May Mobility, an autonomous vehicle (AV) technology company, has formed a strategic partnership with Itochu, a Japanese trading and investment company, to advance the global deployment of driverless vehicles.
The partnership begins with a collaboration involving BELLSYSTEM24, a customer experience and business process outsourcing provider within Itochu’s portfolio.
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Under the partnership, May Mobility aims to deploy thousands of autonomous vehicles and serve millions of riders through its Tele-assist and Rider Support platforms.
May Mobility’s Tele-assist platform, powered by its Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) driving technology, requires minimal human intervention.
Unlike tele-driving systems that control or fully operate autonomous vehicles, Tele-assist allows a single remote monitor to guide multiple vehicles, enhancing safety and scalability.
May Mobility CEO and founder Edwin Olson said: “When building a safe autonomy system, it makes no sense to replace the driver behind the wheel with another driver behind the curtain.
“We created a better way. Partnering with Itochu, we will take a highly efficient, safety-first approach as we ramp up the deployment of our driverless operations.”
BELLSYSTEM24’s 40 years of expertise and proprietary operation management system, featuring advanced AI for issue identification and resolution, will optimise May Mobility’s Tele-assist process.
By integrating May Mobility’s platforms with BELLSYSTEM24’s support infrastructure, the partnership will create a tailored solution to support the company’s expansion in the US and Japan.
Itochu ICT Division COO Masato Horiuchi added: “In addition to supporting driverless operations with BELLSYSTEM24, we will promote this business collaboration by leveraging the comprehensive group strengths unique to a Japanese sogo shosha in areas such as geographical data and building IT infrastructure.”
In November 2024, May Mobility signed a multi-year agreement with Lyft to deploy autonomous vehicles across multiple US markets, starting in Atlanta this summer.
The company also announced plans to launch thousands of vehicles on the Uber platform in the coming years, beginning in Arlington, Texas.
Under the agreement, Uber will offer customers the option to choose a May Mobility AV for certain trips.
May Mobility will provide a fleet of hybrid-electric Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicles equipped with its Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) technology.
