Rivian Spinoff Also Abandons Kenyan Electric Two-Wheeler Pilot to Prioritize Autonomous Ambitions

Also, the ambitious micromobility startup that spun out of electric vehicle powerhouse Rivian in 2025, has quietly shuttered a pilot project in Kenya. The venture, which aimed to explore the viability of electric two-wheelers in the East African market, was abandoned earlier this year as the company sought to reallocate its limited resources toward its core consumer e-bike business and its high-stakes autonomous vehicle development.

The project, which had garnered external validation through grant funding from the Shell Foundation—an independent charity established by the global energy giant Shell plc—was initially positioned as a strategic entry point into Africa’s burgeoning EV sector. Documents previously hosted on the Shell Foundation’s website, which have since been removed, outlined an ambitious scope for the collaboration. The stated goal was 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 those now-deleted project descriptions, the roadmap for the Kenyan initiative was comprehensive. It involved developing modular battery designs, establishing distributed electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and, perhaps most significantly, engineering a purpose-built electric motorcycle tailored specifically for the demands of African riders.

The premise for such a project was rooted in a clear market reality: the African continent represents a massive and rapidly expanding market for two-wheelers. The sector has seen significant movement from established players, most notably the African mobility firm Spiro. In recent reports, Spiro claimed to have more than 130,000 electric motorcycles currently in operation across seven countries, supported by a network of 2,500 battery-swapping stations. This explosive growth has not gone unnoticed by global investors, with Chinese mobility companies and international capital firms aggressively pouring resources into the space to capture market share.

Despite the apparent promise of the sector, Also’s involvement proved to be short-lived. In an email exchange this September, the company confirmed to TechCrunch that it had “explored this project” alongside an unnamed partner. However, after completing only “some early-stage work,” leadership determined that the initiative no longer aligned with the company’s immediate strategic roadmap. When asked about the status of the grant funding provided by the Shell Foundation, Also stated that the funds “will follow the project to support its ongoing development,” though the company declined to provide further specifics regarding who would carry the torch.

The Shell Foundation, when contacted for comment, maintained that 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.” However, when pressed for details regarding the specific outcomes or the reason for the project’s sudden termination, the foundation declined to elaborate, citing a nondisclosure agreement with Also. Shortly after these inquiries, the project details were scrubbed from the foundation’s website.

During an interview last month at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, Also co-founder and president Chris Yu provided insight into the company’s internal decision-making process. Yu acknowledged that the Kenya pilot initially made sense given the company’s overarching mission to design small, purpose-built vehicles that are “first and foremost cost-optimized to do the job that needs to be done in a particular market.”

Ultimately, however, the shift in priorities came down to the urgency of other projects in the pipeline, specifically the development of small, autonomous delivery vehicles. That effort, which is being pursued through a high-profile partnership with DoorDash, has moved to the forefront of the company’s strategy.

“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 partnership, Yu explained. He added that he remains bullish on the segment, noting his belief that there is a “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 abandonment of the African project arrived during what has been a challenging and somewhat rocky first year of independence for the startup. Following its separation from Rivian, Also encountered significant supply chain hurdles that resulted in repeated delays for its debut product: the TM-B, a premium e-bike. The delays caused considerable frustration among customers who had placed early reservations, a situation exacerbated by a notable lack of proactive communication from the company for much of 2026.

Leadership at Also now acknowledges that this silence was a strategic error. “I think we did a pretty poor job communicating to our reservation holders through the summer when they were all waiting, and we got called out for that,” Yu said during the interview. “But I think it’s actually great. It’s really hard to earn the opportunity for people to care, and to tell us what they think, and to help us improve.”

Successfully managing the TM-B launch is essential for Also, not just for the sake of its reputation, but because the company’s ambitions extend far beyond the consumer e-bike market. The startup is positioning itself to be a major supplier for commercial fleets, with plans to sell cargo bikes—including four-wheeled variants—to corporate giants like Amazon. Alongside the DoorDash partnership, these commercial products represent a significant long-term revenue stream that the company is eager to unlock.

For now, the TM-B remains the company’s most visible product, and its distinctive aesthetic has generated a strong level of public curiosity. Yu emphasized that there was no single point of failure regarding the delays, which finally concluded when shipments began in early October. Instead, the company spent much of the year navigating a complex supply chain environment, a struggle Yu characterized as playing “Whac-A-Mole.” He noted that the TM-B is “kind of a computer on wheels,” and its technical complexity made it particularly vulnerable to external disruptions.

At various points throughout the year, Also found itself in competition for the same raw materials required to manufacture printed circuit boards for high-demand AI data centers. Furthermore, the company faced a grueling, iterative process to satisfy certification requirements from various government regulatory agencies. The sheer volume of these challenges, and the rapid pace at which new roadblocks emerged on a weekly basis, made it difficult for the team to provide customers with a clear, reliable timeline.

“The entire team is like running at a million miles an hour to get these things produced and shipped to customers, and then it’s also really dynamic as well,” Yu said. “I think what we could have done better is just [say], straight up: ‘We’re chasing down these things, we’ll have an update shortly.’”

While the initial communication strategy fell short, Also has reportedly worked to improve transparency, a shift that has begun to earn the company some measure of goodwill within online communities such as Reddit. This reputation will be vital as the company navigates the inevitable teething issues that accompany a new product. Early adopters of the TM-B have already begun reporting various issues, ranging from damage sustained during delivery to concerns regarding battery drain. As the company pivots away from experimental international projects and toward the reality of scaling its domestic production and autonomous ambitions, its ability to address these user concerns will be the next major test of its viability in the competitive micromobility landscape.