EIB Backs Vay’s Expansion of Remote-Driven Car-Sharing in Europe with €34 Million Loan

EIB Backs Vay’s Expansion of Remote-Driven Car-Sharing in Europe with €34 Million Loan

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided a €34 million loan to Vay, a German teledriving technology company, to support its expansion in Europe. Vay’s innovative system allows vehicles to be remotely driven by trained drivers from a distance, offering a more efficient and cost-effective mobility service. With the funding, Vay aims to expand its door-to-door car-sharing services to more cities in Europe and North America. Having already launched in Las Vegas, Vay is set to roll out its service in European cities like Hamburg. This investment is part of the EU’s InvestEU programme, which supports research, development, and innovation.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 18-Oct-2024— /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced its decision to provide a loan of €34 million to Vay, a German company specializing in teledriving technology, to support the expansion of its innovative services in Europe. Headquartered in Berlin, Vay is poised to bring its remote driving solutions to the European market, with the EIB’s backing made possible through the European Union’s InvestEU guarantee programme. Vay’s technology, which allows vehicles to be driven by professional drivers from remote locations, first made its commercial debut in Las Vegas in January 2024.

With the fresh investment, Vay aims to extend its door-to-door car-sharing service to more cities across Europe and North America. Additionally, the company is focusing on building business-to-business collaborations with car manufacturers and other key stakeholders in the mobility sector.

Nicola Beer, Vice-President of the EIB, commented on the strategic investment: “This funding is a testament to our ongoing dedication to supporting European technology innovators like Vay. Their cutting-edge remote driving technology, developed here in Europe, promises to enhance transportation by making it more efficient, sustainable, and accessible. Vay’s approach to urban mobility will undoubtedly contribute to cleaner and smarter cities.”

Vay’s teledriving system operates by having a professionally trained driver control the vehicle remotely from a teledrive station. This enables the car to be delivered directly to the user’s location, where they can then take over and drive it themselves. After the trip, the user can simply exit the vehicle without worrying about parking, as the teledriver resumes control to park the car or drive it to the next customer. The model offers significant cost savings, providing an efficient mobility solution at roughly half the price of traditional ride-hailing services.

What sets teledriving apart from autonomous driving is the real-time human control of the vehicle, which avoids many of the legal and technical barriers currently faced by fully autonomous systems. The simplicity and adaptability of Vay’s technology make it a promising solution for widespread deployment.

Expressing his enthusiasm, Vay’s Co-founder and CEO, Thomas von der Ohe, said: “We are delighted that the EIB has chosen to support Vay’s growth with this significant loan. These funds will be instrumental in helping us further develop our technology and expand our presence in Europe. This investment aligns with our shared vision of fostering economic progress in the European Union. It also strengthens the confidence that regulators, partners, and consumers have in Vay as we prepare for the commercial launch of our service in European cities.”

Vay stands out as the first company in Europe to operate teledriven vehicles on public roads without a safety driver present. The company’s teledriving technology debuted in Las Vegas, and it has since been in discussions with several European cities to explore future service rollouts. In 2023, Vay completed successful test drives in Hamburg, Germany, marking a major achievement as the company operated on public roads without a safety driver. Vay has been working closely with German authorities to ensure its commercial service will soon be available in Hamburg.

The loan from the EIB is part of the InvestEU programme, which seeks to stimulate over €372 billion in investments in new technologies and innovation by 2027. The funding aligns with the EU’s goals of fostering research, development, and technological advancement across member states.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. Its key priorities are climate and the environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium companies (SMEs), infrastructure and cohesion. It works closely with other EU institutions to foster European integration, promote the development of the European Union and support EU policies in more than 140 countries worldwide.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investments for the European Union’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

EIB venture debt is a quasi-equity investment product suitable for early and growth stage ventures, combining a long-term loan with an instrument linking the return to the performance of the company. The EIB has made over  100 venture debt investments since 2015 across Europe, totalling over €2.1  billion. With the backing of InvestEU, the EIB aims to support European ventures and scale-ups in the cleantech, deeptech and life sciences sectors.

Vay develops automotive-grade technology for remote driving (“teledriving”), paving the way for sustainable and driverless mobility services. In February 2023, Vay became Europe’s first and only company to operate driverless vehicles on public roads. In January 2024, Vay launched its first commercial mobility service in Las Vegas, USA. Founded in Berlin in 2018 by Thomas von der Ohe, Fabrizio Scelsi, and Bogdan Djukic, Vay has 150+ employees and offices in Berlin, Hamburg, and Las Vegas, USA.

Vay raised a USD 95m Series B funding round, attracting investors worldwide. These include Kinnevik, Coatue, Eurazeo, Atomico, La Famiglia, and Creandum, as well as prominent business angels such as former Alphabet CFO Patrick Pichette, former member of the Management Board for R&D, Design, CTO of Audi Peter Mertens and Spotify’s Chief Technology & Chief Product Officer Gustav Söderström. In 2024, Vay received a EUR 34m investment from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank