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| Hey Insiders — Today we're bringing you the latest on Cruise's autonomous vehicle testing in Miami and Grab's latest acquisition. Scroll down for news on Virgin Atlantic's plans for a 100% SAF-powered flight. Let us know which areas you would like us to cover next. Thanks for reading! Nicolas
p/mobilitynerd | |
| 1 | | General Motors' self-driving subsidiary Cruise announced it began initial testing and data collection in Miami to familiarize its system with the local driving conditions. The news comes within two months of Cruise expanding its operations to Houston and Dallas. More: - The autonomous vehicles company plans to use human safety drivers on board during the testing phase.
- Cruise did not confirm whether the mapping will be conducted using Chevy Bolt, which GM has chosen to discontinue, or whether it would use its Cruise Origins vehicle in Miami.
- In October 2021, now-former CEO Dan Ammann said the company planned to launch "tens of thousands of Origins in the next few years."
- Ford-backed Argo AI previously collected data for autonomous rides in Miami in preparation for a planned autonomous ride-hailing service with Lyft before the AV company shut down in October 2022.
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| 2 | | Virgin Atlantic and Rolls-Royce announced their plans to complete the first transatlantic flight on 100% sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). The flight would depart JFK Airport in New York on Nov. 28, 2023, using a Boeing 787 toward London's Heathrow Airport. More: - The news follows last week's confirmation by the companies of a successful SAF blend test using the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine.
- Virgin Atlantic plans to use a blend of 88% hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids and 12% synthetic aromatic kerosene for the JFK flight.
- SAFs are integral to Virgin Atlantic's goals of reaching net zero by 2050.
- Sustainable aviation fuels represent less than 0.1% of jet fuel volumes.
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| 3 | | Southeast Asia ride-hailing service Grab announced its plans to acquire Singapore's third-largest taxi operator Trans-cab. The transaction, which is expected to finalize in Q4, is said to be valued at ~$75M. More: - Trans-cab was founded in 2003, scaling from an initial fleet of 50 taxis to more than 2,500 vehicles.
- The app sees strategic value in acquiring its rental unit, maintenance workshops, and fuel-pump operations.
- "By boosting the number of drivers on our platform and helping them to operate more efficiently, we improve how quickly and reliably we find a ride for our passengers whenever they need one," said the managing director of Grab Singapore, Yee Wee Tang.
- The news comes within a month of Grab's latest staff reduction round amid increased price competition with GoTo Group.
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| 4 | | California Assembly members wrote a bill tocreate a license requirement to ride electric bikes. If approved, Assembly Bill 530 would require an online written exam and a state-issued ID for those without a driver's license. More: - The proposed bill would create a program in conjunction with the state's DMV and the California Highway Patrol to educate riders.
- "...I believe that we must act to prevent our youth from injuries and educate parents on the promise and responsibility of e-bikes, and AB 530 is another step to increase their safety while sharing the road," said Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner.
- Currently, Alaska, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island require e-bike riders to hold a regular driver's license.
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| 5 | | Autonomous trucking technology company Aurora announced it raised $820M through a combination of private and public placements. "At a time when markets remain uncertain, raising such a large amount from some of Wall Street's most sophisticated investors demonstrates the market's belief in Aurora's progress and our ability to commercialize autonomous vehicles at scale," the company told FreightWaves. More: - The funds involve a public offering of 73,333,333 Class A common stock shares at $3 per share and a private offering of 222,222,216 shares at $2.70.
- Recurring investor in Aurora, T. Rowe Price, bought $125M in shares. Entities associated with venture capitalist Mike Volpi and Uber* acquired $5M and $1M, respectively.
- The company previously stated it expected to have $785M in cash and equivalents as of the end of Q2, which would not include the $820M raised.
- Aurora stated in a filing it may use funds to acquire a company, which it last did in 2021 with the purchase of lidar sensor startup Ours Technology.
*NOTE: Inside.com founder and CEO Jason Calacanis is an investor in Uber. | | | |
| 6 | | General Motors plan to develop a safety tool in collaboration with Redmond, Wash., and Easton, Penn. The project would involve the analysis of traffic data to aid in local government traffic safety plans. More: - General Motors plans to send the cities anonymized aggregated data from cars equipped with its OnStar systems.
- GM claims 15 million vehicles in circulation include the systems, estimated to be 5% of all cars and trucks on the round in the U.S.
- The cities of Redmond and Easton plan to present the findings at the National League of Cities conference.
- Inrix recently completed a similar study using SafetyView of 27 schools in Washington, analyzing accident volumes, speed, and demographic data.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Invest in Virtuix before they ship their VR treadmills to their waitlist, a $100M opportunity. This opportunity ends on 8/10.*
- Eve Air Mobility plans to build an eVTOL factory in São Paulo, Brazil.
- India reportedly rejected a bid by Chinese automaker BYD and local infrastructure developer Megha Engineering to build a $1B EV battery factory in Hyderabad.
- Mazda confirmed the launch of an 'electrified' MX-5 Miata for 2026.
- The International Air Transport Association urges the removal of Brussels Airport's night flight ban.
- Discover how collagen helps reduce loose skin, deep wrinkles, and dark spots.*
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INSIDE TRANSPORTATION LEADERBOARD (ALL-TIME) |
 | Sr. Analyst | | Nicolas S. is a Sr. Analyst at Inside, covering transportation and startup trends. He is an avid map maker and data nerd. Nicolas has worked in the shared-scooter space, as well as advised e-bike and moped startups. Follow him at @MobilityNerd. | | This newsletter was edited by Christopher Hachey | |
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