These investments follow on earlier investors
into the company, Khosla Ventures, New Science Ventures, Gates
Frontier, ACS Infra, and Sam
Altman's Apollo Projects
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.,
May 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
Glydways, a leader in developing on-demand Personal Rapid Transit
(PRT), today announced the company has raised an additional
$20 million from three major
strategic investors in Japan.
Glydways total funding to date now exceeds $100 million.
The three new investors are automotive manufacturer and pioneer
of the "kei-car" concept Suzuki Motors, Japan's leading energy and materials company
ENEOS Holdings, and visionary innovator with deep relationships in
the global automotive industry Mitsui Chemicals. This commitment
from three important Japanese companies exemplifies the economic
cooperation between the US and Japan to innovate and build the next
generation of world-changing technology.
In addition to their investment, Suzuki is now in discussions
with Glydways about becoming its strategic automotive manufacturing
partner. In-depth meetings between the engineering groups of the
two companies have already begun. Suzuki, ENEOS Holdings, and
Mitsui Chemicals join existing investors Khosla Ventures, New
Science Ventures, ACS Group, Gates Frontier, and Sam Altman's Apollo Projects.
"Having three of the most important companies in Japan invest in Glydways is true validation of
our technology and business," said Glydways CEO Gokul Hemmady. "Additionally, the wealth of
knowledge and experience they bring as counselors and advisors is
priceless. The entire Glydways team looks forward to working with
Suzuki, ENEOS Holdings, and Mitsui Chemicals as we progress closer
to our vision of transforming the world's transportation
infrastructure."
-Suzuki Quote:
"We have a keen interest in the
Glydways mission to solve traffic issues globally by using their
compact vehicles and lightweight, dedicated infrastructure. Their
solution has much in common with Suzuki's 'Smaller, Fewer, Lighter,
Shorter, and Beautiful' philosophy, and we would like to support
Glydways in achieving its vision by offering our expertise,
experience, and technology for making small cars," said Mr.
Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative
Director & President of Suzuki Motor Corporation.
-ENEOS Holdings Quote:
"The on-demand transportation system utilizing compact
autonomous vehicles and dedicated roadways developed by Glydways is
anticipated not only to address the challenges of existing
transportation infrastructure and the forthcoming issues associated
with the automation of vehicles, but also to serve as an innovation
that revitalizes urban environments.
Furthermore, ENEOS
Group is committed to achieving a carbon-neutral society through
energy transition, and we believe that Glydways plays a crucial
role in realizing the vision we advocate.
Leveraging the
strength of our group company ENEOS, which possesses a network of
approximately 12,000 service stations, we aim to contribute to the
advancement of Glydways by synergizing our energy infrastructure
and car solution infrastructure," said Mr. Yuichiro Fujiyama,
Senior Vice President, CTO, ENEOS Holdings, Inc.
-Mitsui Chemicals Quote:
"Reducing CO2 emissions is
a social issue on a global scale, and resolving traffic congestion
is a major issue in the mobility field. Glydways' efforts are a new
solution that can not only answer these major problems, but also
greatly contribute to people's lives.
Mitsui Chemicals'
vision for the future: A recycling-oriented society in harmony with
the environment, an inclusive society that creates diverse value,
and a comfortable society where people can live in good health and
peace of mind. We aim to be an indispensable presence for the
realization of a world with these values. We would like to harness
the collective strength of the Mitsui Chemicals Group to realize
this together in collaboration with Glydways," said Mr.
Atsushi Komoriya, Managing Executive
Officer, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Glydways is currently working on two separate projects in
Northern California– a 4.4-mile airport connector in San José,
CA and a 28-mile system connecting four underserved communities in
East Contra Costa County. The
company has developed a revolutionary approach to urban mass
transit that is much more affordable and accessible for the 95% of
cities around the world that have no solution – a Personal Rapid
Transit (PRT) system of on-demand, personal, autonomous,
battery-operated electric vehicles traveling on small, dedicated
rights-of-way that can be built at-grade, elevated, or tunneled and
integrates with any public transportation options.
