BYD showcases Yangwang U9 EV that goes 0-60 mph in 2 seconds… Oh, and it can ollie
A year after its digital premiere, BYD has officially showcased the U9 EV under its new Yangwang luxury sub-brand. The quad motor supercar debuts atop BYD’s new e⁴ platform featuring a DiSus vehicle body control system being hailed by its makers as the “most advanced in the global industry.” As you’ll see below, this EV can actually jump up and down.
A week ahead of the Shanghai Auto Show, BYD already began showing off its “dance moves” during its tech launch event today, showcasing its new intelligent body control system, called DiSus. BYD’s latest technology was demonstrated on upcoming EVs under its new Yangwang luxury brand, which was officially launched in early January.
During that presentation, BYD unveiled its new e⁴ platform, in which its upcoming Yangwang U8 SUV sits atop. At the time, the audience was excited by a crabwalk feature that utilizes the DiSus system BYD describes as the first in-house intelligent body control technology introduced by a Chinese automaker.
Crabwalks are so passé, so BYD has upped its game with the Yangwang U9, which made its first physical debut in China after a digital launch last year. As you’ll see below, DiSus allows this all-electric supercar to dance, adjust its height, and even hop off the ground.
BYD’s new Yangwang EV can drive on three wheels and jump
On the outside, the star of BYD’s show today was the Yangwang U9, but it was actually the intelligent control system within it that is the most exciting to think about for the future of EVs. BYD’s new EV architecture allows for electrical signal control rather than traditional mechanical control.
The new DiSus system comes equipped with a number of sensing technologies with a fusion of advanced deep intelligence that not only has increased perception but also combines a systematic approach to vertical motion – a phrase we don’t normally associate with cars.
BYD explained that its DiSus system is divided into three different categories:
- DiSus-C – Intelligent Damping Body Control System
- Adjusts the damping of the EV by controlling the damper solenoid valve, enabling significant improvement in driving comfort compared to vehicles with passive suspension.
- DiSus-A – Intelligent Air Body Control System
- Similar to traditional air suspension, offering adjustments up to 150 mm (nearly 6 inches).
- Offers over a dozen different height modes, including adjusting to the EV’s speed, welcome mode, and height safety lock mode.
- DiSus-P – Intelligent Hydraulic Body Control System
- The most advanced of the three groups, described by BYD as “the world’s first intelligent hydraulic body control system.”
- Controls the oil intake of the damper, damping adjustment valve, and stiffness adjustment valve to achieve a dynamic adjustment of body control.
- When the EV is in sharp acceleration and deceleration or high-speed cornering, DiSus-P can provide an instant 200% increase in stiffness to achieve better handling.
- Offers adjustable suspension up to 200 mm (7.87 inches) and can lift each wheel independently or all four simultaneously.
BYD states that DiSus-P will debut on the aforementioned Yangwang U8 SUV, while DiSus-A will emerge on the Denza N7. DiSus-C will become available to certain BYD Han and Tang owners with the necessary hardware as an over-the-air (OTA) update.
To cap off today’s event, BYD rolled out its Yangwang U9 supercar equipped with a fourth category of vehicle control it calls DiSus-X. This system allows the EV to dance, drive on three wheels, and even jump from a standstill.
This upcoming supercar has four motors, travels 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 2.0 seconds and starts at a price of around $150,000. Watch it roll out, do a little dance, and then ollie for the crowd in the video below.
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Enbridge is going big on solar again in Texas, and Meta is snapping up all the solar power it can get.
Last month, Electrek reported that the Canadian oil and gas pipeline giant just launched its first solar farm in Texas. Now it’s given the green light to Clear Fork, a 600 megawatt (MW) utility-scale solar farm already under construction near San Antonio. The project is expected to come online in summer 2027.
Once it’s up and running, every bit of Clear Fork’s electricity will go to Meta Platforms under a long-term contract. Meta will use the solar power to help run its energy-hungry data centers entirely on clean energy.
The solar farm project’s cost is around $900 million. Enbridge says it expects Clear Fork to boost the company’s cash flow and earnings starting in 2027.
Enbridge EVP Matthew Akman said the project reflects “growing demand for renewable power across North America from blue-chip companies involved in technology and data center operations.”
Meta’s head of global energy, Urvi Parekh, added that the company is “thrilled to partner with Enbridge to bring new renewable energy to Texas and help support our operations with 100% clean energy.”
Meta’s first multi-gigawatt data center, Prometheus, is expected to come online in 2026.
Clear Fork is part of a growing trend: tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Google are racing to lock down renewable energy contracts as they expand their fleets of AI-ready data centers, which use massive amounts of electricity.
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A fully electric Japanese electric pickup truck? It’s not a Toyota or Honda, but Isuzu’s new electric pickup packs a punch. The D-MAX EV can tow over 7,770 lbs (3,500 kg), plow through nearly 24″ (600 mm) of water, and it even has a dedicated Terrain Mode for extreme off-roading. However, it comes at a cost.
