German mobility startup Vay raises $95 mln
14/12/2021 08:01
STOCKHOLM, Dec 14 (Reuters) - German mobility startup Vay
said on Tuesday it had raised $95 million from investors such as
Kinnevik KINVb.ST , Coatue and Eurazeo EURA.PA , as it planned
to launch its first car-rental service in Hamburg next year.
A customer could use a mobile app to book an electric car
that would be delivered to the pick-up location by a driver
steering the vehicle remotely. The customer could then drive it
like a normal car and the remote operator moves to steering a
different car.
While lots of companies are testing driverless cars using
expensive sensors, Vay uses an array of cameras and other
features that make it cheaper to aid a person to remotely drive
a car.
The service would be cheaper for the customers than
ride-hailing services and will be the stepping stone for Vay to
slowly introduce fully autonomous features, co-founder and Chief
Executive Officer Thomas von der Ohe said in an interview.
Ohe co-founded Vay in 2018 with Fabrizio Scelsi and Bogdan
Djukic, and counts Atomico, La Famiglia, and Creandum among its
investors.
Vay currently uses KIA Nero electric cars and plans to
tie-up with other car companies.
Ohe said the company has the backing of the state of Hamburg
and is in the final testing and validation phase before hitting
the streets on a commercial basis.
Last week, German car authorities approved https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/mercedes-benzs-hands-free-drive-system-clears-german-authority-2021-12-09
an highly automated system of Mercedes-Benz car model to allow
drivers to focus on other activities while the car is in heavy
traffic or on congested highways.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, European Technology &
Telecoms Correspondent, based in Stockholm; Editing by Rashmi
Aich)
((supantha.mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; +46 70 721 1004;
Reuters Messaging:
supantha.mukherjee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))