May Mobility in Ann Arbor, a company that develops and deploys autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, today announced the closing of a $105 million Series D round as part of its ongoing fundraising efforts.
The all-equity round was led by the Japanese telecommunications company NTT Group and is joined by new and existing financial and strategic investors, including Toyota Ventures, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., State Farm Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Cyrus Capital, and Trucks Venture Capital thus far.
May Mobility’s Series B and C were led by Toyota Motor Corp. and SPARX Group Co. respectively. This latest round brings May Mobility’s total funding to approximately $300 million to date.
May Mobility will use the money to accelerate the advancement and commercialization of its AV technology and services in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Additionally, the funding will assist in scaling operations and should pave a path for the company to reach profitability.
With this investment, NTT Group has acquired the exclusive rights to distribute May Mobility’s proprietary autonomous vehicle technology throughout Japan.
The companies will work with Toyota Motor Corp. to develop an autonomous driving ecosystem, working with local stakeholders to deploy May Mobility-equipped autonomous vehicles across a variety of vehicle platforms. The companies will incorporate May Mobility’s technology to enhance Japanese transportation networks.
“Our success in this fundraising is a strong validation of May’s proven business model and provides the fuel and momentum to realize our next phase of growth,” says Edwin Olson, co-founder and CEO of May Mobility. “Our approach has been to work with best-in-class partners to bring our technology and services to market and we’re excited to partner with a leading multinational technology firm of NTT’s caliber and to develop our business in Japan together.”
With more than 350,000 autonomy-enabled rides to date, May Mobility’s goal is to transform cities through AV technology, driving more accessible and sustainable transportation and safer roads, while filling gaps in existing transportation infrastructure.
Focusing on a business-to-government (B2G) and business-to-business (B2B) go-to-market strategy, May Mobility is partnering with cities, transit agencies, municipalities, and government agencies to solve real transportation challenges for communities.
This go-to-market strategy is designed to enable the company to achieve profitability faster through a lean and focused capital-efficient structure, in contrast to other AV companies.
May Mobility also takes a differentiated approach to its AV technology. With an understanding of the commercialization challenges, the company’s proprietary multi-policy decision making (MPDM) technology can adaptively handle situations it hasn’t encountered before. The technology’s ability to imagine multiple scenarios in real time enables May Mobility to scale to new markets and cities on a fraction of the capital required by other AV systems. The company has deployed its AVs in 12 cities in the U.S. and Japan.
May Mobility’s recent deployments and upcoming sites in the United States include Arlington, Tex.; Ann Arbor; Contra Costa, Calif.; Detroit; Grand Rapids, Minn.; and Sun City, Ariz. with more scheduled in the coming months.
“Autonomous transportation has a significant role to play in transforming our cities and improving our lives. With this financing, we expect to expand our vision of making transportation more safe, sustainable, and accessible for all,” says Olson.
