Startups

Financially struggling Nikola Corp. wants shareholders to double the company’s authorized shares so it can pay its loans in stock.

Using the company’s platform, Repowr Connect, shippers, fleets and 3PLs can share their available assets with other network members, helping parties find on-demand capacity.

“We are looking to empower these independent contractors and truly treat them as owners of their businesses,” Luke Denny, co-founder and CEO, told FreightWaves.

Proterra Inc. and Ouster Inc. are just two of many technology startups and growth-stage companies struggling financially.

Kodiak Robotics was shooting for easier maintenance of its autonomous trucks but it made them appear more normal in the process.

Nikola Corp. wants to raise $100 million through a public stock offering. Dilution-fearing investors drove shares to an all-time low.

Settling multiple distractions surrounding TuSimple was Cheng Lu’s priority when he returned as CEO in November.

It’s been three months since TuSimple fired a quarter of its workforce. Three of those who survived the cuts talked with FreightWaves.

Even with multiple investigations to close, TuSimple has three years worth of money to run its autonomous trucking business.

“[Navix] understands their customers’ problems, the value proposition and how to apply the technology to solve them,” said Rob Estes, chairman and CEO of Estes Express Lines.

Gatik will move grocery loads autonomously from Kroger’s Dallas distribution center to its area grocery stores, starting with safety drivers.

The Lordstown Motors Endurance electric pickup was delayed, subject to cost overruns and now faces a safety recall.

Nikola allegedly tried to sign rival Lion Electric customers after canceling a battery supply contract with Romeo Power.

“Our goal is to get empty containers out of the hands of those who do not need them and into the hands of those who do, and so far it’s working,” said Qualle founder and CEO Tyler Sellers.

Embark Trucks, the original autonomous trucking company, may put itself up for sale or liquidate after laying off 70% of its employees.

Volvo Group’s CampX has ushered 50 startups through its accelerator. Now it is adding an incubator for early stage startups.

Hyliion Holdings is teaming up with financially struggling Hyzon Motors to develop a hydrogen-powered fuel cell version of its hybrid truck.

Crstl looks to take on the digitization of transactions and data sharing between brands and major retailers like Walmart and Target.

Nikola Corp. maintains it can raise capital through equity sales, but its auditor says that’s uncertain, prompting a notice of going concern.

Will new leadership be enough to save the FreightTech company?

Nikola is still far from positive financial territory, but the integration of major components should help bring costs down.

What does it mean to have a former Daimler Truck executive in charge of Torc Robotics? Experience guides a big mission focus

“We knew the port terminals, we understood their operations, but mostly we understood their systems and data. We thought we could be the bridge that wasn’t created before that could speak both parties’ languages and get containers in and out,” said BlueCargo co-founder and CEO Alexandra Griffon.

Less-than-truckload booking platform MyCarrier is automating insurance coverage for the 10,000 shipments it is booking daily.

Startup electric last-mile van developer Arrival cut 50% of its workforce as it tries to reduce cash burn and make it to production.

Deliberate perfectly describes Paccar’s approach to trucking electrification. The company offers nine commercial electric trucks but skips the hype.

FreightTech startup Freightos is raising money through a public offering rather than seeking venture capital.

Colorado startup Outrider, which transforms distribution yards into automated operations, has raised $73 million in a Series C round.

Truck-as-a-service startup Forum Mobility enters a $400 million joint venture to establish electric drayage truck charging sites.

As FetchGoat began to grow, co-founder and CEO Bill Hale had one strategic investor in mind.

Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple will be on the hook for $15 million in cash severance if it ousts CEO Cheng Lu a second time.

As a seed-stage startup, Ali Javidan’s Range Energy doesn’t have much to show yet for his idea of electrifying trailers.

Einride has raised $500 million through a combination of equity and debt financing, giving it more funding to accelerate deployment of its autonomous and electric vehicles.

Hydrogen fuel cell truck maker Hyzon Motors faces Nasdaq deadlines after missing a financial filing for the second consecutive quarter.

