1. Luminar's founder Austin Russell has made a bid to acquire the lidar company, which could involve merging with another automotive tech firm, according to a source who said members of Luminar's board approached him about the idea.
2. Beta Technologies has priced shares for its initial public offering, hoping to raise up to $825 million at a valuation of about $7.2 billion. Meanwhile, Lilium's tech is being used by Archer Aviation after Lilium ceased operations last year, but it's unclear what Archer plans to do with the patents.
3. Other deals include Airbound raising $8.65 million in seed funding, Dexory securing $165 million in equity and debt financing, FleetWorks raising $17 million, Stellantis investing $13 billion into U.S. manufacturing over the next four years with only one electrified vehicle among the new developments, and Waymo expanding its robotaxi service to London in 2026 while also partnering with DoorDash for delivery services using driverless vehicles.