Autonomous Developments: May Mobility Raises $22M, Michigan Mobility Institute Appoints Board

The future of transportation unfolded further this week as two major Michigan-based contributors announced developments.

Autonomous startup May Mobility reported continued expansion with a $22-million Series A funding round, while the Michigan Mobility Institute appointed four field experts to its new advisory board.

The Capital Raise

Two new investors — Millennium New Horizons and Cyrus Capital Partners — led May Mobility's funding round, with contributions from LG Technology Ventures, Thayer Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Maven Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures and Y Combinator.

“We believe that May Mobility’s impact on accessibility, quality, and cost of urban transportation will be transformative for the way that people move around cities,” Benjamin Birnbaum, co-founder of the Cyrus affiliate Repower Group, said in a press release.

The capital is meant to expand May Mobility’s engineering and operations as it prepares autonomous vehicles for the last-mile transportation market. The firm intends to launch public services in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Providence, Rhode Island later this year.

“Millennium has spent the past few years researching the mobility market, and May Mobility stands out to be the only company that has delivered a real-world, here-and-now transportation solution in a technologically feasible and economically viable manner,” Millennium partner Ray Cheng said in a press release. “Today, May is servicing rides at a cost-per-mile unmatched by any others in the industry.”

The Board

The new Michigan Mobility Institute advisory board will help design the organization’s training courses for the new jobs emerging in the industry.

The crew includes:

• Karl Iagnemma, co-founder of nuTonomy, president of Aptiv PLC APTV's Autonomous Mobility division and former director of the Robotic Mobility Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Alisyn Malek, COO and co-founder of May Mobility and former head of innovation at General Motors Company GM.
• Anita Sengupta, chief product officer at Airspace Experience Technologies and veteran engineer at NASA, Virgin Hyperloop and Boeing Co BA. 
• Marc Weiser, managing director of RPM Ventures and member of the National Advisory Council and Science Committee for NASA.
• The board boasts experience not only from traditional automotives but also from the eVTOL and underground train markets.

“It’s going to take a range of solutions to improve transportation, and I’m eager for the kinds of ideas someone like this will bring to the advisory board,” said MMI Executive Director Jessica Robinson.

The MMI said it will expand the board’s membership and expertise over the coming months. Next steps for growth include the identification of a Detroit site for the MMI educational center and the development of university partnerships for a 2021 launch of a "Master of Mobility" program.

“Announcing our advisory board was a key step for us in advancing the work of the institute,” Robinson said. “Response to our efforts has been tremendously positive, and we’re engaged in a number of conversations with potential partners.”

Related Links:
Toyota, BMW Invest In Ann Arbor-Based Autonomous Startup May Mobility
Waymo Looks To The Motor City For Autonomous Vehicle Plant 

A May Mobility shuttle on Monroe Street in downtown Detroit. Photo by Dustin Blitchok.