Several high-profile commercial electric vehicle makers have faced recent struggles, but BrightDrop says it is on pace for $1 billion in revenue next year.

A theme emerges as you look around the electrification and autonomous trucking space. Practically no one does it alone.

Boardroom drama at TuSimple takes a new turn with the executive chairman holding 59% voting control of the company.

“We strategically positioned our carriers six months ago for the freight they are hauling today,” said the company’s senior director of capacity, Ivan Momchilov.

How does nearly three years as a nuclear machinist’s mate in the U.S. Navy prepare someone to be CEO of Wabash?

Mark Russell has been selling converted options in Nikola daily since mid-September, which is not a good look for a company CEO.

Nikola Corp. is laying off 7% of its workforce and slowing electric production because making more increases the loss.

The Wall Street Journal reports multiple federal probes of TuSimple’s China dealings after a watchdog set up oversight in February.

“LuckyTruck would not be where it is today without Julie,” said founder and President Devin Bostick of new CEO Julie Zimmer.

Better Tomorrow Ventures’ Jake Gibson says LogRock is “well positioned to help fleets save real money by staying off the FMCSA’s radar and steering clear of avoidable court cases.”

The federal government made SPAC-sponsored Nikola founder Trevor Milton an example of corporate greed. Will others follow?

Nikola founder Trevor Milton on Friday was found guilty of three counts of fraud and will be sentenced Jan. 27.

The Trevor Milton fraud trial heads for jury deliberations Friday following invective-tinged final arguments.

Since founding as Kargoo in 2018, Los Angeles-based Shappi has raised $3.2 million to digitize the process of getting goods from the United States into the hands of consumers in Latin America.

Romeo Power founder Michael Patterson shares what happened at the startup battery maker as a cautionary tale for other SPAC-backed startups.

Jake McPaul, who led Misfits Market’s logistics operation during the COVID-19 pandemic, will lead Warp’s new Fresh Freight division.

The founders of SaferWatch have joined forces again to launch Carrier Details, which aggregates federal carrier data for clients’ operational and sales use.

Mexico’s over-the-road freight market has a forecast CAGR of 9.91% through 2027.

Small fleets make up 90% of the nation’s carriers. Waymo Via and C.H. Robinson used beer runs to familiarize them with autonomous trucking.

Kodiak Robotics and Werner Enterprises completed a 152-hour autonomous freight trucking pilot between Dallas and Lake City, Florida.

DHL Express is the first customer for Eviation Aircraft’s electric aircraft, which made its first flight on Tuesday.

“Using the TruckCoinSwap mobile and web apps — and TCS Token — transportation companies can now receive free invoice settlement and get paid sooner. TCS is helping to write a new chapter in blockchain and Web3,” says CTO Jake Centner.

“Their truck-first mentality is the right approach to win the highly fragmented road freight industry,” says a Founders Fund partner on its recent investment.

Opening statements in Trevor Milton’s fraud trial paint a picture of greed contrasted by tales of tweets and corporate betrayal.

MyCarrier, a freight shipping platform for small and midsize shippers, has raised $22 million in a Series B funding round.

Nikola founder Trevor Milton’s fraud trial begins Monday, Sept. 12, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Boa Logistics aims to “create heavier densities heading in the same direction, ultimately making a more efficient revolving supply chain for the carriers in our network.”

The second FreightWaves Autonomous and Electric Vehicles Summit will feature leaders in autonomy and all things electrification.

Flexport is taking a page from Amazon’s growth model. The logistics provider just hired its third executive from the Amazon tree.

Hyliion Holdings is buying generator technology from General Electric Co. that can make electricity from a variety of mixed fuels.

He regards the technology as not just the next generation of business process tools after the TMS, but something more akin to the revolutionary jump from traditional phones to smartphones.

The startup will hit an $11 million annual run rate in September.

TuSimple told federal officials about the crash of one of its supervised autonomous trucks and temporarily grounded its fleet. But it neglected to inform its partner, Navistar.

A new name in electric truck charging and infrastructure broke cover this week with $1 billion or more in private equity funding.

