Technology
Self-driving truck startup Aurora Innovation to sell $420 million in stock ahead of launch
Self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation plans to raise lots of of tens of millions in additional capital because it prepares to bring autonomous vehicles to market by the tip of 2024.
Aurora, which went public in 2021 through a special-purpose acquisition merger, is pursuing a driver-as-a-service model in which carriers buy trucks with Aurora Driver technology on board after which offer their services through those trucks to shippers. But the corporate plans to enter the market as a carrier, offering up to 20 autonomous Paccar and Volvo trucks to shippers later this yr.
According to SEC filing On Thursday morning, Aurora arranged to sell up to $420 million of its Class A typical stock to underwriters Goldman Sachs, Allen & Company and Morgan Stanley. The company made its 2021 public debut through a special purpose acquisition merger, with shares opening at $13.12.
The underwriters have agreed to buy shares from Aurora for $3.4830 per share, which is barely lower than the general public offering price to account for his or her fees and compensation. If the deal goes through on Aug. 2, they may resell the shares to the general public for $3.60 per share.
Aurora’s share price rose nearly 29% to $4.50 after the applying was rejected.
The deal comes a day after Aurora filed a prospectus for the sale $350 million value of shares. An individual aware of the matter told TechCrunch that due to strong investor demand, the offering was increased to $420 million.
Aurora didn’t respond to questions on the way it plans to use the web proceeds, however the filing said the corporate will use the cash for “working capital and other general corporate purposes.” What meaning, even Aurora may not know. The company also wrote in its filing that it’s going to first invest the proceeds from the offering in “short-term and long-term investment vehicles, certificates of deposit or guaranteed obligations.”
The offer to raise additional funds comes as Aurora reports second-quarter results. As of June 30, 2024, Aurora had $402 million in money and money equivalents and $618 million in short-term investments. Excluding the proceeds from the offering, the corporate expects this to be enough to fund operations through the fourth quarter of 2025.
In the second quarter of 2024, Aurora spent $198 million, which is a direct loss because the startup is just not yet generating any revenue.
So unless Aurora attracts significant interest or earns a profit on its short-term instruments, the startup can have to significantly reduce its money burn to save $402 million over the subsequent six quarters.
Perhaps Aurora is counting on future revenue to offset its costs. The company is ready to begin business service on the Uber Freight network later this yr. In June, the 2 corporations announced a multi-year partnership that can see Aurora’s self-driving technology offered on the Uber Freight network by 2030.
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Technology
It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
Technology
Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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