ANN ARBOR – Autonomous vehicle technology company May Mobility recently closed $111 million in a Series C funding round.
In addition to its development and deployment of autonomous vehicle technology in cities across the U.S., May Mobility has partnered with Toyota on the carmaker’s new e-Palette battery-electric platform and has begun deploying its programs on the Sienna.
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“With the close of this latest investment round, May Mobility will continue to accelerate growth in our technology, business development and platforms, all with a global reach,” CEO of May Mobility Edwin Olson said in a statement.
“Our additional investors, as well as our continued strategic collaboration with Toyota and others, will enable us to march toward driver-out commercial operations in 2023 and enable our expansion into new markets as we roll out more Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicles now and look to next generation platforms, such as the e-Palette.”
State Farm Ventures participated in the Series C round, becoming one of the first insurance companies in the U.S. to invest in autonomous vehicles. Tokio Marine also participated in the latest funding round.
“The insurance industry sees the future of mobility and is recognizing the importance of helping to design the way insurance will support autonomous vehicles in the future,” CFO of May Mobility Ryan Green said in a statement. “Having partners like Tokio Marine and State Farm Ventures helps expedite that vision for the future of mobility.”
According to a release, State Farm Ventures invests in services, capabilities and technologies that improve pedestrian and vehicle safety.
“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,” vice president of State Farm Ventures Michael Remmes said in a statement.
Modified by May Mobility, Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicles regularly test in Ann Arbor and anticipate launching other public deployment locations by the end of the year.
“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, and 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,” Olson said in a statement.
To date, May Mobility has raised $194 million. The company will use the funds from the latest round to expand its global customer base, increase its engineering headcount, invest in technology development and enhance rider experiences.
The round was led by Ltd.’s Mirai Creation Fund II alongside Tokio Marine, SPARX Group Co., Bridgestone Americas, Toyota Tsusho and returning investors Millennium Technology Value Partners, Toyota Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, Cyrus Capital Partners and Maven Ventures, among others.
For more information, visit maymobility.com.