EV maker Arrival, which has a 10,000 van order from UPS, said it would only produce 20 vehicles this year, down from an estimated 400 to 600 just one quarter ago.

Hyliion still depends on its hybrid electric booster for its revenue, but the orderbook expanded 11% for the Hypertruck ERX in Q2.

Trucking compliance solutions company co-founder Hunter Yaw explains the “today costs” of compliance programs.

Hyzon Motors, which went public a year ago in a merger with a blank check shell company, is the latest electrification startup in trouble.

Unsure that financially struggling Romeo Power could keep supplying batteries for its electric trucks, Nikola is buying the company.

Walmart has announced a partnership with Platform Science to equip the retailer’s private truck fleet of 12,000 drivers with telematics tablet devices.

“This allows Samsung to set a new bar of service levels for logistics customers, and Vizion supports this through hyperfocus on enhanced visibility technologies,” said Kyle Henderson, co-founder and CEO of Vizion.

Canoo Inc. in May said its survival was iffy. With Walmart’s order of 4,500 electric delivery vehicles, the near term looks brighter.

Twin SPAC backer ArcLight Capital is investing $50 million in a truck-as-a-service business that handles Class 1-8 vehicles.

Outrider, an autonomous distribution yard developer, is readying a robotics kit that would allow shippers to automate operations.

NewRoad Capital Partners leads Series B investment in cloud fulfillment platform Logiwa.

The management shakeup at TuSimple has become a full management house cleaning. Hyliion sees early benefits following Cummins’ partnership.

Nikola will keep trying to pass a proposal to increase the number of authorized shares by pressing company stock owners to vote their proxies..

The company specifically runs its fleet on Interstate 5 using proprietary technology to relay drivers.

Nikola founder Trevor Milton will be tried in September rather than July after a new fraud charge led to a plea for more time.

Baton eliminates 25% of its workforce to pivot its business model to focus on its artificial intelligence transportation management software for drop-freight operation

Meet Juliette, the laundry company founded by Rechelle Balanzat that’s using logistics to take its business to new heights.

Nikola founder Trevor Milton has been irritating the company he once led since leaving in September 2020.

Blackstone Group, one of the premier New York investment groups, is putting $130 million on fintech/freight tech firm PayCargo.

It’s the end of the line for Electric Last Mile Solutions as it becomes the first transportation SPAC to file for bankruptcy liquidation.

Alphabet-backed Wing is hoping to expand its drone delivery service in Virginia through the introduction of a public delivery zone.

TuSimple co-founder Mo Chen launches Hydron, an autonomous trucking venture that would use hydrogen fuel to achieve zero emissions.

Last Mile Solutions told the Securities and Exchange Commission it is nearly out of cash and could run out of money this month.

“One of the more challenging aspects of any tech startup is to strategically coordinate the scale of the organization. Working closely with Microsoft will help ensure we are utilizing best practices to develop rapidly without incurring technical debt,” says FetchGoat’s CTO.

Startup WattEV sees its Truck-as-a-Service startup as a modern day Pony Express with electric trucks being swapped instead of horses .

Nikola Corp. adjourned its annual meeting Wednesday after too few investors voted on a proposal to raise the number of shares in the electric truck maker.

Freightos, a backed by FedEx, is raising capital through a special purpose acquisition company and IPO.

Infrastructure. How important is a fixed base of electric charging for commercial vehicles? Maybe not as much as we’re told.

“Ensuring companies stay compliant certainly isn’t the sexiest venture, but in the trucking industry, it’s one of the most important aspects to get right.”

Australia’s Tritium is making a charge in U.S. market with a move into direct current fast charging for electric trucks.

“The time is right for a seismic shift online in the world of open deck shipping. Thanks to its shipper TMS solution, internal TMS and carrier management portal, we feel EXO Freight is poised to fundamentally improve the economics and quality of life for open deck carriers and their drivers,” said Dan Ahrens, managing partner at Left Lane Capital.

Autonomous technology company Gatik will expand operations in Kansas.