Vay Technology
Las Vegas, US · Founded 2018 · 218 employees on LinkedIn · 13 known investors
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Vay develops remote driving technology that lets a human operator drive a vehicle from a distance without anyone inside, enabling services such as car sharing, fleet logistics, last-mile delivery, and public transport. It operates in the mobility sector with deployments in Europe and the U.S.
Also known as Vay · Vay Technology GmbH · Vay Technology Inc.
Founders & leadership
Vay Technology was founded in 2018 by Thomas von der Ohe, Fabrizio Scelsi, and Bogdan Djukic.
Investors · 13
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Vay Technology develops automotive-grade remote driving (teledriving) technology and uses it to run a consumer car rental service. Customers request an electric vehicle through the Vay app; a remotely located, professionally trained driver delivers the car to the customer without anyone inside, then disconnects so the customer drives it themselves. At the end of the rental the customer can park the vehicle in an approved zone or hand it back to a remote driver who parks it, removing the need to search for parking. The app also supports self-pickup, self-park and a "stopover" function that keeps a vehicle locked and reserved between legs of a trip.
Beyond its own service, Vay positions its remote driving stack as a technology platform for third parties, listing use cases across autonomous vehicles and trucking, privately owned cars, car sharing and car rental, light commercial vehicles and public transport. The company states its system is fully camera-based and hardware-light, prioritises low-latency connectivity, and has been certified by German vehicle safety and motor transport authorities to automotive standards. It intends to layer autonomous driving functionality onto the system using data collected by its remote-driven fleet. Corporate entities include Vay Technology GmbH in Berlin (Heidestr. 46-52, HRB 200064 B, Berlin-Charlottenburg district court) and Vay Technology Inc., which contracts with U.S. customers.
Business model
Vay both operates a first-party mobility service and offers its remote driving technology to partners. In the consumer service, users rent electric vehicles by the minute or for longer periods through the app and pay per use, with insurance, maintenance and parking costs borne by Vay. Because customers drive themselves, remote drivers are only engaged at the start and end of a rental, allowing one remote driver to support more trips per hour and, according to the company and Grab, materially lower service costs than traditional ride-hailing. For business partners, Vay markets tailor-made remote driving solutions for fleet and vehicle use cases.
Per-use rental fees charged through the Vay app (rental by the minute up to full-day use), positioned at roughly half the price of ride-hail for trips with self-pickup and self-park; the company additionally pursues partnership and integration deals for its remote driving technology.
Traction
Vay launched its remote-driven commercial fleet in Las Vegas in 2024, has completed tens of thousands of trips there, and had been on track to expand its fleet through 2025. Its iPhone app holds a 4.8 rating from about 1,400 ratings on the U.S. App Store, and the company cites 4.9 ratings on both the App Store and Google Play. In Hamburg, a Vay vehicle controlled from its teledrive centre drove in traffic in a European first without a safety driver.
Latest developments
On 10 November 2025, Grab Holdings announced definitive agreements to invest $60 million in cash in Vay Technology GmbH for a minority equity interest, comprising new shares and zero-strike warrants that vest against milestones over three years; closing was expected in the fourth quarter of 2025 subject to regulatory approval. Grab agreed to invest a further $350 million within the first year after closing if financial and operating milestones are met — including consumer revenue, number of U.S. cities covered, technology and safety standards, and regulatory approvals for additional U.S. cities — partly by buying shares from existing shareholders; if milestones are missed Grab retains an option but not an obligation to buy. Three years after closing, if the additional purchase is completed and all warrants become exercisable, Grab could hold a majority equity interest on a fully diluted basis.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, risks & controversies
Market position
Vay describes remote driving as a way to deliver driverless services commercially today while building toward autonomous mobility, positioning driverless rental cars as a complement to robotaxis. Grab characterised Vay as a leading provider of automotive-grade remote driving technology, and Kodiak's CEO called it the industry leader in remote assistance. Investors named in the Grab announcement include Kinnevik, Coatue, Atomico, General Catalyst and Eurazeo, alongside individual backer Patrick Pichette, former CFO of Google. Sebastian Thrun, founder of the Google Chauffeur team, is quoted describing Vay's approach as combining remote driving with state-of-the-art AI.
