NTT and May Mobility partner to operate self-driving shuttle service in Nagoya
December 5, 2024 / Nikkei
With proprietary autonomous vehicle technology uniquely positioned to scale, we’re partnering with cities, transit agencies, organizations and businesses to build a safer, greener, more accessible world.
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In five years, we’ve given more than 350,000 autonomy-enabled rides in a diverse set of communities by deploying our customizable autonomous vehicles in collaboration with cities, state transit agencies and private enterprises. Key strategic partners, including our longstanding relationship with Toyota Motor Corporation, have provided access to auto-grade vehicles, superior service for our customers and resources for global scale.
Director of Mobility Business, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT)
Our highly scalable core technology provides additional reliability, safety and learnings unlike any other autonomous vehicle company.
Our safety features include a suite of redundant systems (ranging from redundant power to sensor communication), a robust fallback safety system, active monitoring and vehicle guidance (tele-assist) and more.
Our unique approach to technology is one piece of a holistic turn-key model that includes vehicles, operations, community engagement and regular software updates and maintenance.
Our autonomous drive-by-wire control system and autonomy stack can be applied to a wide variety of platforms—not just one auto-grade platform—to solve unique mobility challenges.
In addition to unlocking more potential in a variety of transit systems, our routes and vehicles collect data to benefit future planning for cleaner, safer, more accessible communities down the road.
Watch Mars, one of our demo vehicles, make an unprotected right turn, navigate a congested intersection, and pass a stopped vehicle using a remote tele-operator.
Chief Executive Officer
Edwin Olson is co-founder and CEO of May Mobility, Inc. He has focused on the development of autonomous vehicles for more than two decades, co-leading autonomous vehicle development at Toyota Research Institute and helping to develop Ford Motor Company’s autonomous vehicles. He has a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and is a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan. Olson got his start in autonomous technology participating in the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007 as part of the MIT team. He was named one of Crain’s Detroit Business’ Notable Leaders in Energy in 2023.
Chief Operating Officer
Kathy Winter is chief operating officer of May Mobility, Inc. She joined the company in late 2022 and is focused on accelerating execution and developing strategies and partnerships to help May scale globally. Prior to joining May, Winter served as vice president and general manager of Intel Corporation’s Autonomous Transportation & Infrastructure division. She has nearly 30 years of engineering and automotive experience, including more than ten years working on advancements in the autonomous driving sector. Winter also serves as an independent director for NFI, a global provider of sustainable bus and motor coach solutions.
Chief Financial Officer
Anna Brunelle is chief financial officer of May Mobility, Inc. With a proven track record in fundraising and building financial operations and capabilities from the ground up, Anna guides the company on its path to long-term growth and profitability. Anna’s career in finance spans over 25 years, having held senior leadership roles at major companies like Ouster, Kinestral Technologies, Soylent, and TiVo. Her leadership experience sets her up to help optimize May Mobility’s future fundraising and will lead the company toward a self-sustaining revenue stream. Brunelle holds a bachelor’s in business administration and accounting from the California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.
Chief People Officer
Tom Tang is chief people officer of May Mobility, Inc. Since joining the company in July 2020, Tom has cultivated a new kind of employee experience focused on the growth and development of our incredibly talented workforce alongside our technology and service. As May Mobility reimagines transportation, Tom is reimagining the workplace. His forward-thinking approach earned him a place on Business Insider’s list of power players in the self-driving car industry. Prior to joining May, Tom co-led the people function at Cruise where he grew the team from 100 to over 2,000 employees over the course of 3 years.
Chief Commercial Officer
Manik Dhar is chief commercial officer of May Mobility, Inc. He is responsible for developing and implementing May’s growth strategy. No stranger to the tech sector, Dhar has more than 25 years of experience helping startups and industry giants alike expand and achieve scale. Prior to joining the company in February 2022, he served as chief revenue officer at data-annotation firm CloudFactory. He has also led student-transportation disruptor Zūm to 10x growth in two years, and held executive positions at Google and Oracle. Dhar majored in computer science at Bangalore University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering.
