Techin' Geek

Sony Honda Mobility, the collaboration formed by the two Japanese giants, has chosen to abandon the two “Afeela”-branded electric vehicles that it has been working on for the last few years.

This choice follows Honda’s announcement earlier this month regarding a significant reversal, leading to the cancellation of three electric vehicles intended for the U.S. market — a move that could cost the Japanese carmaker nearly $16 billion. Honda cited President Trump’s tariffs and increasing competition from China as factors in this decision.

Sony Honda Mobility announced on Wednesday that it had intended to utilize “certain technologies and assets” from Honda to create and support the Afeela sedan and SUV, explaining that Honda’s shift in strategy has left the partnership unable to proceed with the development of these vehicles. The Afeela 1 sedan was set to debut later this year with a staggering starting price of approximately $90,000.

The future of the joint venture, and the several hundred employees it has in Tokyo and California, remains uncertain. Sony Honda Mobility stated in a press release on Wednesday that it will “continue to discuss and evaluate the future of” the venture with Sony and Honda, indicating that the parties will “jointly announce SHM’s future direction, mid to long-term positioning as well as contributions to the future of mobility at the earliest possible opportunity.”

The world first became aware of Sony’s ambitions to create a car at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show, when the electronics behemoth unveiled a concept vehicle known as the Vision-S at the conclusion of its keynote presentation. This unexpected reveal caught even Sony off guard regarding the level of interest the prototype garnered.

Initially, it appeared that the Vision-S was designed to highlight Sony’s entertainment and electronics capabilities. It boasted a screen that spanned the dashboard, 360 audio, screens for rear passengers, and a collection of 33 sensors around the vehicle. “This prototype embodies our contribution to the future of mobility,” stated then-CEO Kenichiro Yoshida during the event.

The Vision-S was also reportedly a functioning vehicle, built on a platform supplied by leading automotive supplier Magna. It has never been entirely clear whether Sony’s initial intention was to build a real car. However, in 2022 the partnership with Honda was announced, with commitments to develop the sedan and an SUV version. In 2023, both companies introduced the Afeela branding.

The U.S. electric vehicle market has transformed dramatically since that time, impacted by tariffs and the Trump administration’s withdrawal from initiatives that promoted EV adoption. Numerous EV-centric startups have gone bankrupt. Others have shifted to hybrids and postponed their releases. Major automakers have scrapped plans for various electric vehicles in the pipeline. The federal EV tax credit has vanished, although state incentives persist.

The market prospects for the Afeela electric vehicles appeared dubious even before Honda’s recent announcement. The joint venture was entering a market already saturated with luxury vehicles boasting stronger branding (like Rivian) and cutting-edge technology (like Lucid Motors). The last decade has demonstrated that launching a new and sustainable automotive business in the U.S. is an exceptionally challenging undertaking, even for companies with substantial institutional support.

The social networking service X quickly reversed its statement concerning new guidelines for creator monetization, which had concentrated on earnings linked to engagement from a creator’s local audience.

On late Tuesday, X’s Head of Product Nikita Bier declared that beginning Thursday, the platform would revise its payout policy to prioritize impressions from the creator’s local area. He explained that the platform should discourage manipulating the algorithm by discussing topics related to the U.S. or Japan to attract larger audiences.

“We will prioritize impressions from your home region—to promote content that connects with individuals in your country, in surrounding countries, and those who speak your language,” Bier posted on X.

“While we value everyone’s input on American politics, we hope this will deter attempts to grab the attention of U.S. or Japanese accounts and instead, foster diverse discussions on the platform. We encourage creators to start cultivating a local audience. X will thrive as a community when there are relevant posts for individuals worldwide.”

This announcement sparked considerable backlash from users globally who indicated that they discuss a variety of subjects in multiple languages, such as English, to attract more readers, especially since the usage of X in their home countries was relatively limited.

Just hours after the announcement, in response to a user, Elon Musk stated that the company will “halt any progress on this until further review,” effectively pausing the proposed changes.

Over the years, X has modified how account details are presented to prevent the spread of misinformation. Last November, the platform added a new section in the profile details to inform users about the country or region an account originates from. This initiative aimed to identify if an account is genuine or a malicious actor intending to disseminate misinformation—especially politically charged misinformation.

The new creator payout feature appears to have similar foundations, as accounts might be discussing issues pertinent to a specific region to attract attention. However, in its present form, the adjustment would have also affected individuals discussing sports, fashion, movies, or technology globally, not just political figures.