The vehicles, called Glydcars, exclusively use these lanes with
no crossings and no other vehicles which means Glydcars travel
unimpeded with no stops or slowdowns. The system can move up to
10,000 people per hour per lane/direction, which means larger
numbers of riders will move more comfortably, sustainably, and
affordably than ever before, all for the cost of a transit
fare.
This approach offers net-new capacity, which means vehicle trips
are removed from city streets, thus reducing overall traffic
congestion. The CAPEX requirements for the Glydways system is a
fraction of the cost to build rail or bus lanes, and because the
system is on-demand, its OPEX is also significantly smaller too.
The Glydways system generates zero emissions. Each car is electric
battery powered and bi-directional. We have thoughtfully designed
the Glydcar to optimize its range (weight, resistance, features),
which makes Glydways one of the most climate-friendly mobility
systems in the world.
About Suzuki Motor Corporation-
Suzuki Motor
Corporation is one of Japan's
leading carmakers and a global motorcycle manufacturer. The
company's non-vehicle products include outboard motors for boats
and motorized wheelchairs. It builds its lineup on its own and
through numerous subsidiaries and joint ventures outside
Japan. Suzuki was established in
1920 and has headquarters in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. Toshihiro SUZUKI
is President of the company.
Website: https://www.globalsuzuki.com
About ENEOS Holdings
ENEOS Group is Japan's leading energy and material company
with manufacturing and sales facilities throughout the world. The
Group has developed businesses in the energy and non-ferrous metals
segments, from upstream to downstream. While fulfilling our
responsibility of providing a stable supply of energy and materials
both now and in the future, we will realize a carbon neutral
society through energy transition. This is also a great challenge
for mankind, and we, the ENEOS Group, will maximize our corporate
value by steadily taking on the challenge.
More information can be found
at https://www.hd.eneos.co.jp/english/
About Mitsui Chemicals
Mitsui Chemicals' roots can be traced back to 1912 when it began
producing raw material for chemical fertilizers from coal gas
byproducts, the first company in Japan to do so. This undertaking significantly
contributed to increasing agricultural productivity, a major social
issue at the time. Later, the company evolved its technology from
coal chemicals to gas chemicals, and in 1958 it built Japan's first petrochemical complex and so
provided impetus to Japan's
industry. Today, the company boasts many world-class products with
sales standing at over 1,800 billion
yen and with over 160 companies in 30 countries. Its
business portfolio includes Life＆Healthcare Solutions, Mobility
Solutions, ICT Solutions, and Basic & Green Materials. Mitsui
Chemicals will continue to contribute to solving social challenges
with its state-of-the-art technology and by "Creating New Customer
Value through Innovation".
More information can be found
at https://www.mitsuichem.com
About Glydways
Glydways was founded in 2016 by
Mark Seeger and its mission is to
revolutionize urban mobility and provide more equitable access to
affordable housing, jobs, education, healthcare, and community. We
accomplish this via our innovative approach of a closed-road, fully
autonomous, high capacity personal rapid transit system.
Closed-road means dedicated lanes, with no traffic or congestion.
This allows Glydcars to perform a service on demand, anytime 24/7,
continuously moving with no slowing or stopping until the passenger
reaches their destination, all with no emissions. Dedicated lanes
also mean an easier and faster certification path than Level 5 open
road autonomy. Additionally, unlike autonomous automobiles, our
vehicles never share the road with human-driven vehicles, which is
actually proving to increase congestion, drive times, and accident
rates, not decrease them. Our customer experience is like ride
hailing, but at public transit prices.
Contacts:
Craig Berman, Glydways
Corporate Communications
craig@glydways.com
(425) 829-1767
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/glydways-closes-strategic-investments-from-japanese-industrial-giants-suzuki-motor-corporation-eneos-holdings-and-mitsui-chemicals-302145210.html
SOURCE Glydways