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I’m currently in the midst of one of my four favorite times of the year: financial statements. I don’t just like numbers. These required filings will cut through much of the marketing noise that companies present during the remaining period. It also helps assess the short-term and long-term risks facing a company.
Rivian’s fourth quarter and full year earnings did just that. My takeaway: Software, especially the technology joint venture with Volkswagen Group, was the company’s savior in 2025. The software will also fuel Rivian into 2026 as it launches its most important product to date, the low-cost R2 SUV (with an additional $2 billion expected from VW Group).
The company’s financial results also reported the progress made in efforts to lower the cost of sales per unit. TL;DR is that the gear per unit in the current portfolio is still high, but decreasing. That means you lose less money on every vehicle you sell. According to Rivian, the company’s revenue per delivered automotive gear went from $110,400 in 2024 to $100,900 in 2025.
The next big test will be the next R2, which should be significantly cheaper (both in production cost and price tag) than the flagship R1T truck and R1S SUV. We expect to have some insight into the results later this year.
The R2 is expected to enter production in the first half of this year (we hear in June), and based on 2026 guidance, Rivian is confident in its ability to scale demand and production. The company expects to deliver between 62,000 and 67,000 vehicles in 2026, which could be up to 59% more than last year. Rivian delivered 42,247 vehicles in 2025. This includes two R1 consumer vehicles and an electric delivery van (EDV).
By the way, the market liked that guidance. Rivian stock soared 27% the day after the earnings release.
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small bird
Over the past 18 months, I’ve noticed differences in Uber and Lyft’s approaches to AV. Uber has AV partnerships with every possible player. Rift follows. As it turns out, I’m not the only one making this observation.
Insiders said they were puzzled as to why Lyft hadn’t been more proactive on this front. They noted that Lyft has about $1.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, and recently announced a new $1 billion stock repurchase program, representing about 15% of its market capitalization, according to CNBC. This leaves some wondering why Lyft didn’t invest in parts of the AV value chain like Uber is doing, rather than buying back stock.
On the other hand, these little birds also referred to several executives who resigned over the past year. Aurélien Nolf has left his position as Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis and Investor Relations to become Navan’s CFO. Audrey Liu, former Executive Vice President and Head of Rider and Community Safety, currently works for Adobe. Amina Gil, a former vice president of safety and customer care, has just taken a job at rival Uber.
Have a tip? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.Korosec@techcrunch.com, email my Signal at korosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Great deal!
Those familiar with the mobility frenzy of 2015-2019 may remember how many LIDAR companies emerged during that period. Many of the dominant and most talked about companies have since closed down, but some of the smallest companies have survived and expanded.
Take Auster for example. I remember a long time ago when Ouster had this little booth in the startup-heavy area of CES (Eureka Park). Today, the company is much larger thanks to its scale, its merger with rival Velodyne in 2022, and its acquisition of Sense Photonics in 2021. And it looks like it’s not over yet.
The company recently acquired Stereolabs, a company that makes vision-based recognition systems for robotics and industrial applications, for a combination of $35 million and 1.8 million shares.
As TechCrunch senior reporter Sean O’Kane points out in an article, the deal is the latest in efforts toward consolidation among sensory sensor suppliers. (Just last month, MicroVision acquired the much-hyped but now bankrupt LIDAR assets of Luminar for $33 million.)
So why does this kind of activity take place? As they say, it’s complicated. From my perspective, the excitement around “physical AI” has reignited interest and investment in sensor technology, especially cameras.
Other sales that caught my attention…
EV-only marketplace Ever has raised $31 million in a Series A funding round led by Eclipse. Other backers include Ibex Investors, Lifeline Ventures, and JIMCO, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s Jameel family (an early investor in Rivian).
Natilus, a San Diego-based startup developing mixed-wing aircraft, has raised $28 million in a Series A funding round led by Draper Associates. Other investors include Type One Ventures, The Veteran Fund, Flexport, and new backers New Vista Capital, Soma Capital, Liquid 2 VC, VU Venture Partners, and Wave FX.
Notable reads and other trivia
Aurora shared in its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report that its self-driving trucks can now travel a 1,000-mile route between Fort Worth and Phoenix nonstop, exceeding what a human driver could legally accomplish. The company also shared a number of other information and financial information. You can read about them here.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigation into Fisker last year, TechCrunch learned thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Lyft has launched Teen Account, a product that allows minors as young as 13 to take rides without an adult, in 200 U.S. cities including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and New York.
A new batch of videos best shows how Rivian has changed the manual release for the rear doors on its upcoming R2 SUV. This seemingly trivial design detail is life-or-death, and it comes as the EV industry, and Tesla in particular, is under pressure to change its hidden electronic door handles.
The Trump administration has formally rescinded the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Findings, which identified greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane as a threat to human health and well-being. This change would only affect car and truck emissions if the EPA successfully moves through a lengthy process to repeal the law, which is certain to include numerous lawsuits aimed at blocking the law.
Uber has signed dozens of AV partnerships, and we’re starting to see the results of those deals. China’s Baidu and Uber plan to launch robotaxis in Dubai next month, starting with some locations in Jumeirah. Meanwhile, Chinese robotaxi companies Willide and Uber have announced a “significant expansion of their strategic partnership” to deploy at least 1,200 robotaxis across the Middle East by 2027, the companies announced. As part of this effort, WeRide and Uber have launched a robotaxi service in downtown Abu Dhabi.
Waymo has pulled human safety drivers from its self-driving test fleet in Nashville as the Alphabet-owned company moves closer to launching robotaxi service in the city. Meanwhile, the tech-forward company is tackling the analog problem of making sure robotaxi doors close properly. What is the solution? Pay DoorDash gig workers to shut the doors on Waymo robotaxis. Waymo says this is a pilot program in Atlanta to improve the efficiency of its AV fleet.
One last thing about Waymo: The company has begun rolling out its 6th generation “Waymo Driver” integrated into the Zeekr RT (rebranded as Ojai) and will eventually arrive in the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Waymo has launched “fully autonomous” Ojai vehicles in San Francisco and Los Angeles, offering access to employees. For the general public, please wait a moment.
One more thing…
Rivian is marketing its upcoming R2 SUV as a more affordable model. What does “more affordable” mean? The company has a base price of about $45,000 to $50,000. The launch version of the company’s R2 will be a premium trim with dual-mode and all-wheel drive, but it will definitely be more expensive. In this week’s newsletter, we asked our readers, “How much do you think the launch version will cost?”
Sign up for our newsletter and vote.
