Mobility Threads: Inaugural Release
Release #1 | all things ai x mobility x venture capital. Let’s roll.
AI, mobility, and venture capital—served in under 90 seconds. No fluff, just sharp, info-packed bullet points in “Track Snaps” (adorable, right?). Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own and do not constitute investment advice, guidance, or recommendations of any kind.
On the Right Track
Spotlighting the big movers and shakers
FarmWise (Salinas, CA): Raised $45M in Series B funding to expand AI-powered weeding equipment for U.S. farms.
Vooma (Seattle, WA): Secured $16.6M to enhance multi-channel logistics tools for freight brokers and carriers.
Zitara (San Francisco, CA): Raised $17M to boost AI-powered battery optimization for energy storage.
GovSignals (Washington, D.C.): Raised $8M to streamline government contracting with AI-driven procurement tools.
Other key players: Procurement Sciences, Rohirrim, and Rogue.WeaveGrid (San Francisco, CA): Raised $28M to optimize EV charging and enhance grid stability using AI.
Persival (Germany): Raised capital to advance sensor simulation tools for testing automated driving systems in virtual environments.
I expect the sensor simulation space to get more crowded in the coming years
Off the Beaten Track
Emerging tech across verticals.
CODE19 (Houston, TX): The first pro autonomous motorsports team, pioneering self-driving race cars and adaptable robotics with its Maveric AI software.
Relevant: Cruise dropped its robo-taxi effort. Here’s what Kyle Vogt had to say.
Also relevant: Danny Lewis in this podcast exploring how Google’s multi billion dollar bet with Waymo paid off.X-Silicon (Santa Clara, CA): Redefining GPUs with a low-power engine for AI in edge devices, disrupting augmented reality and IoT markets.
“LLM at the Edge,” will gain traction after Sam Altman’s call for a medium-sized country’s GDP to build it. Also See: Etched.ai. I plan to talk more about ASICs as it’s a special interest area. Get up to date on it here
Open Tracks
Coming soon - Jobs across mobility x ai startups. Your next big move might be here.
Stealth Track
An exclusively curated list of stealth founders who might be building in the space (might is the important word here)
Adi Somani: Former Uber VP, now steering something in AI
Jonathan Powers: ex-Tesla design engineer building in off-road
Ashish Popli: Ex UI Path CISO building in defense & AI
Di Huang: Ex Waymo & Google Engineer goes stealth
Side Track
Something to make you smile, because why not.
Startups in AI X Mobility? Submit
15-min Meet & Greet? Book
Anything else? esatcanli@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own and do not constitute investment advice, guidance, or recommendations of any kind.
Hi, I’m Esat, an Investment Associate with Autotech Ventures where I focus on sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities in the mobility industry.
Previously with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Ernst & Young, 500 and Revo Capital, I’m an Industrial & Systems Engineer by training with a special focus on ML/AI applications in manufacturing, transportation and logistics.
I’m on a journey to understand how AI will rewire mobility in the next decade—uncovering the innovations, founders, and technologies driving the transformation.