General Counsel and Head of Corporate Strategy
Sid Venkatesan is general counsel and head of corporate strategy of May Mobility, Inc. With nearly two decades of legal and business experience, Venkatesan focuses on developing safety and compliance processes and protecting May Mobility’s IP and data. Prior to joining May in July 2023, he served as chief legal officer at Embark, held executive roles at Komline-Sanderson and GE Digital and as a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP with broad IP litigation, transactional and counseling practice. Venkatesan has a Juris Doctor from NYU School of Law, a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Cornell University.
Senior Vice President of Autonomy
Jacob Crossman is senior vice president of autonomy at May Mobility, Inc. He was appointed to the position in August of 2021 and is responsible for the company’s autonomy engineering and robotics engineering functions and leads his teams in the development and deployment of May Mobility’s autonomous vehicles. Crossman joined May Mobility with more than 20 years of professional experience in research and development of autonomous sense/react technologies at Soar Technology, Inc. and Deepgram, where he served in various senior roles. He has a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in computer science from the University of Michigan.
Vice President of Product
Alessandro Norscia is vice president of product at May Mobility, Inc. Since joining in March 2023, he leads the product organization’s delivery of mobility-as-a-service transit solutions. Norscia has more than 20 years experience in product leadership in the automotive, automation, consumer electronics and telecommunications markets. Previously, he served as senior director of product management at Intel, overseeing the definition, management and commercialization of Intel’s hardware and software platform solutions for autonomous driving, ADAS, software-defined vehicles and autonomous mobile robots. Before Intel, Norscia held leadership positions for companies such as Qualcomm and Infineon in the areas of automotive wireless connectivity, home networking and broadband communication.
Vice President of Operations
Victor Canseco is vice president of operations at May Mobility, Inc. Canseco was appointed in March 2023 and directs the scaling of May Mobility’s operations. Prior to joining May, he served as senior director of the software and advanced technology group at Intel. He is a leader known for connecting the dots between strategy, execution and culture to catalyze results. Over his career, Canseco has successfully developed and executed multi-year strategic plans in highly competitive technology-driven global sectors such as automotive, semiconductors, consumer electronics and financial services. He has held leadership positions at Intel, Aptiv, Expedia, Aon, Motorola, IBM Global Services and General Motors.
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Frank Renwick is vice president of marketing & communications at May Mobility, Inc. He was appointed in November 2024 and is responsible for May Mobility’s go-to-market strategy, brand development, community engagement, global PR, content development and social media. Renwick joined May Mobility after leading brand strategy as VP of Marketing at food tech startup Bowery. Prior to that, he served as Executive Group Director of marketing firm Droga5 where he launched lululemon’s first fully-integrated global ad campaign (featuring men’s apparel) and led the Effie Gold winning brand transformation of Mattress Firm. Renwick has a Bachelor of Science in marketing from California State University-Sacramento.
Director of Mobility Business, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT)
Masaharu Nagamiya is a board director for May Mobility, Inc. As Director of the Mobility Business at NTT, Masaharu Nagamiya leads autonomous driving business development in Japan for NTT. Collaborating with May Mobility and other important partners, including Toyota Motor Group, Masahura Nagamiya leads efforts toward developing new autonomous driving business opportunities across Japan. He has 30 years of experience in prior roles at NTT Data including enhancing customer contact points using smart cards, RFID, and mobile devices. Additionally, as the sales leader for the largest mobile operator in Japan, he was responsible for global business development. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Waseda University.
Partner at Keyframe
Benjamin Birnbaum is a board member for May Mobility, Inc. Birnbaum is a founder and partner of Keyframe Capital, a cross-asset investment fund that focuses on enabling change in physical infrastructure categories, like transportation, energy, and the built environment, as well as a founder of Terawatt Infrastructure, a developer, owner, and operator of electric vehicle charging assets. Prior to this, Ben was the Vice President of Strategy for MV Transportation; operating in over 200 cities, MV is of the world’s largest transit operators. Birnbaum holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University.
