US Startup Adds Another 2,000 Electric Trucks To FedEx Delivery Fleet

cleantechnica.com Oct 1, 2026

US Startup Adds Another 2,000 Electric Trucks To FedEx Delivery Fleet

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Oct 1, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

FedEx has placed an order for 2,000 electric trucks from California‑based startup Harbinger, expanding the carrier’s push toward a zero‑emission fleet. The deal arrives amid a resurgence of interest in electric trucks as fuel prices surge, even though the U.S. market suffered a sharp decline after the federal EV tax credit expired in September 2022. Industry observers note that while consumer EV adoption is expected to rebound, domestic vehicle production faces challenges, prompting manufacturers such as GM and Ford to invest in U.S. battery capacity and new platforms. Tesla, the nation’s largest EV maker, recently began volume production of its Semi at a Nevada plant and secured a 2,500‑truck order through the ZET SCALE Alliance, which aggregates demand for members like Microsoft and PepsiCo to secure better pricing and charging solutions.

💡 Why It Matters

· FedEx’s sizable purchase validates Harbinger’s technology and accelerates commercial electric‑truck deployment, forcing legacy manufacturers to speed up domestic production and supply‑chain investments.

Read full article on cleantechnica.com

Seeing Earth In A Different Light

SatLeo Labs, an Ahmedabad‑based startup, is launching its first commercial thermal payload, TAPAS‑1, aboard SpaceX’s Transporter‑18 Falcon 9 from Vandenberg on October 1. The satellite will use thermal infrared sensing to measure land‑surface temperature continuously, day and night, addressing gaps in current high‑resolution, frequent temperature data. TAPAS‑1 is part of SatLeo’s full‑stack commercial thermal intelligence platform, combining hardware, data processing, and AI to deliver actionable insights for agriculture, urban planning, utilities, and insurance. The launch marks India’s first dedicated commercial thermal satellite.

💡 By providing near‑real‑time temperature maps, TAPAS‑1 equips stakeholders with precise, timely data to mitigate heat‑related risks, optimize irrigation, and enhance emergency responses, filling a critical void left by existing coarse, infrequent thermal observations.

techcrunch.com · Oct 1

Is Neko Health’s body scan worth it? Spotify billionaire’s startup has come to America

Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s startup Neko Health secured $700 million to develop a consumer body‑scan platform aimed at preventative health. The company competes with rivals such as Midjourney and Function Health, all seeking to embed body scanning into mainstream healthcare. TechCrunch’s Equity podcast features investor Farooq Abbasi discussing Neko’s strategy, funding dynamics, and the broader market potential for body‑scanning technology. The episode highlights investor enthusiasm and the challenges of integrating new diagnostics into existing medical systems.

💡 The surge in body‑scan startups signals a shift toward data‑driven prevention, potentially redefining early disease detection and patient engagement.

techcrunch.com · Oct 1

Satlyt, founded by a former Google and SpaceX product manager, raises $8M…

Satlyt, a software startup co‑founded by former Google cloud and SpaceX Starlink engineer Rama Afullo, announced an $8 million seed round led by Non Sibi Ventures. The company, based in Sunnyvale and Nairobi, develops platform‑agnostic software that enables AI models to run directly on satellites, turning them into distributed compute nodes. Its first commercial deployment launches Thursday on a SpaceX rocket alongside Google’s Project Suncatcher prototype. The payload, built by Indian firm TakeMe2Space, will serve NASA, space‑surveillance startup Stellerian and TakeMe2Space itself, testing cloud‑like protocols and image‑processing workloads. Satlyt has already demonstrated a 60 percent reduction in transmission size using DeepMind’s Gemma model on a Momentus spacecraft and plans to create a multi‑satellite compute cloud by next year for commercial Earth observation services.

💡 By turning satellites into plug‑and‑play AI processors, Satlyt could slash ground‑segment costs and unlock real‑time data analytics for a growing fleet of orbiters.

thehawk.in · Oct 1

Gujarat startup’s thermal infrared camera to launch aboard SpaceX’s ‘Falcon 9’ rocket…

Satleo, an Ahmedabad‑based startup, will launch its TAPAS‑1 thermal infrared camera on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on October 1. The three‑kilogram payload will orbit at roughly 500 km, capturing heat signatures that conventional optical satellites miss. The data will aid agriculture, urban heat mapping, water‑stress monitoring, disaster response, forest‑fire detection, and climate studies, and can be enhanced with AI. Developed entirely in Gujarat, TAPAS‑1 is slated to operate for three years, with Satleo planning eight additional satellites by 2029 after securing Rs 60 crore in funding and US$ 52 million in letters of intent.

💡 By providing high‑resolution thermal imagery from a private Indian satellite, Satleo offers a cost‑effective, real‑time tool for precision agriculture and urban heat management, filling a critical data gap that could transform resource planning and disaster response.

fortune.com · Oct 1

How AI is becoming Hollywood’s newest star, changing work on and off…

When “Hell Grind” premiered at Cannes, it drew attention not for star power but for being fully generated by artificial intelligence. The 95‑minute action film was produced by Higgsfield AI, a startup of 15 people, in under three weeks on a $500,000 budget, with 80 % of costs allocated to compute power. All actors, visuals and effects were AI‑created, though the company’s co‑founder Mahi De Silva stresses that directors, writers and designers will remain essential. Higgsfield AI’s platform, Cinema Studio, integrates 33 AI models such as OpenAI’s ImageGPT and Google’s Nano Banana. The startup raised $400 million in a Series B round, valuing it at $5.4 billion, and is testing licensed human likenesses for future projects.

💡 AI‑driven production could slash traditional filmmaking costs while reshaping creative labor dynamics.

techcrunch.com · Sep 30

Factory CEO just accused his VC board advisor of spying for Cognition

Factory co‑founder and CEO Matan Grinberg fired VC Chris Degnan from his board‑advisor role after alleging Degnan leaked confidential information to Factory’s main competitor, Cognition. Degnan, who had spent 11 years as Snowflake’s chief revenue officer, announced his new position as Cognition’s chief revenue officer two hours later and denied the accusations, claiming he resigned voluntarily. The dispute follows Factory’s recent $200 million raise at a $5 billion valuation and Cognition’s $2 billion funding round, underscoring heightened tensions among AI‑focused venture firms and their portfolio companies.

💡 The clash exposes how intertwined venture capital and AI startups can create conflicts of interest, potentially compromising proprietary data. It also signals a growing scrutiny of board‑advisor conduct in the fast‑moving AI sector.