Sean O'Kane

Start-ups

Bloom is reinventing how e-bikes are made in the US | TechCrunch

The pandemic ushered in an e-bike boom. But like so many other pandemic trends, that boom didn’t last. The last year has seen e-bike startups VanMoof and Cake file for bankruptcy amid a backdrop of micromobility doom and gloom. Tier and Dott merged. Superpedestrian closed up shop. Bird also had to go through a restructuring. All of those startups might have had different goals, but their problems were fairly similar. Bloom, a new Detroit-based startup,

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Fisker starts new round of layoffs to ‘preserve cash’ | TechCrunch

EV startup Fisker Inc. is laying off more employees to “preserve cash,” one week after warning investors it would have to make cuts to stave off impending bankruptcy, according to an internal email viewed by TechCrunch. Founder and CEO Henrik Fisker told employees Monday morning in the email that the company is “continuing to evaluate all viable options for our business, including a potential transaction, and we are committed to identifying potential buyers and pathways

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Fisker plans more layoffs as cash dwindles and bankruptcy looms | TechCrunch

Fisker says it’s planning more layoffs less than two months after cutting 15% of its workforce, as the EV startup scrambles to raise cash to stay alive. Fisker expects to seek bankruptcy protection within the next 30 days if it can’t come up with that money, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing. The imperiled company said in the regulatory filing Tuesday it had just $54 million in cash and equivalents as

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Amber launches Tesla warranty service to help owners of aging EVs | TechCrunch

Owners of aging EVs aren’t exactly flush with options if something breaks after the original warranty expires. One Bay Area startup called Amber thinks it can help them navigate that minefield, starting with Tesla owners. The company, founded in early 2023, announced Wednesday it has launched a new aftermarket Tesla warranty product called AmberCare for Tesla Model Y, 3, S and X owners. There will be different plans, ranging from $40 per month to around

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