Co-founder Chris Yu explained that urgency surrounding autonomous vehicle development through a partnership with DoorDash took precedence over the African pilot. The Kenya program had intended to evaluate modular batteries, distributed charging infrastructure, and driver income potential before Also stepped aside. The strategic pivot follows an operationally difficult debut year marked by persistent supply chain bottlenecks. Also is now leaning into commercial delivery fleets and customer fulfillment for its flagship e-bike.
Key points
Also is refocusing its engineering resources on developing small autonomous delivery vehi…: Also is refocusing its engineering resources on developing small autonomous delivery vehicles alongside DoorDash.
The company abandoned the low-cost international pilot to prioritize its core commercial…: The company abandoned the low-cost international pilot to prioritize its core commercial roadmap and stabilize independent operations.
Future expansion plans center on commercial cargo transport for enterprise clients like A…: Future expansion plans center on commercial cargo transport for enterprise clients like Amazon rather than consumer two-wheelers.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Also, the micromobility startup spun out of Rivian in 2025, quietly started and then walked away from an electric two-wheeler pilot project in Kenya earlier this year, as it sought to focus its resources on its consumer e-bike and autonomous vehicle ambitions, TechCrunch has learned.
The project received grant funding from the Shell Foundation, an independent charity established by the British oil and gas giant Shell plc. A section of the Shell Foundation’s website that has since been removed said the project’s goal was to “enable and de-risk global OEM entry into Africa’s EV market by piloting a locally integrated electric two-wheeler platform in Kenya, with potential to scale across East Africa.”
According to the deleted section, Also was expected to work on modular battery designs, distributed EV charging, and planned on “developing a purpose-built electric motorcycle for African riders.”
The opportunity for electric motorcycles seems ripe on the continent, which has a massive two-wheeler market. African mobility company Spiro recently said it has more than 130,000 electric motorcycles operating across seven countries, along with 2,500 battery-swapping stations. This boom…
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