There may be no stopping the spread of interest in self-driving vehicles, this year and beyond, as SPACs continue to focus on the future.
One venture capitalist, in a Business Insider story, sees the momentum increasing.
Reilly Brennan believes the autonomous-vehicle industry is a prime target for SPACs (special-purpose acquisition companies).
“Having a lot of conversations with the SPAC sponsors and knowing where their interest is going, I think that we will see more in the AV-related stuff,” Brennan, a general partner at Trucks, told Insider.
The popularity of SPACs is growing, with newer companies working on electric vehicles or related technologies more able to take advantage of investors’ interest.
With the self-driving marketplace, the SPACs find success from those trying to mimic the high-level potential and success of companies such as Tesla.
SPAC deals in the EV realm are focused on firms developing the vehicles and/or the charging infrastructure.
Among the specific areas SPACs have targeted, according to Brennan and Insider:
Companies that make lidars, the laser sensors that help self-driving vehicles create a more detailed picture of their surroundings.
Startups developing automated-driving technology, particularly those focused on semi trucks.
Makes sense.
People have largely stayed at home and ordered in – food, packages and other goods – for the past 12 months as the COVID-19 pandemic played out.
“We used to take more taxi trips than we received packages, and that’s certainly different now,” Brennan told Insider.
Brennan told Insider last month that TuSimple, which operates a fleet of autonomous heavy-duty trucks via a network of pre-mapped shipping routes, seemed rife for a SPAC merger.
Then, Feb. 25, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company plans to go public through a traditional IPO in the coming months.
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