Volvo Cars, the Swedish carmaker owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding, said Monday it would file for an initial public offering and list on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, in a transaction that’s expected to raise up to $2.9 billion (25 billion Swedish kroner). The deal could value the automaker at up to $25 billion, The […]
Chief Blue Origin complaint author disputes cause of termination, while the space company’s CEO does damage control
Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith wasted no time responding to allegations of a hostile work environment, sending an internal letter to employees Thursday encouraging staff to speak to him directly or via an in-house anonymous hotline with their concerns. Of course, it’s standard practice for companies like Blue Origin to prefer handling complaints internally rather […]
NASA awards $253M to two companies developing electric propulsion tech for aircraft
NASA has chosen two U.S. companies to develop electric propulsion technologies for aircraft, with the aim of introducing this tech to U.S. aviation fleets by 2035. The two companies, GE Aviation and MagniX, will conduct their work over the next five years. That includes ground and flight test demonstrations, as well as collaborations with other […]
Current and former employees raise major safety concerns, allegations of sexual harassment at Blue Origin
Jeff Bezos just can’t get away from labor issues. The beleaguered billionaire, who has faced repeated and persistent criticism over working conditions at the company he formerly led, Amazon, is now facing allegations of a hostile work environment at his space company Blue Origin. An essay jointly composed by 21 current and former employees paints […]
General Motors’ new software platform Ultifi is coming to vehicles starting in 2023
General Motors is rolling out a new end-to-end software platform in vehicles starting in 2023 that executives say will usher in a sweeping set of capabilities including giving drivers access to in-car subscription and using over-the-air updates to offer new apps and services. The software platform can be used to give owners greater access to […]
Starfish Space raises $7M for in-orbit servicing space tug
Satellite servicing company Starfish Space has closed $7 million in funding to accelerate the development of a space tug vehicle that can extend the life of spacecraft and get rid of orbital debris. Servicing satellites used to be nigh impossible, due to the extreme costs associated with going to orbit. Essentially, once a spacecraft was […]
Terran Orbital to open a $300M satellite manufacturing and component facility on Florida’s Space Coast
Satellite manufacturing company Terran Orbital said Monday it would open the world’s largest space vehicle manufacturing facility on Florida’s Space Coast at a cost of $300 million. The 660,000-square-foot factory will be capable of producing “thousands of different types of space vehicles per year,” including 1000 complete satellites and over 1 million satellite components per […]
Tesla’s battery-manufacturing ‘Megafactory’ breaks ground in California
Tesla broke ground on its “Megafactory,” a new production facility in California, so christened because it will produce the company’s large-scale battery system Megapack. News of the previously unannounced factory was confirmed by the Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal, in a Facebook post that was deleted and re-posted. “We are proud to be the home of […]
GM invests $300M in China’s first self-driving car unicorn Momenta
General Motors has now joined a slew of other major automakers, including Toyota, Chinese state-backed SAIC Motor, and Mercedes-Benz AG in putting its chips behind Chinese autonomous driving startup Momenta. GM, the largest automaker in the U.S. in terms of vehicle sales, said Tuesday it will invest $300 million in Momenta to accelerate the development […]
Nth Cycle wants to revolutionize metals processing for recyclers and mine operators
There’s a lot of value in waste; just ask metals processing company Nth Cycle, which has developed a technology to help mining and recycling companies recover every bit of critical minerals from their operations. The company calls its technology “electro-extraction,” and Nth Cycle’s founder and CEO Megan O’Connor likened it to a water filter in […]