Interest in male birth control has increased in the past few years, especially since the U.S. overturned Roe vs. Wade, which protected a woman’s right to have an abortion. Since then, states have tried to make abortion nearly impossible, prompting an increased look at contraceptives to allow both men and women to have more control […]
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Henrik Fisker stood on a stage last August and proudly debuted two prototypes designed to catapult his eponymous EV startup Fisker into the mainstream. There was the Pear, a low-cost EV meant for the masses, and the Alaska, Fisker’s entry into the red-hot pickup truck market.
In the weeks that followed, Fisker stopped paying the engineering firm that helped develop those vehicles, according to a previously-unreported lawsuit filed in federal court this week. The firm, a U.S. subsidiary of German engineering giant Bertrandt AG, also accuses Fisker of wrongfully holding onto IP associated with those vehicles. It’s asking for around $13 million in damages.
The lawsuit adds to a pile of legal trouble facing Fisker, which is on the brink of bankruptcy. At least 30 lawsuits alleging lemon law violations have been filed, a handful of which Fisker has already settled. A former director has filed a proposed class action claiming unpaid wages. A textile supplier has also sued Fisker for more than $1 million that it alleges the EV startup never paid.
The engineering lawsuit stands out amid the legal trouble because it suggests that financial cracks were already forming inside Fisker last August despite the bold claims its CEO made on that stage.
“The lawsuit filed by Bertrandt is without merit,” Matthew DeBord, Fisker’s vice president of communications, said in an email to TechCrunch. “It is a legally baseless and disappointing attempt by what has been a valued partner to extract from Fisker payments and intellectual property to which Bertrandt has no right to under the relevant agreements or otherwise.” He declined to comment on the other cases.
Bertrandt says in the complaint filed in Michigan Eastern District Court that it entered into a “design and development agreement” with Fisker in May 2022 to perform “engineering, design, and development services” on the Pear – a contract worth north of $35 million, according to a copy of the design and development agreement attached to the lawsuit. (The agreement also shows that Fisker had previously hired Bertrandt to perform a feasibility study, cost analysis, timing proposal and other items for the Pear EV.)
At some point after entering into the agreement, Bertrandt says Fisker asked it to do similar work in connection with the Alaska pickup truck. Bertrandt says in the complaint that a formal written agreement was never executed with Fisker for the Alaska, but that it provided a quote of $1.66 million that Fisker agreed to pay.
Fisker stopped paying Bertrandt at the end of August 2023, according to the complaint. The company continued to fail to pay invoices through January 31, 2024, bringing the total unpaid to $7,061,443. The engineering firm also claims that Fisker’s decision to put the development work on the Pear and Alaska EVs on “pause” is an additional breach of the contract as it caused Bertrandt to suffer delay costs.
Bertrandt says it had a meeting with Fisker on February 6, 2024 where the EV startup “acknowledged its liability for payment of these invoices and agreed to promptly pay $3,685,000 as a partial payment” – but then never made that payment.
Breaching the contract, according to Bertrandt, has cost the engineering firm an additional $5,858,000 in “lost profits, delay costs, and incidental damages,” which is why it’s seeking $12,919,443 in total damages.
What’s more, the firm says it demanded on April 22 that Fisker “return all of Bertrandt’s intellectual property” and “certify in writing that Fisker had not retained any hard copies or electronic copies,” and claims the EV startup has “failed to do either.”
“Fisker has been unjustly enriched at the expense of Bertrandt,” lawyers for the firm write in the complaint.
Bertrandt isn’t the only supplier to sue Fisker so far.
Georgia-based Corinthian Textiles sued Fisker in Los Angeles Superior Court in early April. The supplier claims it entered into an agreement with the EV startup in early 2023 to provide it with “customized products for use in Fisker’s automobiles.” It doesn’t specify what products it made for Fisker, but the company’s website says its automotive division specializes in floor, trunk and cargo mats, as well as “automotive carpet.”
Corinthian says Fisker “refused, and continue[s] to refuse” to pay invoices and other fees in the amount of $1,077,571.75.
Days before Bertrandt sued in federal court, Robert Lee, an employee who worked for Fisker from October 2023 to March 5, 2024, filed a proposed class action in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging a pattern of overworking employees and not properly compensating them. The suit also claims Fisker failed to reimburse expenses and pay out wages owed when employees separated from the company.
Lee claims that he and other hourly employees worked “well over” eight hours a day and 40 hours per week, and instead often worked over 12 hours per day. He claims they were “frequently compelled” to work weekends. Fisker did not compensate employees for that additional time, according to the complaint. Lee also claims Fisker failed to properly track hours worked, and even deducted commissions from their hourly pay.
He claims employees were “regularly compelled to work off the clock and [Fisker Inc] created a policy to account for less hours than the total amount of hours actually worked” in order to “meet certain goals, to generate more sales.”
Lee also claims Fisker “effectively coerced and pressured its non-exempt employees to work of-the-clock, have their wages deducted, have their wages miscalculated, to shorten (tantamount to a missed meal period) or forego meal and rest periods (or not be paid for their rest breaks).”
Fisker started getting peppered with lawsuits in California alleging that it was violating the state’s lemon law as early as last November, which TechCrunch previously reported. The company has started to settle some of those earlier lawsuits in what roughly amounts to buying back the vehicles, according to court filings and a person familiar with the settlements.
More lemon law lawsuits have continued to pour in across state, where Fisker has delivered the bulk of its cars in the United States.
Customers may have taken action in other states where Fisker has delivered cars, like New York, Florida and Massachusetts. Those states require that lemon law disputes run through arbitration, making it difficult to know just how many actions may be pending against the company.
In its recent annual filing for 2023, Fisker noted that it is still defending against a proposed class action lawsuit from shareholders alleging violations of securities laws. Fisker then goes on to vaguely say that “[v]arious other legal actions, claims, and proceedings are pending against the Company, including, but not limited to, matters arising out of alleged product defects; employment-related matters; product warranties; and consumer protection laws.”
It also implied that it has been contacted by unnamed government agencies for information about its business, including subpoenas, in a new line of text that it had never included in any of its prior SEC filings.
“The Company also from time to time receives subpoenas and other inquiries or requests for information from agencies or other representatives of U.S. federal, state, and foreign governments,” the company wrote. DeBord, the communications VP, told TechCrunch that Fisker “currently [has] no pending subpoenas from governments.”
Correction: The article incorrectly identified Robert Lee as Fisker’s former director of technical services. The Lee who filed the lawsuit is an employee who worked for Fisker from October 2023 to March 5, 2024. The article has been corrected.
A harsh truth: as bad as North American wildfires have grown over the past several years, things are only going to get worse. Climate change continues to accelerate the issue, putting people, property, nature and animals at risk.
Drones have been a fixture in the fight for over a decade now, and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association anticipates its fleet to increase to 30,000 by next year. While effective, however, these systems certainly have their limitations.
“As of now, the military-grade drones used by those fighting wildfires are high-altitude aircraft that fly far above the trees,” Carnegie Mellon University PhD student Andrew Jong notes. “They can’t fly low because they can’t see through smoke. We want to fly just above the trees or even below the canopy.”
Researchers at CMU’s Robotics Institute are building drones capable of navigating through the smoke, providing firefighters with map and escape routes, while drawing attention to danger zones.
Retired firefighter Josh Wilkins, who is collaborating with researchers on the project, notes somberly, “I helped bury too many folks who died for lack of actionable information.” He adds that firefighters are often provided 12-hour-old information when they begin their eight-12-hour shifts. By that point, the information is outdated and poses a very real risk to first responders.
The project builds on research for CMU’s DARPA Subterranean Challenge, which revolved around underground navigation for mine rescues. The forest drones utilize path finding to determine the optimal trajectories with obstructed views. The goal is to effectively build a 3D “digital twin” of the impacted area as quickly as possible.
Wilkins notes, however, that his former colleagues can be hesitant to embrace new technologies. “There’s always resistance, particularly in the fire service,” the second-generation firefighter explains. “But once we show them the safety factors that have been designed into these systems and the good data that we can collect with the drones, I think we’ll win them over.”
Advances in generative AI have taken the tech world by storm. Biotech investors are making a big bet that similar computational methods could revolutionize drug discovery.
On Tuesday, ARCH Venture Partners and Foresite Labs, an affiliate of Foresite Capital, announced that they incubated Xaira Therapeutics and funded the AI biotech with $1 billion. Other investors in the new company, which has been operating in stealth mode for about six months, include F-Prime, NEA, Sequoia Capital, Lux Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures and SV Angel.
Xaira’s CEO Marc Tessier-Lavigne, a former Stanford president and chief scientific officer at Genentech, says the company is ready to start developing drugs that were impossible to make without recent breakthroughs in AI. “We’ve done such a large capital raise because we believe the technology is at an inflection point where it can have a transformative effect on the field,” he said.
The advances in foundational models come from the University of Washington’s Institute of Protein Design, run by David Baker, one of Xaira’s co-founders. These models are similar to diffusion models that power image generators like OpenAI’s DALL-E and Midjourney. But rather than creating art, Baker’s models aim to design molecular structures that can be made in a three-dimensional, physical world.
While Xaira’s investors are convinced that the company can revolutionize data design, they emphasized that generative AI applications in biology are still in the early innings.
Vik Bajaj, CEO of Foresite Labs and managing director of Foresite Capital, said that unlike in technology, where data that train AI models is created by consumers, biology and medicine are “data poor. You have to create the datasets that drive model development.”
Other biotech companies using generative AI to design drugs include Recursion, which went public in 2021, and Genesis Therapeutics, a startup that last year raised a $200 million Series B co-led by Andreessen Horowitz.
The company declined to say when it expects to have its first drug available for human trials. However, ARCH Venture Partners managing director Bob Nelsen underscored that Xaira and its investors are ready to play the long game.
“You need billions of dollars to be a real drug company and also think AI. Both of those are expensive disciplines,” he said.
