Briefs · Entrepreneurship
Rivian spinout Also was working on an e-moto project in Kenya — until it walked away
Also went to Kenya to build electric motorbikes. Then it went home to build robot delivery bikes instead.
The Rivian spinout quietly started — then walked away from — a Shell Foundation-funded pilot to build a purpose-built electric motorcycle for African riders, with modular batteries and distributed charging, after only some early-stage work. The prize was real: Spiro already runs more than 130,000 electric motorcycles across seven countries. But co-founder Chris Yu (TechCrunch Disrupt) said autonomy took precedence, especially small self-driving vehicles for DoorDash — a bet that driverless delivery will arrive first in small vehicles.
It was also a rocky first year: supply-chain Whac-A-Mole delayed the TM-B e-bike, which finally shipped in early October, and Yu admits the company did ‘a pretty poor job communicating’ with reservation holders.
Conclusion: Also is not leaving Africa. It is leaving the queue — and joining a different one.
Read the original at TechCrunch Startups
Summary in our own words. The original belongs to its publisher.