Huge Funding Rounds for DiDi AVs, Nimble and Simbe Robotics
Amazon loses grocery exec, AI funding surges
It was great seeing everyone at Friday’s HNGRY Summit; expect more takeaways from the event in an upcoming post!
-Jonah
Chinese AVs Take Off
Chinese robotaxi group DiDi Autonomous Driving just closed on its $298 million Series C funding round, led by automaker GAC Group with participation from Chinese ridehail and delivery giant DiDi. The company’s Level 4 vehicles have been operating in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai for over four years. AV competitor Zeekr also revealed some new hardware, the Mix, based on the same framework it’s using for Waymo’s forthcoming new hardware. And not to be outshined, Waymo just closed on a $5.6 billion funding round of its own.
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Amazon’s Grocery Ambitions Rise from the Ashes
Amazon’s rocky grocery store roll out suffered another blow, as the division’s top exec, Tony Hoggett, announced his departure. Tony had been on the job for two years and ten months, after a stint at British retailer Tesco, and is now headed to Wonder. Amazon is staying committed to making its supermarket business work, as it just opened a new Whole Foods in Phoenix that will soon be complemented by drone delivery options.
No Wonder Every Press Release Mentions AI
New data from Sherwood News and Pitchbook quantifies just how AI-focused the tech world has become of late. AI and machine learning startups took in nearly half of all VC investment last quarter, up from 15% in 2017. While overall investment amounts are still down from the highs of 2021 and 2022, the past quarter shows that things are perking back up.
Nimble Closes $106 Million Series C
AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment tech startup Nimble closed on a $106 million Series C, valuing the company at over $1 billion. The round was co-led by FedEx and existing shareholder Cedar Pine LLC. FedEx also announced it will be scaling Nimble’s autonomous 3PL tech into its facilities; to date, over 90% of all warehouses operate with minimal to no robotics.
In Other News
German air taxi startup Lilium headed towards insolvency. Grain-sized medical robot can be guided by magnets. Sweetgreen Infinite Kitchen opens in Seattle. AMR startup Locus Robotics opens new Massachusetts HQ. Check out Amazon’s Just Walk Out test lab. Simbe Robotics closes $50M Series C. Watch out Starbucks, China’s Luckin Coffee plans U.S. expansion.