Nine years after launching in Ann Arbor, May Mobility is preparing for an entirely new kind of journey.
On September 16, May Mobility announced plans to become a publicly listed company through a business combination with ACP Holdings Acquisition Corp. The transaction implies a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $1.4 billion and is expected to provide up to $337 million in gross proceeds, subject to shareholder redemptions. Upon closing, the combined company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under an especially fitting ticker symbol: MAY.
For a company that began in Ann Arbor in 2017, it’s a remarkable milestone — and one worth celebrating across the region.
May Mobility was founded by a team that included University of Michigan professor Edwin Olson, with a vision for making transportation safer, more accessible and more equitable through autonomous vehicle technology. Since then, the company has grown from a local startup into a global player in autonomous transportation.
Today, May Mobility reports more than 550,000 commercial autonomous rides covering 1.1 million miles in the United States and Japan, including three driver-out deployments. Its partnerships include Uber, Lyft, Grab and CaoCao, and its technology is operating and being deployed in communities far beyond Ann Arbor.
Its international footprint continues to grow as well. Earlier this month, May Mobility and NTT Mobility announced plans to put Toyota e-Palette vehicles equipped with May Mobility’s autonomous driving system on public roads in Japan, with additional deployments planned.
And through all that growth, May Mobility has remained headquartered in Ann Arbor.
A company — and an ecosystem — growing together
May Mobility’s story also offers a window into the kind of innovation ecosystem that has developed around mobility in the Ann Arbor region.
The company grew in a community with world-class university research and talent, deep automotive expertise, mobility testing infrastructure, public-sector partners and a network of organizations willing to collaborate on bringing emerging technologies into the real world.
“May Mobility’s story says a lot about what makes Ann Arbor such a strong place to build an innovative company,” said Phil Santer, chief operating officer of Ann Arbor SPARK. “You have world-class research and talent, an automotive and mobility ecosystem with deep expertise, and a community that is willing to collaborate, test new ideas and help companies move technology into the real world. May Mobility has been an important part of that ecosystem from its earliest days, and seeing the company reach this milestone is something the entire region can celebrate.”
SPARK has been fortunate to be one of many partners supporting May Mobility along that journey.
That relationship began in the company’s earliest days. In 2017, SPARK helped connect the young startup with potential workspace, recruiting resources and organizations including MDOT, the Ann Arbor DDA and the City of Ann Arbor. As May Mobility grew, SPARK continued to support the company through connections, talent initiatives, real estate assistance, marketing and opportunities to engage with the region’s mobility community.
May Mobility, in turn, became an increasingly visible part of that community. The company participated in a2Tech360 and other SPARK events, shared its expertise and helped demonstrate the kind of mobility technology being developed in the Ann Arbor region.
In 2020, SPARK recognized May Mobility as its Entrepreneurial Company of the Year. By then, the company was also attracting experienced talent from outside Michigan, including executives coming from the autonomous vehicle industry on the West Coast.
But perhaps the most visible example of May Mobility’s relationship with its hometown came the following year.
Bringing autonomous mobility to the streets of Ann Arbor
In 2021, May Mobility, Mcity and Ann Arbor SPARK launched A2GO, a free, on-demand autonomous shuttle service that gave people the opportunity to experience May Mobility’s technology on the streets where it was developed.
A fleet of five autonomous vehicles operated in a 2.64-square-mile service area connecting Kerrytown with downtown Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan’s Central and South campuses and the State Street corridor.
The project brought together public, private and university partners to turn Ann Arbor itself into a real-world environment for autonomous mobility.
At the time, May Mobility CEO and founder Edwin Olson described Ann Arbor not only as the company’s hometown, but as “the place where our technology was born.”
For residents, A2GO made autonomous transportation tangible. People could see the vehicles navigating familiar streets and experience the technology firsthand.
It also demonstrated something important about the region where May Mobility was growing: companies here could do more than develop new technology. They could find partners willing to help put it into the world.
From Ann Arbor to what’s next
A lot has changed since May Mobility’s earliest days.
The company that once needed garage space in Ann Arbor is now deploying autonomous transportation technology across the United States and internationally. Its team has grown, its partnerships have expanded, and its vehicles have carried hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Now, May Mobility is taking another significant step in that journey.
The proposed public listing is, first and foremost, a milestone for the people who built the company — Edwin Olson, Alisyn Malek, Steve Vozar and the many employees, investors, customers and partners who have helped May Mobility grow over the past nine years.
But it’s also a moment the Ann Arbor region can be proud of.
Strong innovation ecosystems are built over time. They depend on researchers and entrepreneurs willing to pursue ambitious ideas; experienced talent willing to join them; investors willing to back them; and companies, universities, governments and community partners willing to collaborate as those ideas move from the lab to the real world.
May Mobility has both benefited from and contributed to that ecosystem. Its growth has brought jobs, investment, expertise and visibility to the region while giving other emerging mobility companies another example of what can be built from Ann Arbor.
There are many more miles ahead for May Mobility, including completion of the proposed transaction. But this is a milestone worth stopping to recognize.
Congratulations to the entire May Mobility team. Ann Arbor has had a front-row seat for an incredible journey — and we’re excited to see where you go next.
