pass the $3B mark. See the data.
India has emerged as the leading country for renewable deals outside the United States since 2015. Check out the map.
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This Week in Auto Tech
A curated mix of recent articles on auto tech financings, exits, announcements, hirings, partnerships & perspectives.
Deals & Funds
More $100M+ auto commerce deals. Mega-rounds continue to push funding to auto commerce companies upwards. Alibaba led a $335M round to Chinese used-car platform SouChe, while used- and new-car platform Chehaoduo also raised $180M.
SoftBank's Vision Fund is in talks to invest in Berlin-based Auto1 Group at a €2.5B+ valuation.
Bloomberg (SouChe) / China Money Network (Chehaoduo) / FT (Auto1 Group)
Sensor fundings. Arbe Robotics raised $9M for its high-resolution radars, German lidar startup Blickfeld closed a $4.25M seed round, and Israeli lidar developer Innoviz added a further $8M from Samsung Catalyst and SoftBank Ventures Korea.
TechCrunch (Arbe) / TechCrunch (Blickfeld) / VentureBeat (Innoviz)
Optimus Ride gets $18M. The MIT AV spinoff has closed its Series A from investors including Greycroft, Fraser McCombs Capital, and Emerson Collective.
PR Newswire
Markforged sees $30M. The metal and carbon fiber 3D printing company's backers include strategic investors like Porsche and Siemens' Next 47.
TechCrunch
Shippo raises $20M. The small business commerce logistics company has secured a Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
Forbes
Achates Power gets $30M. The San Diego-based company is developing higher-efficiency and lower-emission internal combustion engines.
FinSMEs
Waycare raises $2.3M seed. The startup is working on AI-driven transportation management systems for smart cities.
FinSMEs
Argo AI buys Princeton Lightwave. Ford's self-driving unit bought the lidar developer to aid its AV efforts.
Medium
Delphi acquires nuTonomy. The supplier paid $400M upfront for the AV startup, with earn-outs of up to $50M.
Recode
Continental acquires Argus Cyber Security. The roughly $400M deal will see Continental slot Argus under its Elektrobit subsidiary.
Reuters
Tesla buys Perbix. The Minnesota-based automated equipment designer had previously been a supplier for Tesla.
Reuters
News
Hellocar shuts down. The London-based used-car marketplace has folded, following the shutdown of Carspring.
TechCrunch
Facebook launches car marketplace. Users can now search and check pricing for vehicles from dealers and individual sellers. Facebook is not currently taking a cut of its Marketplace transactions, although it is testing ads.
TechCrunch
Toyota seeking investments. Toyota's newly minted AI Ventures arm is hunting for further investments in Israeli robotics and auto tech companies.
Reuters
Ford's DeepMap partnership, Canvas expansion. The automaker will collaborate with the startup on HD mapping. Ford is also the latest player to expand its car subscription offerings, making its Canvas service available in LA.
Medium (DeepMap) / TechCrunch (Canvas)
Waymo expanding testing, PR offensive, partnerships. The Alphabet self-driving unit will kick off winter testing in Detroit. Waymo also invited more journalists to its previously profiled Castle test facility to show off its passenger-facing AV interfaces, and partnered with AutoNation to service its AVs.
Waymo has also formally begun operating roughly 100 of its Arizona test vehicles without human test drivers.
Bloomberg (Detroit) / IEEE Spectrum (interfaces) / Auto News (AutoNation) / Medium (driverless)
Cruise's special event. GM's self-driving unit is hosting its own event at the end of this November, possibly to demonstrate its own robotaxi service.
TechCrunch
New commercial EVs. Manufacturers continue pushing commercial vehicle electrification, with Daimler showing off its E-Fuso electric truck concept.
Nissan also unveiled its e-NV200 electric van, including a refrigerator version with interesting cold chain logistics potential. Platooning may also improve electric trucking economics.
Trucks (Daimler) / Green Car Reports (Nissan) / MIT Tech Review (platooning)
EV infrastructure push. BMW, Daimler, Ford, and VW announced their Ionity European network of 400 fast-charge stations. Shortly after, utility E.ON disclosed plans to expand its European EV charge network to 10,000 by 2020.
Electrek (Ionity) / Autocar (E.ON)
Didi Chuxing's EV plans. The Chinese TNC is also planning to build its own EV charging network. Separately, Didi has inked a partnership with NEVS (the Saab successor company) to bring up to 1 million EVs to Didi's platform.
TechCrunch (charging network) / Electrek (NEVS deal)
Tesla's production issues, EV tax credit. Tesla and its suppliers grapple with Model 3 "production hell;" the company's director of battery engineering also departed to launch a startup. The looming elimination of the US EV tax credit has also weighed on Tesla's shares, although other automakers also seek to preserve the credit.
Daily Kanban (production) / Jalopnik (battery exec) / The Drive (EV tax credit)
Uber updates. SoftBank's Uber deal is on the rocks, and Masayoshi Son reiterated on SoftBank's latest earnings call that a Lyft investment remains on the table. A judge ordered Waymo to further narrow its trade secret claims against Uber.
Bloomberg (SoftBank deal) / Recode (Waymo suit)
Policy updates. The NHTSA is looking for ways to remove regulatory roadblocks to AVs. The Trump administration will not push forward an Obama-era proposal that would have mandated V2V tech in new cars.
Reuters (NHTSA) / The Verge (V2V mandate)
Articles, Perspectives, & Studies
Evaluating driverless car demos. Thomas Ridge of Ad Punctum pens a guide to looking behind the curtain of AV demonstrations to date (and the surely numerous demos to come).
Ad Punctum
Peter Thiel on self-driving tech. The Founders Fund investor is unsure that AV tech is a good investment, citing telecommuting and the difficulty in differentiating AV players.
TechCrunch
The self-driving car mafia. Dana Hull of Bloomberg reflects on the 10th anniversary of the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge and the diaspora of talent from the contest. (More on the Challenge and government-backed auto tech research here.)
Bloomberg
Cities and AVs. The Bloomberg Aspen Initiative maps global cities working with and preparing for AVs.
Bloomberg Aspen Initiative
Bob Lutz: Kiss the good times goodbye. The legendary auto exec declares the end of the automotive era is fast approaching as AVs mature.
Automotive News
Trends in EV design, robotaxis. New reports on the wide disparity in current EV powertrain designs, and gauging the potential of robotaxis.
McKinsey (EV trends) / McKinsey (robotaxis)
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