Earlier this year, X altered its policies to incorporate a clause preventing accounts from receiving creator payouts for 90 days if they utilize AI to disseminate misleading content about warfare without any disclosures. The company indicated it would employ its AI capabilities and community notes to identify such contributors. Last month, Wired reported that X had become a fertile ground for misinformation following attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran, featuring AI-generated videos and misrepresenting video game clips as actual war footage.

The rallying cry of “atoms, not bits!” — a phrase that reflects Silicon Valley’s increasing focus on physical manufacturing in contrast to digital products — escalated last week with news that Jeff Bezos is assembling a $100 billion fund to consolidate and automate factories.

However, automating factories is not solely a hardware issue. It is becoming increasingly reliant on advanced software and AI applications, and this transition is transforming the firms developing the infrastructure of the physical manufacturing sector.

Karthik Gollapudi, the CEO of Sift, a company based in El Segundo, California, whose tools facilitate the design and manufacturing of intricate machinery like spacecraft and automobiles, is sensing substantial changes on the horizon. He noted that these developments have altered his company’s direction in the past six months.

Gollapudi and his co-founder, CTO Austin Spiegel, launched the company in 2022 after their experience developing software tools at SpaceX that handled the enormous volume of telemetry data — real-time performance metrics streamed from sensors on physical components — during testing, production, and launch.

While most companies creating advanced machines utilize standard database tools or develop their own Python scripts, Sift identified the chance to offer businesses a top-tier solution. Their clients include United Launch Alliance, a prominent US rocket manufacturer, as well as other defense contractors, robotics, and power grid management startups.

Nonetheless, Gollapudi indicates that the onset of AI tools for data examination prompted a shift in his company. The tailored workflows that used to differentiate the company’s signature offerings have become essential in a landscape dominated by AI and deep learning models. Yet, the company’s talent in managing data infrastructure has unexpectedly gained significance.

“Our long-term vision of how we expected this to unfold over five years is actually materializing this year,” Gollapudi informed TechCrunch. 

This entails managing the significant data flow from modern software-heavy machines. Certain vehicles that the company collaborates with feature over 1.5 million sensors transmitting data simultaneously, in various formats and time intervals. 

The objective of organizing and archiving that data for AI usage is key for the company—”much of the value lies in making that machine-readable,” Gollapudi stated. For AI agents to make manufacturing decisions or analyze test data to identify potential issues, Sift aims to ensure that the data is accessible to them.

Jeff Dexter, the VP of software at Astranis, a satellite company utilizing Sift to oversee testing, manufacturing, and operations, remarked that robust data infrastructure is crucial for businesses like his that might conduct 10 million automated software tests daily. 

“Eventually, it becomes a situation where it’s costing us millions of dollars every month just to retain data,” Dexter expressed. “It’s essentially a question of whether this million dollars is well spent? With solutions like Sift, I don’t have to be concerned about the volume of data present.”

Gollapudi mentioned to TechCrunch that Sift secured a $42 million Series B in 2025 at a post-money valuation of $274 million, led by StepStone with contributions from GV (Google’s venture division), Riot Ventures, Fika Ventures, and CIV.

The aspirations of countries and wealthy individuals regarding space call for improved power sources, and a new startup established by two PhDs from Stanford might have the solution. 

Arinna, launched by CEO Koosha Nazif and CTO Alex Shearer, announced on Wednesday that it has secured a $4 million seed funding round to create ultrathin solar panels from a novel material developed during their doctoral studies. 

The funding round was spearheaded by Spacecadet Ventures, with involvement from Anorak Capital and Breakthrough Energy Foundation; the company chose not to disclose its valuation.

Arinna, named after the Hittite deity of the sun and pronounced similarly to arena, anticipates having its initial products tested in orbit by the end of this year. Following the successful qualification of their photovoltaics in space, the company aims to construct a facility capable of producing the material at megawatt scale by 2028.

“We are developing qualification panels to send to our initial clients that will illustrate that these two-dimensional photovoltaics possess the efficiency and resilience to withstand space conditions,” Shearer stated. “We plan to substantiate this at a larger scale over the coming year, while simultaneously refining the necessary processes to manufacture each layer of our photovoltaic cells in a roll-to-roll format.”

Arinna specializes in solar cells tailored for spacecraft. In the era before SpaceX, when most satellites were custom-made, spacecraft utilized expensive yet durable solar panels made from rare earth materials. With the advent of mass-produced satellites, lower-cost silicon panels are now being employed, albeit they deteriorate faster due to cosmic radiation.

Instead, Arinna’s innovation is grounded in a new material — transition metal dichalcogenides, or TMDs, which are atomically thin semiconductors developed only in recent decades. The ultrathin solar technology from Arinna enables extremely flexible cells that the company asserts are both less expensive and more resilient than traditional space solar panels.

