Ford invests $500m in Rivian and intends to build a vehicle on Rivian’s EV platform – TechCrunch

Rivian today announced a major investment from Ford. The 115-year old automaker is investing $500 million into the Michigan-based EV startup. Along with the cash, Ford announced plans to build a vehicle on Rivian’s electric vehicle platform.

“This strategic partnership marks another key milestone in our drive to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility,” said RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO, said in a released statement. “Ford has a long-standing commitment to sustainability, with Bill Ford being one of the industry’s earliest advocates, and we are excited to use our technology to get more electric vehicles on the road.”

This investment comes two months after Rivian netted $700 million from a funding round that was lead by Amazon.

Rivian was founded in 2009 by RJ Scaringe but operated in stealth until late 2018 when it unveiled its stunning electric pickup and SUV. Today, the company has more than 750 employees split between four development locations in the U.S. and an office in the U.K. The bulk of its employees are in Michigan to be close to an expansive automotive supply chain.

Today’s announcement stopped short about detailing the vehicle Ford intends on building on Rivian’s platform. It’s likely whatever Ford produces will have similar capabilities of the two products Rivian announced last year. Rivian’s five-passenger R1T pickup and seven-passenger R1S SUV both feature over 400 miles of range and the startup previously stated they would be available in late 2020.

Ford already has several electric vehicles in production and in the works. Along with small electric vehicles, Ford is developing an electric version of its best-selling model, the F-150 pickup.

With this investment, Rivian will stay an independent company. Following regulatory approval, Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of Automotive, will join Rivian’s board.

 

 

LG reportedly suspending production of phones in home country of Korea

The fortunes of LG Mobile, the embattled and rather overshadowed rival to Samsung Mobile, have been on a downward trajectory for a long time. As part of its effort to reform and optimize that business, LG is now reportedly taking the step of discontinuing smartphone manufacturing in its home country of Korea. The news comes from the local Yonhap News Agency, via Reuters, which suggests that LG will reallocate its current Korean production to a plant in Vietnam.

LG’s home manufacturing is presently focused on its flagship devices, with Reuters reporting that it accounts for somewhere between a tenth and a fifth of LG’s total phone output. There’s a lot of pride invested in putting the “Made in Korea” label on LG’s best mobile products, so this decision will not have been reached lightly. Then again, given the chronic failure of LG Mobile to turn a profit, it’s obvious that LG had to take measures to cut costs. Raising prices, the other path to balancing the books, seems an unlikely strategy for success at the moment, with LG lagging behind Android phone rivals with better cameras, bigger batteries, and smoother performance.

This is far from the end of LG’s mobile division, but it may be the beginning of the end. LG continues to occupy a privileged position as the third option after Apple and Samsung phones in most US carrier stores, and it enjoys a loyal following at home in Korea. Its inability to sustain phone manufacturing at home may well spread to its cheaper plants overseas, and only a series of great new devices is likely to stem the slow demise of LG’s consumer smartphone business.

When Will Luke Perry’s Last Riverdale Episode Air?

Vaporum Brings Steampunk to a Rejuvenated Genre

Holded, the ‘business operating system’ for SMEs, gets €6M in Series A funding led by Lakestar – TechCrunch

Holded, the Barcelona-based startup that offers a SaaS to help SMEs with a range of business tasks, has raised €6 million in Series A funding. The round is led by Lakestar, with previous backers Nauta Capital and Seedrocket 4Founders Capital following on.

Founded in 2016 by Bernat Ripoll and Javi Fondevila, Holded describes itself as a “Business Operating System”. The idea is to provide a single platform for small to medium-sized business owners to manage every aspect of their business.

The Saas covers financial management such as accounting and invoicing to HR, CRM, and project and inventory management. In addition, the customisable platform offers multiple integrations to connect with a number of popular payment and e-commerce solutions. They include Amazon, Paypal and Shopify.

Alongside this, Holded is able to “automate” a number of core business administration tasks via the cloud-based platform’s own AI. It also uses data garnered through the use of the software to benchmark business performance and provide managers and business owners with actionable insights with regards to how they might increase sales, reduce expenses and save time.

Holded co-founder Bernat Ripoll says the company set out to develop next generation Enterprise-Resource-Planning (ERP) software that addresses the needs of modern companies, which is something that appears to be resonating with SMEs. Since closing its seed round in early 2018, Holded has increased user numbers from 10,000 to 30,000, claiming to now be the leader in Spain.

Meanwhile, Holded says the new capital will be used to accelerate its expansion into international markets. The Spanish startup will also invest further in the development of the software’s core functionality.

“[We] now aim to replicate this [success] in other countries while continuing to consolidate the Spanish market,” says Holded co-founder Javi Fondevila, adding that the startup plans to roll out new product features and “country-specific” integrations.

Foxconn wants to alter the Wisconsin deal

Alex Rodriguez and Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show Dance Video