Vay delivers a driverless customer experience without waiting for full autonomy by keeping a human in the loop remotely, and limits remote-driver involvement to the delivery and parking legs so that one operator can serve more trips than a ride-hail driver. Its camera-based, hardware-light vehicle setup is presented as cost-efficient relative to sensor-heavy autonomous platforms, and the self-drive rental format targets point-to-point and multi-leg journeys at prices the company guarantees at half of ride-hail for self-pickup and self-park rentals.
Technology
Remote driving, or teledriving: trained operators control fully electric vehicles from a central teledrive station while no one is in the car. Vay describes the system as automotive-grade, fully camera-based and hardware-light, with emphasis on high safety standards and low-latency connectivity, and states it has been certified by German vehicle safety and motor transport authorities. The company combines remote driving with AI and plans to add autonomous driving functions trained on data gathered by its remote-driven fleet. Consumer-facing technology includes iOS and Android apps handling digital sign-up, vehicle unlocking, stopovers and trip completion.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer via the Vay mobile app on the App Store and Google Play, with a defined service zone for pickup and drop-off, launched city by city starting with Las Vegas. In parallel, Vay pursues B2B partnerships for its remote driving technology across vehicle and fleet segments; autonomous trucking company Kodiak has publicly stated it partnered with Vay for remote assistance rather than building its own solution. Grab has agreed to contribute marketing, product development, fleet management and go-to-market support for Vay's U.S. growth and to explore complementing Grab's mobility services in Southeast Asia.
Urban consumers and visitors who want a car without ownership and prefer driving themselves to riding as a passenger (currently Las Vegas users, including tourists on the Strip), plus business partners such as automotive companies, mobility service providers, car sharing and rental operators, commercial fleet and trucking companies, and public transport operators.
Geography
Headquartered corporate presence in Berlin, Germany (Vay Technology GmbH), with a site at the Urban Tech Republic campus on the former Tegel airport grounds, and U.S. operations centred on Las Vegas, where the commercial service runs including on the Las Vegas Strip. Earlier European testing included a remote-driven vehicle in Hamburg traffic. Bloomberg describes the company as serving automotive companies, mobility service providers and public transport operators across Europe. The Grab investment is intended to fund expansion to additional U.S. cities.
Risks & controversies
The additional $350 million from Grab is contingent on financial, operational, regulatory and safety milestones and may not be invested, and the initial $60 million remained subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions at announcement. Operations depend on regulatory approvals in each new U.S. city and on connectivity: user reviews on the App Store report limited pickup and drop-off zones, delivery times exceeding app estimates, and instances where poor signal prevented a trip from being ended without calling support.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsGrab Holdings announced definitive agreements to invest $60 million in cash in Vay Technology GmbH via new shares and zero-strike warrants, giving Grab a minority equity interest on closing, which was expected in Q4 2025 subject to regulatory approval. A further $350 million may be invested within the first year after closing if milestones on consumer revenue, U.S. city coverage, technology and safety standards and regulatory approvals are met, potentially leading to a majority stake three years after closing.
$60M source ↗
A car remotely controlled from Vay's teledrive centre drove through traffic in Hamburg, described as a European first and the first such drive without a safety driver on board.
Kodiak founder and CEO Don Burnette stated the autonomous trucking company chose to partner with Vay for remote assistance rather than developing its own solution, to help it scale safely.
Vay launched its remote-driven commercial rental fleet in Las Vegas, operating in areas including the Las Vegas Strip.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Vay Technologyvay.io · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Vay Technology do?
- Vay operates on-demand electric rental cars that trained remote drivers deliver and park driverless, using its own teledriving technology.
- Who founded Vay Technology?
- Vay Technology was founded by Thomas von der Ohe, Fabrizio Scelsi, Bogdan Djukic in 2018.
- Who are Vay Technology's investors?
- Vay Technology's investors include Atomico, Creandum, Eurazeo, Grab, Inovia Capital, Kinnevik, La Famiglia, System.One and 4 more.
- Where is Vay Technology headquartered?
- Vay Technology is headquartered in Las Vegas, US.