“Over the years, much of the solar advancement has been about squeezing out marginal percentage gains on familiar, existing technologies,” Ben Gaddy, a materials scientist and senior director at Breakthrough Energy, remarked to TechCrunch. “This represents a completely distinct category of materials.”

Nazif and Shearer crossed paths at Stanford while engaged in their doctoral studies. Nazif focused on materials that could be repurposed to fabricate photovoltaic cells akin to traditional semiconductors, while Shearer worked on methods for large-scale production of those cells. “Koosha was the visionary, and I’m the builder,” Shearer humorously noted.

The company anticipates its photovoltaics will be significantly more flexible than traditional panels and 32% more efficient. Furthermore, according to Shearer, Arinna’s technology will not necessitate protective coverings, can endure for 15 years in orbit, and can be produced in a matter of weeks.

These enhancements would be substantial advancements over current technology, provided the company successfully navigates its orbital testing campaign this year without unexpected challenges and can fulfill its mass production objectives. 

“From my experience with all the space companies we’ve backed, power poses a significant barrier, a bottleneck,” remarked Wiz Khuzai, a general partner at Spacecadet Ventures who led the funding round, to TechCrunch. “[Arinna] is set to unlock the next generation of power solutions in space.”

Trucking startup Harbinger remains a relatively recent player in the market, yet the adaptability of its electric vehicle platform has enabled it to secure another client in a distinct sector. This time, Harbinger’s chassis will serve in emergency vehicles for the 70-year-old company Frazer.

The two firms disclosed on Wednesday that Frazer will manufacture ambulances based on the hybrid variant of Harbinger’s platform, as well as larger mobile healthcare units. Frazer will also engage with Harbinger’s newly launched energy storage division, introduced earlier this year in collaboration with Airstream.

This agreement exemplifies how companies like Harbinger are achieving success with electric and hybrid vehicles, despite challenges in the passenger vehicle market within the United States. Grounded, another Detroit-based startup, announced this week that it partnered with Colgate to create a small fleet of mobile dental care units.

The secret to Harbinger’s achievements lies in its versatile platform, according to co-founder and CEO John Harris in an exclusive conversation with TechCrunch. The straightforward truck chassis can be adjusted in length based on customer specifications, and Harbinger can integrate a range-extending combustion engine if needed. Although Harbinger has only been around for a few years, this singular platform now supports RVs (built with THOR Industries), FedEx delivery vans, a smaller box truck model, and ambulances, assisting the company in raising over $300 million to date.

“When you consider the step van and RV applications, we have three wheelbases, four different GVWR [gross vehicle weight ratings], and about four powertrain options, with four, five, [or] six battery packs, along with the hybrid across all of it. We maintain 99.5% parts commonality,” said Harris. “That’s the game changer.”

Frazer CEO Laura Griffin remarked to TechCrunch that transitioning to Harbinger’s hybrid powertrain — mainly electric but utilizing the gas engine to recharge the battery — was an obvious choice as it reduces her customers’ overall ownership costs and boosts their operational availability.

“We’re always on the lookout for innovations that can enhance the experience for our end users, typically municipalities, 911 services, and hospitals,” she stated. “They’re doing it in comparison to other medium-duty chassis, so it fulfills all of our requirements.”

Griffin indicated that Frazer will procure the battery-powered auxiliary power units from Harbinger, deploying them on both the new hybrid emergency vehicles and existing combustion models. These will substitute standard generators and enable first responders (or users of the mobile healthcare units) to power medical equipment in the field without draining a vehicle’s battery or combustion engine.

“In the rear of an emergency vehicle, like an ambulance, you can visualize there’s a significant amount of equipment, and all of the latest sophisticated tools tend to rely on power,” Griffin explained. “So we’re in search of abundant clean power sources that don’t have to be attached to the chassis.”

Harris anticipates this will develop into a lucrative business regardless of how many hybrid vehicles Frazer acquires, as the auxiliary power units remain valuable across various powertrains.

“It will lead to a quicker growth trajectory, since there are thousands of ambulances,” he stated. He is also exploring other sectors, particularly in Harbinger’s home state of California, where there are stricter regulations against gas generator usage.

“There’s considerable interest from individuals expressing that they don’t want a generator six feet from an operator for 12 hours a day; they’d prefer to save money with batteries and are eager to reduce emissions,” he noted.

Dispute-tracking fintech Glimpse revealed on Wednesday that it has secured a $35 million Series A funding round, spearheaded by Andreessen Horowitz, with contributions from 8VC and Y Combinator.

