TechCrunch Mobility: The Savior of Rivian | Results TechCrunch

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We are in the middle of one of my favorite four times of the year – the season of acquisitions. And I don’t just like numbers. These important documents cut through the many marketing noises that are offered by companies throughout the year. They also help me assess the company’s short-term and long-term prospects.

RivianEarnings for the fourth quarter and the full year did exactly that. My container: Software, and especially its technology in collaboration with the Volkswagen Group, was the company’s savior in 2025. It will also boost the company in 2026 ($2 billion expected from the VW Group) when Rivian launches its most important product to date: the R2 SUV.

The company’s findings also reported on its progress in reducing the cost of goods sold per unit. TL; DR is that the cogs in each segment of its portfolio are still high but they are falling, meaning they are losing less on each car they sell. According to Rivian, the company’s automotive cogs per unit delivered was $100,900 in 2025, down from $110,400 in 2024.

The upcoming R2, which is expected to be significantly cheaper (both in terms of production and price) than its R1T and R1S SUV counterparts, will be the next big test. We will see the results later this year.

The R2 is expected to be produced in the first half of the year (we hear in June), and based on its 2026 guidance, Rivian is confident that it has the demand and the ability to ramp up production. The company expects to deliver between 62,000 and 67,000 vehicles in 2026 – a 59% increase from last year. Rivian delivered 42,247 vehicles in 2025, which includes its two R1 commercial vehicles and an electric delivery vehicle (EDV).

The market loved that guidance, btw. Rivian stock rose 27% on the day it announced its earnings.

A little bird

Over the past 18 months, I have noticed a difference Uber and Lyft approaching the AVs. Uber is closing AV partnerships with every player it can. Lyft is trailing behind. Of course, I’m not alone in this observation.

Participants shared their puzzlement as to why Lyft hasn’t been more aggressive on this front. He said that Lyft has about $1.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and less cash, and recently announced a new $1 billion share buyback program that represents about 15% of its market share. on CNBC. This makes you wonder why Lyft hasn’t invested in other AV shares like Uber is doing against share buybacks.

At this time, these young birds also show a few adults that have left the previous year. Aurélien Nolf left his position as VP of Financial Planning and Analysis and Sales Relations to become Navan’s CFO. Audrey Liu, who was senior VP and head of passenger and public safety, is now at Adobe. Ameena Gill, who was the VP of security and customer care just took a job at Uber.

Do you have a warning for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Sales!

Close followers of the travel-crazy years, between 2015 and 2019, may remember the number of lidar companies that emerged during that time. Many of the leading and buzziest have closed, while some of the smaller players have stuck around and expanded.

Take it To chaseFor example. I remember a long time ago when Ouster had this little booth in the crowded start-up area (Eureka Park) at CES. Today, the company is very large – due to its growth, its 2022 merger with Velodyne, and the acquisition of Sense Photonics in 2021. And it does not seem to be over.

The company recently acquired Stereolabsa company that develops vision systems for robotics and industrial applications, including $35 million and 1.8 million shares.

As TechCrunch’s senior reporter Sean O’Kane points out in his article, this partnership is the latest in a trend towards integration between sensor vendors. (Last month, MicroVision bought the lidar equipment of buzzy-but-now-bankrupt Luminar. for $33 million.)

So why all the work? It’s hard, as they say. From my POV, the hype surrounding “physical AI” has sparked interest and investment in sensor technology, especially cameras.

Some products that impressed me…

Alwaysthe EV market alone, earned $31 million in a Series A funding round led by Eclipse. Other sponsors include Ibex Investors, Lifeline Ventures, and JIMCO – the financial group of the Saudi Arabian Jameel family (the founder of Rivian).

It has been stolenSan Diego startups develop hybrid wing aircraft, earned $28 million in a Series A funding round led by Draper Associates. Other investors include Type One Ventures, The Veteran Fund, and Flexport, as well as new backers New Vista Capital, Soma Capital, Liquid 2 VC, VU Venture Partners, and Wave FX.

Popular reading and more

Aurora shared its Q4 and year-end report that its self-driving cars can now travel non-stop on the 1,000-mile route between Fort Worth and Phoenix — far beyond what a human driver can legally do. The company shared many other, and financial, possibilities read about it here.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission closed his investigation to Fisker last year, TechCrunch was able to learn, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Lyft has started youth accountsa drug that allows children as young as 13 years old to travel without an adult in 200 US cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and New York.

New videos give us a good look at how to do it Rivian he is changed the back door Book release on its upcoming R2 SUV. This seemingly small detail is life-or-death and comes as the EV industry, especially Teslathey are being forced to switch to hidden, electronic devices.

The Trump administration legally removed 2009 EPA”hunting in danger,” which found that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane were dangerous to human health and well-being.” This change could affect the tailpipe emissions of cars and trucks – if the EPA goes through the long process of repealing the rule, which will include many lawsuits that were intended to stop it.

Uber has locked in several AV deals, and we’re starting to see the results of those deals. Another one Baidu and Uber plans to do implementing robotaxis in Dubai in the following month, starting with selected locations within the Jumeirah area. Meanwhile, the Chinese robotaxi company WeRide and Uber announced a “Great expansion of their technical cooperation” to send at least 1,200 robotaxis across the Middle East through 2027, according to the company. As part of this, WeRide and Uber have launched a robotaxi service in the city of Abu Dhabi.

That’s it pulled the human safety driver from his autonomous test cars in Nashville while the Alphabet company is approaching the opening of a robotaxi service in the city. Meanwhile, this tech-forward company is dealing with the analog problem of making sure the doors of its robotaxis are properly closed. The answer? Pay it DoorDash gig workers to close Waymo robotaxi doors. Waymo tells us that this is a pilot program in Atlanta to improve the efficiency of the AV fleet.

One last thing about Waymo: The company is starting to roll out its own the sixth generation “Waymo Driver,” which is included in the Zeekr RT (also called Ojai) and will eventually be in the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Waymo has started “autonomous operations” in the Ojai car in San Francisco and Los Angeles and is offering the opportunity to employees. People have to wait a little longer.

One thing…

Rivian has launched its upcoming R2 SUV as an affordable model. What does “cheap” mean? The company has tossed around $45,000 to $50,000 as a starting price. The R2 model launched by the company, which will be two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, will undoubtedly be more expensive. In our article this week, we asked our readers, “What do you think about the price of the opening edition?

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