Key facts
- Also walked away from the Kenya electric two-wheeler pilot earlier in 2026, TechCrunch reported.
- The Shell Foundation, an independent charity established by Shell plc, provided grant funding for the project.
- Also said the grant funding will follow the project to support its ongoing development, without specifics.
- The Shell Foundation declined to give specifics, citing a nondisclosure agreement with Also.
- Chris Yu said autonomy work, including a DoorDash partnership, took priority over the Kenya project.
- Also began shipping its TM-B e-bike in early October after repeated supply chain delays.
Also, a micromobility startup spun out of Rivian in 2025, quietly started and then walked away from an electric two-wheeler pilot project in Kenya earlier in 2026, TechCrunch reported on November 3, 2026. The project received grant funding from the Shell Foundation, an independent charity established by Shell plc.
A section of the Shell Foundation's website that has since been removed said the project aimed 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 the deleted section, Also was expected to work on modular battery designs and distributed EV charging, and planned to develop a purpose-built electric motorcycle for African riders.
In a September email, Also told TechCrunch it had explored the project with an unnamed partner but decided to focus on its core roadmap after completing only some early-stage work. Also said the grant funding will follow the project to support its ongoing development but declined to offer specifics. The Shell Foundation said the project was intended to generate evidence on driver income uplift potential, operational performance and commercial viability, and declined further detail citing a nondisclosure agreement with Also. Days later, the project disappeared from the Shell Foundation's website.
Chris Yu, Also co-founder and president, said in an interview at TechCrunch Disrupt that the Kenya pilot initially made sense given Also's mission to build small, purpose-built vehicles. But other projects took precedence, especially small autonomous vehicles developed in a partnership with DoorDash. Yu said he thinks there is a high chance autonomy will show up first and at broader scale in purpose-built smaller vehicles than in passenger vehicles.
Also walked away from the Africa project during a rocky first year of independence. Supply chain problems forced repeated delays of its first product, a premium e-bike called the TM-B, frustrating customers who had reserved one. Yu acknowledged the company communicated poorly with reservation holders through the summer. The TM-B finally started shipping to customers in early October. Early customers have reported problems including delivery damage and noticeable battery drain.