Helm.ai, which uses an unsupervised learning approach to its autonomous driving software, raised a $31M Series C led by Freeman Group at a $431M valuation (Kirsten Korosec/TechCrunch)

Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Helm.ai, which uses unsupervised learning to train models for its autonomous driving software, raised a $31M Series C led by Freeman Group at a $431M valuation  —  A few bright spots remain in the autonomous vehicle industry even amid macroeconomic headwinds that have nearly shut off the spigot …

Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Sources: autonomous vehicle startup Argo AI, which raised billions in VC funding, is shutting down; top backers Ford and VW will absorb its parts and some staff  —  Argo AI, an autonomous vehicle startup that burst on the scene in 2017 stacked with a $1 billion investment, is shutting down …

Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Internal email: autonomous delivery startup Nuro is laying off 300 people, or 20% of its workforce, to preserve cash, and says it has $1B on its balance sheet  —  Nuro, the autonomous vehicle delivery startup backed by Softbank, Google and Tiger Global Management, is laying off about 300 people …

Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch:
Cairo-based Money Fellows, which digitizes money circles or rotating savings and credit associations, raised a $31M Series B, bringing its total funding to $37M  —  Egyptian fintech Money Fellows has raised $31 million in what it describes as the first close of its Series B investment.

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple scales back ambitious self-driving plans for its electric vehicle, now delayed to 2026 with a design that includes a steering wheel and pedals  —  Apple Inc. has scaled back ambitious self-driving plans for its future electric vehicle and postponed the car’s target launch date …

Joanna Glasner / Crunchbase News:
Analysis: 14 self-driving vehicle tech companies that went public in the past two years have seen an 80%+ average decline in their post-IPO stock price  —  A few years ago, public market investors sometimes lamented the lack of opportunities to directly invest in future-shaping technologies like autonomous driving.