Partner at Millennium Technology Value Partners
Ray Cheng is a board member for May Mobility, Inc. Ray is a Partner at Millennium, an investment firm that has backed many significant technology companies from Facebook and Twitter to Alibaba and Zappos. Prior to joining Millennium, Ray spent three years with Rho Ventures where he was a Senior Analyst in their New York office. Ray also serves as a founding advisor to Komodo Health, and was previously an advisor to HackHands, which was acquired by Plursalsight in July 2015. Ray graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Systems Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Board Member
Ryan Green is a board member for May Mobility, Inc. He first joined the company in May of 2021 as its Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for leading May’s financial operations, including the finance, accounting and corporate governance functions. Prior to joining May, Green was the CFO at Rivian, the American electric vehicle maker and automotive technology company. Prior to Rivian, he served as the CFO for Harley Davidson Financial Services, and held various financial leadership positions at Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Bayer AG and Ford/Visteon. Green holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Michigan State University, and an MBA from Wayne State University.
Mirai Creation Fund, SPARX Asset Management
Matthew Kubo is a board member for May Mobility, Inc. Matt is a member of the SPARX Mirai Creation team, a VC investor dedicated to backing the next generation of innovative, global companies focused on intelligent technologies, robotics, and technologies that offer solutions for achieving carbon neutrality, including hydrogen, electrification, and new materials. Over the past 20 years, Matt has held various positions in Tokyo, Hong Kong and the U.S. at SPARX Group, including Head of CEO Office and President of its Hong Kong and New York offices.
He joined SPARX from The McKenna Group, a Silicon Valley based strategy consulting firm. Prior to that, he worked in the Corporate Finance Group of Stephens Inc. Matt holds a Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in Finance and Honors Business from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley.
Vice President of Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) in DX & Mobility
Yosuke (Ken) Tsuruta is a board member for May Mobility, Inc. As the vice president of dealer experience and mobility at Toyota Motor North America, he leads activities driving Toyota’s Mobility as a Service (Autono-MaaS) and flying mobility businesses. With his roles spanning across Japan, Thailand and the U.S. during his more than 20 years with Toyota, he has led projects including the development of the e-Palette and collaborations with mobility partners including May Mobility, Uber, and Aurora, as well as a collaboration with NTT – the largest telecommunications carrier to develop mobility services and smart city platforms.
He helped establish MONET Technologies, a joint venture between Toyota and Softbank to provide on-demand mobility services with an autonomous module bus, as well as Fengju Chuxing – a car rental service provider, covering automotive sales, technology development and online ride-hailing that is a joint venture between Toyota and Chinese company DiDi Chuxing. Yosuke holds a degree from Waseda University.
Board Member
Julia Haywood is a board member for May Mobility, Inc. Haywood has over 20 years of experience leading operations and multi-year transformations at large corporations and multiple start-ups. She previously worked as EVP and Chief Commercial Officer for United Airlines, where she successfully helped set the airline’s new commercial direction; was Partner at Boston Consulting Company (BCG) for 12 years leading airline start ups and retail transformations; as well as VP of Strategy, International Expansion & Airport Operations for Lyft, owning the ride-hail company’s market strategy and expansion efforts. Haywood is now the Chair of the Board for Flair Airlines, is an Investment Committee Advisor and consultant to UP.Labs, and serves on the advisory boards for the nonprofit organization Start Early and baby gear company Loop.
Chief Executive Officer
Edwin Olson is co-founder and CEO of May Mobility, Inc. He has focused on the development of autonomous vehicles for more than two decades, co-leading autonomous vehicle development at Toyota Research Institute and helping to develop Ford Motor Company’s autonomous vehicles. He has a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and is a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan. Olson got his start in autonomous technology participating in the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007 as part of the MIT team. He was named one of Crain’s Detroit Business’ Notable Leaders in Energy in 2023.