Also oo ka baxday mashruucii mootooyinka korontada ee Kenya

Shirkadda ka soo baxday Rivian ayaa sheegtay in ay mudnaan siisay qorshaheeda gudaha, iyadoo deeqda Shell Foundation ay la socon doonto mashruuca.

Shirkadda micromobility ee Also, oo ka soo baxday Rivian sanadka 2025, ayaa si aamusnaan ah bilowday kadibna ka baxday mashruuc tijaabo ah oo mootooyin koronto laba-giraangal ah oo Kenya ka socday horraantii sanadkan, sida ay TechCrunch ogaatay. Mashruuca wuxuu helay deeq maaliyadeed oo ka timid Shell Foundation.

Mashruuca Kenya iyo hadafka Shell Foundation

Qayb ka mid ah bogga internetka Shell Foundation oo hadda la tirtiray ayaa sheegtay in hadafka mashruuca uu ahaa in lagu "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." Qaybtaas la tirtiray waxay kaloo sheegtay in Also laga filayay in ay ka shaqeyso naqshadaha baytariga modular, dallacaadda korontada ee qaybsan, iyo in ay "developing a purpose-built electric motorcycle for African riders."

Also iyo Shell Foundation oo faahfaahin ka bixiyay go'aanka

Also ayaa TechCrunch u sheegtay warqad iimayl ah oo bishii Sebtembar ah in ay "explored this project" la macaamil aan la magacaabin, laakiin ugu dambeyntii "decided to focus on its core roadmap" kadib markii ay dhammaystirtay oo kaliya "some early-stage work." Shirkaddu waxay sheegtay in deeqda Shell Foundation "will follow the project to support its ongoing development," laakiin ma ay bixin faahfaahin dheeraad ah.

Shell Foundation ayaa TechCrunch u sheegtay iimayl ahaan in mashruuca "intended to generate evidence on driver income uplift potential, operational performance and commercial viability to deepen the company's understanding of the market opportunity." Markii TechCrunch weydiistay faahfaahin dheeraad ah, Shell Foundation way diidday, iyadoo tixraacday heshiis sir ah oo ay la leedahay Also; maalmo kadib mashruuca wuxuu ka lumay bogga internetka Shell Foundation.

Chris Yu oo sharraxay mudnaanta autonomous-ka

Chris Yu, oo ah aasaasaha iyo madaxweynaha Also, ayaa wareysi bishii hore lagu qabtay TechCrunch Disrupt ku sheegay in mashruuca Kenya uu markii hore macne samaynayay sababtoo ah hadafka Also ee ah dhisidda baabuur yaryar oo ujeedo leh oo "first and foremost cost-optimized to do the job that needs to be done in a particular market."

Yu wuxuu sheegay in mashruucyo kale mudnaan helay, gaar ahaan horumarinta baabuur yaryar oo iskeer ah oo Also kala shaqeyneyso DoorDash. Wuxuu yiri: "We piloted and ultimately decided, largely because of just urgency and pace around autonomy, frankly, that our attention would be best, in the near term, served fully focused" arrintaas, isagoo intaa ku daray in uu qabo "high chance that autonomy will show up first, and at a broader scale in these types of purpose-built smaller vehicles than at scale in passenger vehicles."

The Rivian spinout says the Shell Foundation-funded project was dropped after early-stage work, with attention shifting to small autonomous vehicles.

Also, the micromobility startup spun out of Rivian in 2025, started and then walked away from an electric two-wheeler pilot project in Kenya earlier this year, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The project had grant funding from the Shell Foundation, an independent charity established by Shell plc.

What the Kenya pilot was meant to do

A section of the Shell Foundation's website, since removed, said the project aimed 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 that deleted section, Also was expected to work on modular battery designs and distributed EV charging, and planned on "developing a purpose-built electric motorcycle for African riders."

Why Also stepped back

In a September email, Also told TechCrunch it had "explored this project" with an unnamed partner but ultimately "decided to focus on its core roadmap" after completing only "some early-stage work." The Shell Foundation said the project was "intended to generate evidence on driver income uplift potential, operational performance and commercial viability to deepen the company's understanding of the market opportunity." It later declined to give more specifics, citing a nondisclosure agreement with Also, and days later the project disappeared from its website.

Autonomy took priority, co-founder says

Also co-founder and president Chris Yu said at TechCrunch Disrupt last month that other work took precedence, especially small autonomous vehicles developed in a partnership with DoorDash. "We piloted and ultimately decided, largely because of just urgency and pace around autonomy, frankly, that our attention would be best, in the near term, served fully focused" on that, he said. Also said the Shell Foundation grant "will follow the project to support its ongoing development" but declined to offer specifics.