Michigan-based autonomous driving startup May Mobility has just secured almost $67 million investment from Japanese telecommunications group NTT, a significant boost in its plans to develop self-driving buses and taxis by 2025.
Investment agreement
According to Nikkei Asia, NTT allocated approximately 10 billion yen ($66.9 million) in investments for the Toyota-backed startup.
In return, NTT Communications will secure exclusive rights to market all products of May Mobility in the Japanese market.
The company aims to equip all government and operator fleets with its developed sensors and software by 2025, including buses. The scope will eventually expand to cover taxis and other vehicles.
“In anticipation of the full-scale commercialization of services utilizing autonomous driving technology in Japan, we have invested in May Mobility, Inc. and acquired exclusive sales rights for the company’s autonomous driving system in Japan. We will also promote collaboration with various stakeholders and advance social implementation of autonomous driving services.”
May Mobility stated in an X post (Translated to English)
Toyota, which formed a capital and business partnership with NTT in 2020, will manage the production of the vehicles.
Notably, May Mobility has also gained investment from Japanese insurer Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance. It claims to have already started formulating autonomous driving-related insurance policies.
About May Mobility
May Mobility claims that its self-driving technology is equivalent to Level 4 automated driving, enabling a car to operate without a human driver at authorized points and areas. It apparently features AI to evaluate data from driving activities and prove real-time decisions.
For those interested, attached to the X post below is the difference among the five levels of autonomous driving per SAE:
According to Teslarati, May Mobility aims to launch demonstration tests of its self-driving technology as early as next year using Sienna minivan-based vehicles. The startup further asserted that it has already employed its technology more than 350,000 times so far with its earlier testing initiatives in 12 cities, particularly in North America.
Significance
Investing in May Mobility can significantly aid NTT in expanding its reach to the autonomous vehicle industry. The telecom behemoth acknowledges the huge role of autonomous driving in advancing the transportation sector, intensifying its interest to become among the companies to lead the shift.
The partnership between May Mobility, NTT, and Toyota marks a significant advancement in the global autonomous vehicle space. The companies’ respective expertise and experience will be crucial to their efforts to lead the future of self-driving technologies.
In addition, it can also aid Toyota in boosting its sales and deliveries in the coming years as soon as it integrates May Mobility’s technology into its offerings.
Notably, the partnership announcement occurred following the Japanese Government’s decision to lift the ban on Level 4 autonomous vehicles in April.
