TechCrunch Mobility: Lime’s IPO gamble

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After years of hints and preparation, the Uber-backed electrical motorcycle and scooter condo startup Lime filed for an preliminary public providing. A micromobility corporate going public? In 2026? Definitely it’s the flawed yr. 

Lime CEO Wayne Ting has been speaking about an IPO for years. TechCrunch spoke to him about it in 2020, 2021, and 2023. It by no means materialized and I type of forgot about it, till — growth — the S-1 document, the registration observation filed with the U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee, posted early Friday morning. 

There are some attention-grabbing chance elements within the S-1, despite the fact that we nonetheless are looking ahead to Lime to percentage phrases of the providing.

Income is mountain climbing, it has certain loose money go with the flow, and web losses narrowed after 2023, despite the fact that there was a slight uptick between 2024 and 2025. Uber, which invested in Lime a number of years in the past, nonetheless performs the most important function for the corporate. Lime mentioned about 14.3% of its income got here thru its partnership with Uber, which permits shoppers to seek out and hire scooters and e-bikes thru its app.

All of this means Lime is a enlargement corporate headed towards profitability. However there’s one considerable headwind. Lime has about $1 billion in present liabilities, and about $675.8 million of this is due via the tip of 2026. In all, about $846 million is due inside of three hundred and sixty five days. Lime does now not have enough liquidity to pay that, in step with its submitting. Lime states it evidently within the S-1: If it could possibly’t pass public and lift the essential capital, or alternate its debt agreements, it won’t be capable to proceed working as a industry.

Senior reporter Sean O’Kane, who likes digging thru an S-1 up to I do, noticed any other tidbits within the chance elements. Funding via towns of their public street infrastructure is a chance issue, in step with the corporate. Lime particularly lists potholes, which made me chortle after which nod in settlement. Potholes don’t seem to be type to shared scooters. 

Lime additionally warned that a good portion of rides are concentrated in a reasonably small collection of markets through which it operates. One such marketplace, which accounted for 22.2% of its income in 2025, is the U.Okay. 

Slightly hen

Closing summer season, Uber introduced a plan to release a top class robotaxi provider the usage of Lucid Gravity automobiles geared up with Nuro’s independent automobile era. That is greater than a collaboration. Uber mentioned it could make investments $300 million in Lucid and would one at a time purchase “a minimum of” 20,000 of the EV maker’s new Gravity SUV over the following six years. Uber lately raised its funding in Lucid to $500 million and driven the automobile order to 35,000. 

The main points about Uber’s funding in Nuro, a privately held startup founded in Silicon Valley, were slender — till now. On the time, we handiest knew that Uber invested an undisclosed “multi-hundred-million-dollar” quantity into Nuro. One little hen has shared extra main points. 

Uber’s general monetary dedication to Nuro, which incorporates its participation within the startup’s Sequence E spherical final yr and long run milestone-based investments, is just about $500 million, in step with a supply aware of the deal. 

My skilled bet is that Nuro simply unlocked a kind of milestones. The corporate is trying out the Lucid automobiles in independent mode with a human protection operator within the driving force’s seat. And final month it expanded trying out to permit Uber workers to request an independent trip in a Lucid robotaxi with a human protection operator nonetheless on board. However the corporate simply won two important lets in — a driverless trying out allow from the Division of Motor Cars and a allow from the California Public Utilities Fee.

Were given a tip for us? Electronic mail Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Sign at kkorosec.07, or e-mail Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Offers!

Kodiak AI’s first-quarter income provides a case find out about for a way difficult it’s to commercialize frontier tech. The corporate introduced numerous offers that confirmed growth. It locked in a business contract with Roehl; introduced a pilot program to check Kodiak-equipped independent vehicles at West Fraser Trees Co.’s log-hauling operations in Alberta, Canada; and introduced a collaboration with the army automobile maker Normal Dynamics Land Programs to create independent floor automobiles for protection packages.

However traders weren’t pleased with the phrases of its $100 million capital carry. The corporate offered stocks at $6.50 each and every — a steep cut price from its final percentage value of $9.10. The carry additionally integrated warrants — tools that give traders the suitable to shop for further stocks later at a collection value, on this case as little as $6.

The financing got here from present backer Ares Control and several other unnamed institutional traders.

Kodiak’s inventory value fell 37% in after-hours buying and selling moments after the financing and Q1 income had been launched. Stocks have recovered a little bit since, possibly as shareholders digested the scoop and checked out it from a glass-half-full viewpoint.

Kodiak will most probably want extra capital because it continues to burn money because it pushes towards its large objective: driverless trucking operations on public highways.

Different offers that were given my consideration this week …

Second Power, a startup that’s evolved a unique way to repurposing EV batteries, raised a $40 million Sequence B investment spherical led via Canadian VC company Evok Inventions, with further investment from grocery store fund W23, becoming a member of present traders like Amazon’s Local weather Pledge Fund and In-Q-Tel, the CIA-funded VC company.

Rocsys, a startup that has evolved hands-free depot answers for independent electrical automobiles, raised $13 million in a longer Sequence A spherical led via Capricorn Companions, with participation from Scania Make investments, Ahead.One, SEB Greentech Undertaking Capital, and Graduate Undertaking.

Notable reads and different tidbits

Aurora has began hauling rather a lot in driverless vehicles in Texas for distribution large McLane. The economic contract presentations some growth via the self-driving vehicles corporate. Disclaimer: Those driverless vehicles nonetheless have human observers within the cab, and the corporate tells us they can not function the automobile. 

Lucid’s first-quarter income printed an organization nonetheless feeling the consequences of a provider factor previous this yr that led to it to recall its Gravity SUV and pause deliveries. The corporate, which may be going thru a management transition, modified its steering and mentioned it used to be now not positive what number of EVs it’ll construct or promote this yr. 

In 2024, the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Protection Management up to date the New Automobile Overview Program and added 4 new pass-fail exams to evaluate the efficiency of complicated help programs, beginning in 2026. And we’re in the end seeing the effects. The later-release 2026 Tesla Style Y is the primary automobile to satisfy the company’s new benchmark.

Ouster is launching a brand new lineup of colour lidar sensors that CEO Angus Pacala believes will exchange cameras.

EV startup Slate has misplaced a notable board member. The top of Jeff Bezos’ circle of relatives administrative center left the board, in step with a large number of state filings reviewed via TechCrunch.

Volkswagen is now Rivian’s greatest shareholder, pushing Amazon out of the highest spot.

Another factor …

Neatly, possibly two extra. 

Senior reporter Rebecca Bellan interviewed Aurora founder and CEO Chris Urmson lately for the Fairness podcast. Pay attention to the episode right here. 

And, in the end, we had a ballot final week! Right here used to be what I posed to readers: “The California DMV issued new laws for AVs. Self-driving vehicles can now take a look at and deploy within the state. Reporting, knowledge assortment, and operations necessities were expanded and regulation enforcement can factor site visitors violations. Those laws: pass too a long way, hit the mark, or aren’t restrictive sufficient.” 

About 41% picked “hit the mark,” whilst 27.6% mentioned the principles pass too a long way, and 31% mentioned they aren’t restrictive sufficient.

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