Founders Akash Raju, Anuj Mehta, and Kushal Negi, who attended Purdue together, initially focused on a startup that specialized in Airbnb product placements. This venture was launched in 2020, but by 2024, the team shifted to a completely new concept: Glimpse, a platform designed to assist retailers in automating their financial deduction procedures. 

Last year, it completed a $10 million funding round, led by 8VC following the business pivot, which at that time was referred to as a Series A round. Now, they are designating the recent $35 million as a Series A and reclassifying their previous Series A as a seed round. To date, the company has garnered $52 million, including funds raised prior to their pivot.

“We ultimately recognized that we were missing product-market fit and opted for a significant pivot,” Raju stated regarding the earlier, unsuccessful initiative. “During this journey, we gained insight into the back-office operations of brands and the complexities of retail sales, which ultimately inspired us to create Glimpse as it stands today.”

They connected with their lead a16z investor through a shared founder acquaintance. “We developed a robust partnership as we expanded the business. We’re truly thrilled to collaborate with them in this next phase of growth,” he added.

Deductions represent the amounts a retailer detracts from what they owe a brand when processing an invoice. This is a standard practice and generally operates as follows: a brand bills the retailer, and the retailer compensates the brand. If the amount paid is less than the billed total, a justification is provided, such as if the goods were found to be damaged. 

Some deductions are legitimate, while others are deemed invalid; these invalid deductions can be burdensome to track and manage behind the scenes. “These inaccuracies are surprisingly prevalent,” Raju noted as the company’s CEO, adding that “a brand might send inventory correctly but still encounter charges for a short shipment.” 

“Teams typically log into various retailer systems, gather scattered documents, assess line items, reconcile with internal records, and manage disputes from start to finish. This challenge arises due to fragmented, unstructured data and siloed workflows across diverse systems and teams,” he described how the process generally unfolds.

If the brand fails to settle every invalid deduction, it may result in “consistent revenue leakage,” he remarked. 

Glimpse asserts it streamlines this process by examining deductions, identifying invalid ones, and filing disputes, thus aiding businesses in reclaiming funds they might have overlooked or lost. The platform’s AI agents access a retailer’s portal, retrieve and centralize all essential documents, and then categorize each deduction, Raju explained. Subsequently, the AI agents validate each adjustment against internal data (such as supply chain records and marketing calendars) to ascertain which deductions are legitimate and which are not. 

The company reported that it collaborates with over 200 retail brands, including Suave and its lip balm product Chapstick. 

“When discrepancies are detected, Glimpse automatically initiates disputes, monitors the process, applies recovered funds, and synchronizes everything back to the brand’s ERP,” Raju stated, emphasizing that the product connects across multiple systems. Besides the core enterprise resource planning financial software, it integrates with promotional calendars and retail platforms, significantly shortening the process to just days, he noted.

Despite Glimpse’s automation, Raju mentioned that his company maintains human oversight, “primarily to ensure outcomes,” he explained, like “following up on disputes to facilitate resolution and cash recovery, as well as ensuring quality control on critical activities such as classification and data extraction.”

The system becomes more adept each time a deduction is handled, continuously optimizing its classification, validation, and resolution processes. “In the long run, this fosters a compounding data advantage, where each new integration and client enhances the system’s intelligence and overall efficacy throughout the network,” he claimed. 

Others are also addressing invalid deductions with software solutions, like Revya and Confido.

“Our ambition is to serve as the AI infrastructure for CPG and retail brands, and this funding will assist us in advancing that ambition,” he concluded. 

As I converse with Blake Resnick, he navigates his drone startup’s latest office in Seattle—a spacious 50,000-square-foot facility that Resnick anticipates won’t be completely operational until later this year—possibly November. Nevertheless, the large (and currently somewhat vacant) space signifies the potential of a rapidly expanding company focused on dominating its specific sector.

The sector in focus is public safety and the startup at hand is Brinc, which markets drones to law enforcement and public agencies throughout the U.S. The company aims to be the “DJI of the West,” as Resnick describes it—a reference to the Chinese drone producer and an indication that Resnick aspires for Brinc to be equally associated with the technology it provides.

A former Thiel Fellow—a prestigious initiative that supports young entrepreneurs in bypassing or delaying college—Resnick established Brinc in 2017 and soon after attracted interest from then-OpenAI founder Sam Altman, who eventually became one of Brinc’s initial seed investors. Since that time, Brinc has participated in several funding rounds and, according to Resnick, was valued at nearly half a billion dollars during its latest round.

On Tuesday, Brinc introduced its latest creation, a public safety drone named Guardian that Resnick claims is “the closest thing to a police helicopter replacement that the drone industry has ever produced.” Brinc asserts it is the world’s “most capable 9-11 response drone” to date.

