NTT Invests in May Mobility to Bring Autonomous Driving Technology to Japan

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company May Mobility announced this week that it has closed a USD 105 million Series D round as part of its ongoing fundraising efforts, led by the Japanese telecommunications company NTT Group. With this investment, NTT has joined new and existing financial and strategic investors, including Toyota Ventures, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company, State Farm Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Cyrus Capital, and Trucks Venture Capital thus far.

• Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source
• 
• 

Also Read: NTT Docomo Introduces New OREX Open RAN Service Lineup

Funding and Strategic Investment

This latest round brings May Mobility’s total funding to approximately USD 300 million to date, according to the company. The company intends to use the proceeds 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 pave a path for the company to reach profitability.

NTT Group to Distribute Technology in Japan

With this investment, NTT Group has reportedly acquired the exclusive rights to distribute May Mobility’s proprietary autonomous vehicle technology throughout Japan. The companies will collaborate with Toyota Motor Corporation to develop an autonomous driving ecosystem, cooperating with local stakeholders to deploy May Mobility-equipped autonomous vehicles across a variety of vehicle platforms. The technology partners will incorporate May Mobility’s technology to enhance Japanese transportation networks.

Also Read: Fujitsu Provides NTT Docomo With O-RAN Alliance-Compliant 5G Virtualised RAN Solution

Autonomous-enabled rides to Date

According to the official release, May Mobility has provided over 350,000 autonomous-enabled rides to date, with a goal to transform cities through autonomous vehicle technology, making transportation more accessible and sustainable while enhancing road safety and addressing gaps in the existing transportation infrastructure.

Expansion Plans in the US and Japan

May Mobility is reported to have deployed its AVs in 12 cities in the US and Japan. With a business-to-government (B2G) and business-to-business (B2B) strategy, May Mobility partners with cities, transit agencies, municipalities, and government agencies.