Modular EV startup Canoo has had a rough go of things over the past few years, and its journey might well be at its bitter end. CEO Anthony Aquila is set to acquire the bankrupt firm's assets for a bargain, and that's usually the way things wrap up in this business.
The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and wound down its operations in January, after it failed to secure funding through a US government program and unnamed investors.
A month prior, it had furloughed several employees and put many others on "mandatory unpaid break." The company's own reports showed it had only ever produced 19 vehicles in total, despite having raised US$595 million since its founding in 2017, and orders amounting to $2 billion.
TechCrunch's Sean O'Kane, who's been following Canoo closely, noted that Aquila has made an offer to purchase practically all of the company's assets for just $4 million in cash, according to this filing. Canoo has $145 million in assets and $12 million in cash, which makes it sound like Aquila could get a real bargain – but the startup also has $175 million in liabilities. Womp womp.
That's a bummer, because Canoo really did have something cool on its hands. Its modular vehicle platform allowed for a number of body styles, with a distinctive design language for a people-mover, a pickup, cargo vans, and even a specialized ride for NASA.
From the sound of things, a combination of challenges producing its EVs efficiently and difficulties courting investors ultimately did Canoo in.
It doesn't help that the Trump administration doesn't seem all too keen to support EV infrastructure in the country. A month ago, it suspended a $5 billion program to provide funding to states to deploy charging stations.
Plus, the General Services Administration announced two weeks ago it would shut down all 8,000 electric vehicle chargers at federal buildings nationwide, and planned to offload newly purchased EVs from government fleets under its purview.
Had Canoo made it into 2025, it would have likely found itself in the crosshairs of these EV-focused cuts: it had secured contracts to supply vehicles to NASA, the US Postal Service, and the Department of Defense.
As O'Kane notes, things are definitely looking grim for the company, despite its CEO being the one to step in and buy up its assets. While Aquila hasn't stated his exact intentions for them, O'Kane notes that such transactions in the EV world typically result in companies being sold off for parts at the end of the day.
Personally, I'm keen to see where Canoo's chief designer lands next. Richard Kim joined the startup after a stint at BMW shaping the iconic i3 and i8. Kim is now part of Persona AI, a robotics company that says it's "building the world’s toughest humanoid."
We've reached out to Anthony Aquila for comment and will update this post if/when we hear back.
Via: TechCrunch
