Also Quietly Exited a Kenya E-Moto Pilot to Prioritize E-Bikes and Autonomy
Also, the micromobility startup spun out of Rivian in 2025, quietly launched โ and then walked away from โ an electric two-wheeler pilot project in Kenya earlier this year. According to TechCrunch, the company made the decision as it sought to concentrate resources on its consumer e-bike and autonomous vehicle ambitions.
Shell Foundation Backed the Pilot
The project received grant funding from the Shell Foundation, an independent charity established by the British oil and gas giant Shell plc. A now-removed section of the Shell Foundation's website described the project's goal as 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."
Per 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."
A Booming Market for Electric Motorcycles in Africa
The opportunity for electric motorcycles on the continent appears substantial, given Africa's massive two-wheeler market. African mobility company Spiro recently said it has more than 130,000 electric motorcycles operating across seven countries, along with 2,500 battery-swapping stations. That boom has drawn interest from Chinese mobility companies and investors, which are pouring resources into the space.
Also Says It 'Explored This Project' and Moved On
In a September email, Also told TechCrunch that 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." Also said the grant funding it received from the Shell Foundation "will follow the project to support its ongoing development," but declined to offer specifics.
The Shell Foundation told TechCrunch in an email 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." When TechCrunch asked for more specifics, the Shell Foundation declined, citing a nondisclosure agreement with Also. Days later, the project disappeared from the Shell Foundation's website.
Why Kenya Made Sense โ and Why It Didn't Last
During an interview last month at TechCrunch Disrupt, Also co-founder and president Chris Yu said the Kenya pilot project initially made sense given Also's mission to build small, purpose-built vehicles that are "first and foremost cost-optimized to do the job that needs to be done in a particular market."
But other projects took precedence, Yu said โ especially the development of small autonomous vehicles, which Also is working on as part of 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. He added that he believes there's 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."
A Rocky First Year of Independence
Also walked away from the Africa project during a somewhat rocky first year of independence. Supply chain problems forced the company to repeatedly delay deliveries of its first product โ a premium e-bike called the TM-B โ frustrating customers who had reserved one. What made matters worse was Also's relative silence around those delays.