Guardian certainly boasts impressive specifications and features. The drone can achieve speeds of up to 60 mph and offers a flight duration of 62 minutes, according to its developer. It is also equipped with thermal imaging cameras and two additional 4K cameras—all featuring zoom functions. “Even from a considerable height, a police department could capture details like license plate information,” Resnick shares. Moreover, it is fitted with a spotlight and a loudspeaker that surpasses the volume of a police siren.

The drone’s landing station, which Brinc refers to as a “charging nest,” enables fully automated battery replacement and can be stocked with essential safety equipment such as defibrillators, flotation devices, and Narcan, all without human assistance.

Guardian also includes a Starlink panel integrated directly into its structure, marking it, as per Brinc, the first public safety drone with such a feature. Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, provides the drone with connectivity anywhere in the world. “Starlink has never been incorporated into a commercially available quadcopter before, so [it] grants this airframe limitless range globally,” Resnick explains.

Resnick evidently identifies public safety as a significant opportunity. “There are approximately 20,000 police departments in the United States, 30,000 fire departments, and 80,000 police and fire stations—and we believe the top half of that market will likely have a 911 response drone stationed in a recharging nest on the roof in the future,” he states. “It indeed seems like we are looking at a $6 billion to $8 billion market opportunity,” he adds, evaluating markets in both the U.S. and globally.

In this vein, Brinc recently collaborated with the National League of Cities on an initiative to expand “drone as first responder” programs in communities nationwide—a strategy that will undoubtedly help cultivate relationships between the startup and potential customer communities.

Moreover, Resnick believes that recent geopolitical shifts have benefitted his company. Until recently, DJI maintained an unofficial monopoly over the global drone market—including the U.S., where safety agencies have traditionally depended on the products of the Chinese firm. However, the Trump administration recently prohibited the entry of foreign-made drone models into the country, thereby unlocking a vast potential market.

“There exists a significant need for a DJI of the West, or a premier drone manufacturer for the free world, and ultimately, that is what we aspire to be,” Resnick states.

Amazon has announced its acquisition of Fauna Robotics, a startup launched two years ago by former engineers from Meta and Google who are creating child-sized humanoid robots for use at home.

Bloomberg was the first to report the acquisition. The specifics of the agreement were not shared. What is known is that Fauna’s team, including its co-founders, will be integrated into Amazon’s operations in New York City.

“We are thrilled about Fauna’s vision to create capable, safe, and enjoyable robots for all,” an Amazon representative stated in a written email. “With Amazon’s robotics knowledge and years of establishing customer trust in home environments through our retail and devices ventures, we are eager to explore innovative ways to enhance and simplify our customers’ lives.”

Earlier this year, Fauna commenced the shipment of its initial product, a 59-pound bipedal robot named Sprout, to select research and development collaborators.

This marks Amazon’s second robotics acquisition this month—at least known to us. Earlier in the month, Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that it has also acquired Rivr, a Zurich-based startup recognized for its robot capable of climbing stairs for deliveries. The details of that agreement were not disclosed either.

Kleiner Perkins, the notable U.S. venture capital firm, declared on Tuesday that it has secured $3.5 billion in new funding across two distinct funds, a notable rise from the firm’s $2 billion fundraising effort less than two years prior.

Established in 1972, the firm reported raising $1 billion for its 22nd early-stage venture fund and $2.5 billion for a separate entity intended to finance late-stage growth companies.

This significantly larger capital acquisition was anticipated. In recent years, Kleiner Perkins has successfully obtained early investments in several rapidly expanding AI startups, including Together AI, Harvey, and OpenEvidence. The firm is also involved with Anthropic and SpaceX, two companies that are projected to go public this year.

In a climate where exits are rare, Kleiner Perkins achieved notable returns from last year’s IPO of Figma, a design software firm in which it led a $25 million Series B round in 2018. The firm also reportedly gained a good return when its portfolio company Windsurf was acqui-hired by Google last summer.   

Known for its historic early investments in Amazon and Google, Kleiner Perkins now operates with a streamlined team of just five partners. The firm has experienced some shifts in leadership recently: Ev Randle has moved to rival firm Benchmark, while Annie Case has shifted from a partnership role to advisory, a spokesperson for Kleiner Perkins confirmed.

Kleiner Perkins is part of a trend of significant fundraising by other VC firms. Thrive Capital recently obtained $10 billion in new commitments, while General Catalyst is reportedly aiming for a similar amount. Additionally, an SEC filing validates TechCrunch’s previous report that Founders Fund has completed a $6 billion closure for its fourth growth fund.