Eve autonomy
Autonomous transport service for indoor and outdoor logistics.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
* | JPY1.0b | Series B | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Eve autonomy, Inc. is a joint venture established in February 2020 by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., and the software provider Tier IV, Inc. The company's CEO is Ryosuke Hoshino.
The firm offers an autonomous transportation service called "eve auto" designed for logistics and manufacturing sites. This service provides an all-in-one subscription package that includes an autonomous electric vehicle, fleet management, and maintenance support. The business model aims to lower initial adoption hurdles like high costs and lengthy implementation processes. The service is priced monthly at 380,000 JPY, with options for vehicle-only purchase becoming available after 2023.
The core of the service is a compact, robust electric vehicle based on Yamaha Motor's golf cart technology, capable of towing up to 1.5 tons and operating on uneven surfaces, inclines, and in various weather conditions. The vehicle's autonomous capabilities are powered by "Autoware," an open-source autonomous driving software developed by TIER IV. This technology allows the vehicles to navigate both indoor and outdoor environments without requiring guide lines or reflectors and can operate alongside other vehicles like trucks and forklifts.
Eve autonomy targets factories, warehouses, and logistics facilities, addressing labor shortages and the need for operational efficiency in outdoor and inter-building transport—a task challenging for conventional automated guided vehicles (AGVs). The service was commercially launched in late 2022 and, by that time, was already in operation at nine sites in Japan, including facilities for Yamaha Motor, Panasonic, and ENEOS Corp. The company aims to expand its service to airports and entertainment venues in the future.
Keywords: autonomous transportation, logistics automation, factory automation, AGV, unmanned transport, electric vehicle, subscription service, last-mile logistics, warehouse automation, Yamaha Motor, Tier IV, Autoware, material handling, industrial automation, robotics, supply chain automation, smart factory, inter-building transport, outdoor logistics, fleet management