Dec 6, 2019 - Technology

Self-driving shuttle company May Mobility gets a $50 million lift from Toyota

Joann Muller

May Mobility's Little Roady shuttle in Providence, Rhode Island. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

May Mobility, a self-driving electric shuttle company based in Ann Arbor, Mich., just raised $50 million in a Series B financing round led by Toyota.

Why it matters: The vote of confidence is more than financial. Toyota has also selected May Mobility as one of its partners to develop autonomous transportation-as-a-service for future mobility platforms.

Details of that collaboration haven't been disclosed, but one possibility is that Toyota will incorporate May Mobility's self-driving technology in its e-Palette shuttle platform, first unveiled at CES in 2017.

Background: May Mobility operates AV shuttles (still with trained backup drivers) in Detroit and Grand Rapids in Michigan, and Providence, Rhode Island.

Rather than sell its shuttles to customers, May Mobility contracts with cities, transit agencies and corporations to provide short trips on fixed routes in dense urban areas.
To date, its fleet of 25 electric shuttles has provided more than 170,000 revenue-generating rides.

The bottom line: May Mobility has raised $83.6 million since its founding in January 2017.

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Self-driving shuttle company May Mobility gets a $50 million lift from Toyota

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