Bridgestone invests in AV tech firm May Mobility

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Bridgestone Americas Inc. has established a partnership with and acquired a minority interest in May Mobility Inc., a developer of autonomous vehicle (AV) transportation technology.

The agreement calls for the companies to integrate Bridgestone's digital and predictive tire-centric technologies into May Mobility's autonomous vehicle fleets, granting deeper AV intelligence for safer and more efficient operation, Bridgestone said.

Through the partnership, Bridgestone said it will gain valuable insights into AV operations to improve its core tire products and mobility solutions.

Ann Arbor, Mich-based May Mobility's basic business direction is developing connected systems to enable autonomous transportation, primarily through its proprietary Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) system.

May Mobility operates trialing fleets of AVs in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Mich.; Austin, Texas; Fishers, Ind., and Hiroshima, Japan, totaling 18 vehicles. May Mobility said these fleets have conducted over 300,000 miles of "autonomy-enabled" operation over the past few years.

May Mobility said the partnership with Bridgestone will aid it in two fundamental ways, one commercial and one technological.

On the commercial level, the partnership offers May Mobilty the opportunity to expand the number of fleet trials exponentially by tapping into Bridgestone's network of 2,200-plus retail stores and its Firestone Direct mobile service. This will enhance May Mobility's ability to scale AV operations for its growing fleet of AV-enabled Toyota passenger vehicles in the U.S. and Japan.

On the technological level, the deal means May Mobility will be able to use information gathered from in-wheel sensors and analyzed by Bridgestone predictive algorithms to monitor the health of tires, including tire pressure, temperature and treadwear, in vehicles it operates. This will allow for predictive maintenance that helps improve fleet safety, efficiency and sustainability, Bridgestone said.

"May Mobility is at the forefront of AV innovation and development, and we are excited to partner with the company through our broad service network of company-owned retail stores," Brian Goldstine, president of mobility solutions and fleet management for Bridgestone Americas, said.

"Our future plans to integrate the Bridgestone suite of predictive maintenance insights will help ensure that May Mobility vehicles operate even more safely, efficiently and sustainably."

May Mobility CEO Edwin Olson said: "The ability to operate and service vehicles using Bridgestone's 2,200 nationwide stores gives May Mobility an unmatched ability to scale across the country. This collaboration builds upon our shared mission of providing safe and sustainable mobility solutions on a global scale."

Bridgestone said this investment is in line with its continued evolution to provide smart-sensing tires and sustainable mobility solutions. This partnership follows the company's recently announced investments in mobile fuel and energy provider Yoshi Inc. and tire data supplier Tyrata Inc.

Bridgestone and May Mobility plan to elaborate later this year on their vehicle service integration plans.