Xaira wants to position itself as a powerhouse of AI drug discovery. However, some view bringing on Tessier-Lavigne as CEO as an unexpected move. Tessier-Lavigne resigned last year from his position as Stanford president amid allegations that his laboratory at Genetech manipulated research data.
But investors are confident that he is the right person for the job.
“I have known Marc for many years and know him to be a person of integrity and scientific vision who will be an exceptional CEO,” Nelsen said in an email. “Stanford exonerated him of any wrongdoing or scientific misconduct.”
Spotify is working on mixing tools that would allow users to remix songs on the streaming service, according to screenshots captured by tech veteran and app researcher Chris Messina. While music aficionados use software like Adobe Audition or Ableton Live to create mixes of their favorite songs, the new capabilities would allow people to do so directly in Spotify. The screenshots indicate that the mixing tools would be available under a new “Music Pro” premium subscription tier. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, whose sources say discussions about the tools are early and that licensing agreements have not been worked out yet.
A Spotify spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company constantly explores ideas to improve its product offerings and offer value to its users, but that it won’t comment on speculation around new features.
In the screenshots shared with TechCrunch, the app’s code references different mixing tools that would enable users to “flex their DJ skills with different transition styles to create the ultimate mix.”
The tools would also let users “set the tempo range for your mix and “set the vibe for your mix” by filtering by “genres, moods, activities, and more.” The code suggests that users would be able to create remixes of songs to fit a certain scenario. In theory, you could create an upbeat, sped-up version of a slower song to create a remix to listen to while working out.
Image Credits: Chris Messina
Image Credits: Chris Messina
The code suggests users could leverage a mixing tool that “quickly blends in the next track to keep the energy going.” Another tool “maximizes overlap for layered and immersive blend of tracks,” while a different one “instantly switches from one track to another for high impact.”
In addition, users could “insert” and “edit” transitions between tracks.” Users could also decrease or increase BMP (beats per minute) and “danceability.”
Image Credits: Chris Messina
It appears that the mixing tools wouldn’t just be targeted toward users who already have experience mixing songs. The code references a tool that “automatically reorders your mix by sequencing tracks with a similar key, tempo, and style together,” while another lets users “choose how to order your mix, or select auto order to have Spotify sequence it for you.” These lines of code suggest Spotify would help users create their perfect mix, even if it’s their first time doing so, with the help of automated tools.
Image Credits: Chris Messina
Image Credits: Chris Messina
While traditional user-created remixes that are uploaded to streaming platforms or social media don’t generate revenue for artists, Spotify’s mixing capabilities would likely allow musicians to earn money from remixes that are tied to their original tracks. Since fanmade remixes are often altered to the point that they aren’t flagged for copyright violations, Spotify is filled with unofficial remixes with millions of streams. While Spotify’s mixing tools can’t get rid of this issue altogether, they could help remedy it to a certain extent.
It’s not surprising that Spotify is developing mixing tools, especially as sped-up songs and mashups are having a moment thanks to TikTok. According to TikTok’s 2023 year-end report, the most popular songs on the app were sped-up remixes of songs.
The trend of sped-up songs has become so popular that artists are seeking to cash in on it. For instance, after a fan-made sped-up remix of SZA’s song “Kill Bill” was being used across TikTok, she released an official sped-up version of the song. Other artists like Lana Del Ray and The Cab have also released official sped-up versions of their songs in order to get people to listen to their official tracks, instead of fanmade versions.
As with any other feature in development, it’s unknown if or when Spotify plans to launch the mixing tools.
Instagram is developing a “Blend” feature that creates a private feed of Reels recommended for you and a friend. The company told TechCrunch on Friday that the feature is an internal prototype and is not being tested externally.
The feature was first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who regularly discovers social media features in development ahead of their official launch. According to a screenshot posted on X by Paluzzi, a Blend would include “Reels recommendations based on Reels you’ve shared with each other and your Reels interests.”
In other words, if you invited a friend to a “Blend,” Instagram would generate a personalized feed of Reels that it believes the two of you would be interested in. Blend appears to be somewhat similar to Spotify’s functionality of the same name, which launched in 2021 and allows two people to combine their favorite songs into one shared playlist.
The screenshot indicates that Blends would be private between you and the other user and that you would be able to leave a Blend at any time. Instagram didn’t share any specific details about the feature and whether Blends would continuously update with new recommendations or if they would be updated after a certain amount of time.
The feature is designed to make it possible for users to discover new Reels together, which would be a way for Instagram to boost Reels’ discovery and watch time. Since people already send each other Reels via DMs, Instagram would now be using that data to proactively recommend and display Reels that it believes a pair of users would enjoy.
As with any other prototype, it’s unknown when or if Instagram plans to launch the feature externally.
If released, Blend would give Instagram Reels users access to a fun and collaborative feature that isn’t available on its rival platform, TikTok. Though the two products are quite similar, the introduction of “Blend” could give Instagram a slight competitive edge over TikTok, albeit a small one considering TikTok continues to largely dominate the short-form video market.
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