The Latest SPAC News and Rumors: June 15, 2022

Below is a daily summary of links to the latest SPAC news and rumors gathered across the web. 

Latest SPAC News: QuantumScape announces departure of Chief Manufacturing Officer, Rezolve acquires ANY Lifestyle Marketing, and ProKidney announces manufacturing efficiency initiatives 

QuantumScape’s Manufacturing Drama Tests Silicon Valley Moonshot

On Friday afternoon, QuantumScape announced the departure of Chief Manufacturing Officer Celina Mikolajczak after a year in the job. The Tesla and Panasonic veteran was a key hire when she joined QuantumScape to help bring battery innovations from the lab to the factory floor.

QuantumScape has been targeted by shortsellers and pummeled with shareholder lawsuits alleging it oversold its technology to investors ahead of a buzzy SPAC merger in 2020 that raised $680 million. Mikolajczak brought credibility and the expertise to take the company’s ballyhooed battery into production.

The startup cited “differing management styles,” and said its manufacturing and supply chain teams will now report directly to CEO Jagdeep Singh, a well-regarded salesman and tech leader in Silicon Valley, but not a manufacturing expert. Mikolajczak will join the company’s scientific advisory board for at least one year, and keep her stock grants.

Rezolve acquires ANY Lifestyle Marketing in Germany intended to revolutionize Mobile Engagement 

Rezolve (NASDAQ: ZONE), a leader in mobile commerce and engagement, today announced it has acquired all the shares in ANY Lifestyle Marketing GmbH, the exclusive marketer for all commercial activities of Radio Group in Germany, as its next step in revolutionizing mobile engagement by disrupting the traditional radio market.

On December 17, 2021, Rezolve Limited, a private limited liability company registered under the laws of England and Wales, entered into a business combination agreement, dated as of December 17, 2021, with Armada Acquisition Corp. I, a Delaware corporation.

ProKidney Announces Manufacturing Efficiency Initiatives and Supply Chain Streamlining Expected to Reduce REACT Manufacturing Costs

ProKidney LP, a leading clinical-stage cellular therapeutics company focused on therapies for chronic kidney disease, today announced an update on manufacturing efficiency and supply chain streamlining initiatives, which could reduce manufacturing costs.

ProKidney’s current costs of manufacturing REACT™ for use in its ongoing Phase 2 Clinical Trial RMCL-002 is approximately $100,000 per patient. ProKidney anticipates that these costs will be lower for its Phase 3 trials and will continue to decrease by potentially up to 50% compared to the cost of manufacturing REACT™ for its Phase 2 RMCL-002 study as it manufactures REACT™ at commercial scale.

On January 18, 2022, ProKidney announced that it would become a publicly traded company via a business combination with Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp. III (Nasdaq: DNAC).

Polestar Delivering on Growth Promise, Continues to Drive Customer Demand, Expand Into New Markets, Increase Retail Sales Footprint and Develop Product Portfolio

Polestar, the Swedish electric performance car brand, continues to deliver on its growth promise as it progresses towards a planned listing on the Nasdaq through a proposed business combination with Gores Guggenheim, Inc. (Nasdaq: GGPI, GGPIW, and GGPIU), expected to close at the end of June 2022.

Expansion into new markets and a growing retail footprint are both driving and supporting customer demand, while the development of new models is set to propel the brand further into high-margin premium SUV segments.