Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Want another reason to get this free in your inbox? The emailed version of this newsletter includes polls, including one this week that asks readers what they think the best business model is for autonomous vehicle technology. Have an opinion about this? Email me your opinion at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com with the subject line “AV poll.” OK, back to the show. There’s another twist in the road ...

Group 1 - Ares Acquisition Corporation II (AACT) shares increased by 6.42% in after-hours trading, reaching $9.45 following successful fundraising for a merger with Kodiak Robotics [1] - Institutional investors have committed over $212.5 million in PIPE financing for the merger, exceeding the initial target of $100 million, with notable backing from Soros Fund Management and ARK Investments [2][3] - The total funding package for the merger exceeds $275 million when combined with approximately $62.9 million remaining in the trust account after redemptions [2] Group 2 - The post-merger company plans to list on NASDAQ under the ticker symbols "KDK" for common stock and "KDKRW" for warrants, contingent on meeting all listing criteria and closing conditions [3] - Over the past year, AACT has experienced a 17.78% decline, with a peak price of $11.54 on June 2, and a 20.57% loss over the last six months [4] - AACT's market capitalization is $549.31 million, with an average trading volume of 464,430 shares and a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.99 [4]

Amazon’s autonomous vehicle unit Zoox is about to start mapping and gathering data in Atlanta, Georgia, a precursor to testing its self-driving vehicles and eventually offering public rides in the city.Atlanta will become the seventh city in the U.S. where Zoox is testing its vehicles. The company announced its testing plans just one day after Waymo — along with partner Uber — said it would start offering rides in its own robotaxis to early access users in Atlanta ahead of a larger public launch this summer ...