Glydways Closes Strategic Investments from Japanese Industrial Giants Suzuki Motor Corporation, ENEOS Holdings, and Mitsui Chemicals

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May 14, 2024, 12:49 ET

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
[email protected]
(425) 829-1767

SOURCE Glydways