Autonomous driving: Nexen invests in May Mobility

Nexen Tire has invested in US autonomous driving start-up May Mobility. Conducting the transaction via its Silicon Valley-based initiative Next Century Ventures (NCV), the Korean tyre maker participated in May Mobility’s US$111 million C Series funding.

Founded in 2017, May Mobility specialises in self-driving public transportation and public shuttle services. provide services. The company is currently working on a number of projects, including the Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicle platform and Toyota e-Palette. It also began a partnership with Bridgestone last year following Bridgestone Americas’ minority investment in the company.

“May Mobility’s goal is to provide accessible transportation services that prioritise safety and sustainability,” says Edwin Olson, chief executive officer and co-founder. “Through Next Century Ventures’ investment we have secured a global strategic partnership to achieve our corporate vision and have set the stage for increasing the level of autonomous driving and rapidly expanding our service operations.”

According to a NCV representative, Nexen elected to invest in May Mobility as it sees “high growth prospects” for the autonomous driving market and was attracted to the firm’s technical stability. The investment is also in line with Nexen’s vision of ‘Next Level Mobility for All’.