May Mobility has closed a US$111m Series C round of funding. The company has also confirmed plans to continue to pursue its deployment programs using the Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicle platform, but says it will also begin development of a new solution based on Toyota’s e-Palette.
Joining previous investor Tokio Marine, State Farm Ventures participated in this latest round, becoming one of the first US-based insurers to invest in AVs. “May Mobility’s technology is a potential compelling advancement in the evolution of autonomous driving and may help to reduce accidents and improve road safety,” said Michael Remmes, a VP at State Farm Ventures.
Bringing the company’s total raised funding to date to US$194m, the round is expected to increase May Mobility’s engineering headcount, expand its global customer base, enhance rider experiences and invest in technology advancements, helping May Mobility deliver on its commitment to driver-out operations in 2023.
Toyota collaboration
In addition to the new round of funding, May Mobility is continuing its collaboration with Toyota. Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicle platforms modified by May Mobility have already been launched for testing and demonstrations in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with other public deployment locations anticipated in late 2022. The program also features an ADA-compliant up-fit through the company’s partnership with Braunability.
Furthermore, May Mobility has begun initial development work on incorporating the company’s ADK onto the Toyota e-Palette, a battery-electric vehicle platform that is positioned to transform the future of mobility. With greater rider capacity and the expansion of more efficient transit services made possible by a platform like e-Palette, May Mobility says it will continue its mission to reduce traffic and the need for parking lots and garages, creating more livable green space.
“We are already seeing the benefits of using Toyota’s Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicle platform as it was designed from the ground up to interface with computers,” said Edwin Olson, CEO of May Mobility. “We look forward to future discussions on the use of Toyota’s e-Palette as an exciting opportunity to set new milestones as we transform mobility with an autonomous, electric vehicle platform. This platform, coupled with our technology, has the power and capability to accelerate the future of mobility.”
With its Series C round, May Mobility also garnered commercial traction with partners leading the adoption of AV technology in the business-to-government and business-to-business sectors. In addition to its previously announced program with Bridgestone, May Mobility is working on a project with Monet Technologies and SoftBank for an international route in Tokyo.
