Transportation

E-bike maker Cowboy raises a small funding round as it targets profitability next year

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Cowboy, the Brussels-based company that has been designing and selling electric bikes that you can see in major cities across Europe, has closed a small, strategic funding round of €5 million (around $5.5 million at current exchange rates). That includes €1 million in debt facilities. While the amount isn’t as impressive as some of Cowboy’s […]

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Woman who allegedly killed two people using Ford BlueCruise charged with DUI homicide

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A 23-year-old woman who allegedly killed two men in March while using Ford’s hands-free system, BlueCruise, has been charged with DUI homicide by Pennsylvania State Police. The woman, Dimple Patel, turned herself in on Tuesday. Patel was also charged with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, careless driving, reckless driving and prohibited text-based

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Watch this robotic wheelchair’s compliant wheels take on bumps, rocks and stairs

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Korea’s Institute of Machinery and Materials this week showcased a robotic wheelchair with large, deformable wheels that can manage rocks, stairs and other obstacles. During normal operation, the wheel maintains a standard rigid circular form. When it encounters an obstacle, however, it becomes compliant, conforming to the object’s height and shape. The system, which also

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Why Lyft’s CEO says ‘it would be insane’ not to go all in on bikeshare

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In the summer of 2023, Lyft was contemplating the sale of its micromobility business after receiving strong interest from prospective buyers. Today, the ride-hail company is doubling down on its docked scooter and bikeshare operations, positioning itself as the ideal partner for cities looking to enhance their urban transportation networks.  Since acquiring shared bike and

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Volkswagen is rolling out its ChatGPT assistant to the US

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Volkswagen is taking its ChatGPT voice assistant experiment on the road. Or more, specifically to vehicles it sells in the United States.  The German automaker announced in January at CES 2024 plans to add an AI-powered chatbot into all Volkswagen models equipped with its IDA voice assistant. But the U.S. was excluded in that initial

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Uber drives deeper into South Korea to take on Kakao Mobility

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After seeing double-digit growth in South Korea, Uber Technologies has announced a strategic plan to double down in the country — directly challenging market leader Kakao Mobility, the ride-hailing unit majority-owned South Korean messaging and tech giant Kakao. Uber chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi outlined the plans in a press conference in Seoul, where he

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Uber cozies up to more AV companies, Canoo loses another founder and Waymo sees potential in teen riders

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Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! The EV industry sure is rough and tumble these days. And it’s affecting every company, from the legacy automakers like Ford to the upstarts.  Take Polestar, for

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UK’s Wayve secures strategic investment from Uber to further develop self-driving tech

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Uber is making a strategic investment into Wayve as an extension of the U.K.-born startup’s previously announced $1.05 billion Series C round. The partnership will also see the two companies work with automakers to integrate Wayve’s AI into consumer vehicles that will one day operate on the ride-hail giant’s platform. The tie-up comes a week

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