According to two sources familiar with the matter, Canoo Chief Technology Officer Sohel Merchant has left the company.
Canoo, Another founding member, goes.
The Merchant’s departure was yet another blow for the founding team, which had started the company in late 2017. With Merchant gone, only one of the original members, Chief Engineer Christoph Kuttner, is still with Canoo.
Canoo and Merchant silent
Canoo did not respond to requests for comment, and Merchant declined to comment on his exit.
Big changes underway
Merchant’s departure comes during a period of significant change. It is winding down its Los Angeles headquarters and asking most of its nearly 200 employees to relocate to Texas, where it has a corporate office, or Oklahoma City, where it plans to build a manufacturing facility.
Evolution since going public
It has remained in flux since going public in 2020 through an exceptional motive acquisition organization merger. After the merger, Chairman Tony Aquila took over as CEO. He refocused the business enterprise from selling electric-powered vehicles without delay to purchasers to focus on the industrial EV market.
Moving headquarters and business plans
Aquila has continued to shift direction. In late 2021, he said the company would move its headquarters from Los Angeles to Bentonville, Arkansas—Walmart’s hometown—to attract the retailer as a customer.
Deals and delays Canoo
Walmart eventually signed a deal with Canoo in 2022, but it was low-risk and has not delivered large volumes of vehicles so far. The planned move never fully materialized, and attention shifted from Bentonville to Oklahoma, where plans for a large manufacturing facility have yet to be realized.
Financial struggles and testing contracts Canoo
Currently testing vehicles for USPS, NASA, and DOD – cash strapped; $19.1m in cash reported as of June 30th.
There have been continued founder departures: CEO Stefan Krause left in 2020, and Ulrich Kranz left in 2021. Kranz later joined Apple’s secretive EV project. Chief Designer Richard Kim, another core co-founder, departed in 2023.