Meet Isuzu’s first electric pickup: The D-MAX EV
After announcing that it had begun building left-hand drive D-MAX EV models at the end of April, Isuzu said that it would start shipping them to Europe in the third quarter.
By the end of the year, Isuzu will begin production of right-hand drive models for the UK. Sales will follow in early 2026.
Isuzu announced prices this week, boasting the D-MAX EV features the same “no compromise durability” of the current diesel version.
The D-MAX EV pickup features a full-time 4WD system, a towing capacity of up to 3.5 tons (7,700 lbs), and an added Terrain Mode, which Isuzu says is designed for “extreme off-road capability.” With 210 mm (8.3″) of ground clearance, Isuzu’s electric pickup can wade through up to 600 mm (24″) of water.
Powered by a 66.9 kWh battery, Isuzu’s electric pickup offers a WLTP range of 163 miles. With charging speeds of up to 50 kW, the D-MAX EV can recharge from 20% to 80% in about an hour.
The electric version is nearly identical to the current diesel-powered D-Max, both inside and out, but prices will be significantly higher.
| Isuzu D-Max EV specs and prices | |
| Drive System | Full-time 4×4 |
| Battery Type | Lithium-ion |
| Battery Capacity | 66.9 kWh |
| WLTP driving range | 163 miles |
| Max Output | 130 kW (174 hp) |
| Max Torque | 325 Nm |
| Max Speed | Over 130 km/h (+80 mph) |
| Max Payload | 1,000 kg (+2,200 lbs) |
| Max Towing Capacity | 3.5t (+7,700 lbs) |
| Ground Clearance | 210 mm |
| Wading Depth | 600 mm |
| Starting Price (*Ex. VAT) | £59,995 ($81,000) |
Isuzu’s electric pickup will be priced from £59,995 ($81,000), not including VAT. The double cab variant starts at £60,995 ($82,500). In comparison, the diesel model starts at £36,755 ($50,000).
The EV pickup will launch in extended and double cab variants with two premium trims: the eDL40 and V-Cross. Pre-sales will begin later this year with the first UK arrivals scheduled for February 2026. Customer deliveries are set to follow in March.
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In this photo illustration, Claude AI logo is seen on a smartphone and Anthropic logo on a pc screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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OpenAI and Anthropic continue to lead a fundraising bonanza in artificial intelligence, raising historic rounds and stratospheric valuations.
But when it comes to finding AI exits for venture firms, the market looks a lot different.
AI startups raised $104.3 billion in the U.S. in the first half of this year, nearly matching the $104.4 billion total for 2024, according to PitchBook. Almost two-thirds of all U.S. venture funding went to AI, up from 49% last year, PitchBook said.
The biggest deals follow a familiar theme. OpenAI raised a record $40 billion in March in a round led by SoftBank. Meta poured $14.3 billion into Scale AI in June as part of a way to hire away CEO Alexandr Wang and a few other top staffers. OpenAI rival Anthropic raised $3.5 billion, while Safe Superintelligence, a nascent startup started by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, raised $2 billion.
While Meta’s massive investment into Scale AI amounted to a lucrative exit of sorts for early investors, the overarching trend has been a lot more money going in than coming out.
In the first half, there were 281 VC-backed exits totaling $36 billion, according to PitchBook. That includes the roughly $700 million acquisition of EvolutionIQ, an AI platform for disability and injury claims management, by CCC Intelligent Solutions, and the public listing of Slide Insurance, which builds AI-powered insurance offerings for homeowners. Slide is valued at about $2.3 billion.
“The dominant exit trend right now is frequent but lower-value acquisitions and fewer IPOs with significantly higher value,” said Dimitri Zabelin, PitchBook’s senior research analyst for AI and cybersecurity.
CoreWeave’s IPO, which took place at the very end of the first quarter, was the exception on the infrastructure side. The stock shot up 340% in the second quarter, and the company is now valued at over $63 billion.
Zabelin said the pattern of more investments in applications with smaller deals has been in place for the past year.
“Vertical solutions tend to plug more easily into existing enterprise gaps,” Zabelin said.
The acquisitions wave is being driven, in part, by what Zabelin calls bolt-on deals where larger companies buy smaller startups to enhance their own future valuations, hoping to enhance their value ahead of a future sale or IPO.
“That also has to do with the current liquidity conditions in the macro environment,” Zabelin said.
Outside of AI, activity is slow. U.S. fintech funding dropped 42% in the first half of the year to $10.5 billion, according to Tracxn. Cloud software and crypto have also seen sharp pullbacks.
Zabelin said IPO activity could pick up if economic conditions improve and if interest rates come down. Investors clearly want opportunities to back promising AI companies, he said.
“The appetite for AI, specifically vertical applications, will continue to remain robust,” Zabelin said.
— CNBC’s Kevin Schmidt contributed to this report.
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