Also, the micromobility startup spun out of Rivian in 2025, abandoned an electric two-wheeler pilot project in Kenya earlier this year after receiving grant funding from the Shell Foundation. The company decided to focus resources on its consumer e-bike and autonomous vehicle work instead.
The Kenya project aimed to pilot a locally integrated electric two-wheeler platform with modular battery designs and distributed charging, according to a since-deleted section of the Shell Foundation's website. Also planned to develop a purpose-built electric motorcycle for African riders.
In a September email, Also told TechCrunch it had "explored this project" with an unnamed partner but "decided to focus on its core roadmap" after completing "some early-stage work." The company said the Shell Foundation grant "will follow the project to support its ongoing development" but declined to provide specifics.
Also co-founder and president Chris Yu said at TechCrunch Disrupt that the Kenya pilot initially aligned with the company's mission to build cost-optimized vehicles for specific markets. However, other priorities took over. "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 work, Yu said. Also is developing small autonomous vehicles as part of a partnership with DoorDash.
Also walked away from the Africa project during a difficult first year of independence. Supply chain problems forced repeated delays to its premium e-bike, the TM-B, frustrating customers with reservations. The company communicated little about delivery timelines through summer 2026. "I think we did a pretty poor job communicating to our reservation holders through the summer when they were all waiting," Yu acknowledged. The TM-B finally began shipping in early October. Yu said no single problem caused the delays, describing the bike as "kind of a computer on wheels" and noting the company competed for raw materials used in AI data center circuit boards while navigating certification requirements with government agencies.