VW Partners with Rivian in $5 Billion EV Deal and the Battle for Fisker's Assets

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A lot has happened in the transportation sector this week, and it's only Thursday morning. Let's dive in!

A Little Bird

A little bird informed us that Cruise recently cut 35 employees. The company confirmed the cuts, stating they were routine role eliminations and not layoffs. We're keeping an eye on developments at Cruise.

Separately, Cruise announced a reorganization to employees, bringing its safety functions under Chief Safety Officer Steve Kenner and integrating two teams (customer success and remote assistance). This reorg is part of the company's ongoing investment in safety.

Deals!

I didn't expect the Rivian–Volkswagen Group tie-up in 2024. The deal is a significant one, with VW Group investing up to $5 billion into Rivian.

Here's what we know so far. The deal gives VW access to Rivian's existing electrical architecture and software platform. Meanwhile, Rivian will receive some much-needed cash and manufacturing expertise from VW, which should help reduce costs.

The deal involves a $1 billion unsecured convertible note that will convert into Rivian's common stock once regulatory approvals are received. VW Group will then buy another $1 billion of Rivian's common stock in 2025 and 2026. The remaining $2 billion will go to the joint venture, split between an initial investment and a loan in 2026.

That joint venture will be a 50-50 partnership with co-CEOs, who will report into both Rivian and Volkswagen Group. Rivian will share its electrical architecture expertise with VW and license existing intellectual property rights to the joint venture.

Other deals that caught my attention:

Aether Fuels, an e-fuels startup, raised $30.4 million of a $34.3 million round, according to a public filing.
Bitsensing, a South Korea-based startup developing 4D imaging radar, raised $25 million in a Series B round.
Fetcherr, a startup founded in 2019 that provides infrastructure for dynamic pricing systems used by airlines, raised $90 million in a Series B funding round led by Battery Ventures.
Getir, the food delivery startup, will undergo a restructuring that includes Abu Dhabi's wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company investing $250 million into the company and acquiring majority control of its Turkish grocery operations.
SkyCell, a Swiss startup that developed hardware and software to transport pharmaceuticals, raised $116 million in a Series D round. SkyCell is now valued at $635 million.
Wisk Aero, a subsidiary of Boeing, acquired Verocel, a software verification and validation company that's been serving the aerospace industry for 25 years. Terms were not disclosed.

Notable Reads and Other Tidbits

Autonomous Vehicles

If I were a betting person, I'd wager that Cruise will be back on San Francisco streets by the end of 2024. Why? A few developments are starting to point in that direction.

For one, Cruise agreed to pay a $112,500 fine to California regulators for failing to provide full information about an accident involving one of its robotaxis last year. And it also appointed Marc Whitten, a video game veteran who was most recently CTO at Unity, as its CEO.

Project 3 Mobility, the Croatia-based autonomous vehicle startup spun out of Rimac Group, announced a new name, Verne, and some details around the enterprise. Verne was founded by Mate Rimac and two close friends from Rimac Group, Marko Pejković, who is now CEO of Verne, and Adriano Mudri, the designer of Nevera and chief design officer at Verne. The plan is to launch an electric autonomous two-seater vehicle designed for urban mobility.

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