MoveEz Inc. (Headquarters: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa; Representative Director and CEO: Eric Wei; hereinafter “MoveEz”), an AI robotics startup boasting world-class technology and a proven track record in autonomous driving, announced today that it has raised a total of 200 million yen through a third-party allotment of new shares. The round was underwritten by Partners Fund Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Partners: Yudai Yamada, Masato Nakamura, Ryo Taneichi, Satoshi Fujii; hereinafter “Partners Fund”).
■ Background and Purpose of Funding
MoveEz is a startup spinning out of Kanazawa University, founded in May 2024 with the mission to “liberate mobility for everyone and create a society without transportation gaps” through the realization of fully autonomous robot taxis. MoveEz’s foundation lies in 27 years of research and development conducted at Kanazawa University since 1998, the dawn of this field. MoveEz began testing on public roads in 2015, ahead of the industry, and currently holds a track record of over 40,000 kilometers driven and 2,000 passengers carried, along with numerous patents.
With this funding, we will accelerate the expansion of our Level 4 (hereinafter “L4”) autonomous driving technology development system and our business development structures.
Moving forward, MoveEz will further accelerate its business deployment and strive for the early social implementation of fully autonomous robot taxis.
■ Comment from the Investor
Ryo Taneichi, Representative Partner, Partners Fund Inc.
“I indirectly had a connection with Professor Suganuma in 2018, and now, after eight years, I have come to work together with him. Since I grew up in Aomori City, the snowiest city in the world, and have lived alongside snow, I strongly feel the winter transportation challenges in snowy regions. Furthermore, the reduction of public transportation due to population decline and the restriction of mobility options due to aging are very important issues for local communities. I feel that MoveEz’s autonomous driving is the means that can solve these issues in the shortest time and most realistically. I will closely support the growth of MoveEz as it works on the social implementation of robot taxis in snowy regions with autonomous driving technology originating in Japan.”
■ Comment from MoveEz
Eric Wei, Representative Director and CEO, MoveEz Inc.
“We founded MoveEz with the conviction to ‘liberate mobility for everyone.’ Our goal is the social implementation of fully autonomous ‘Robot Taxis’ and the establishment of its core: an ‘L4 Fully Autonomous Driving Intelligence (AI Driver)’ equipped with superhuman safety and judgment.
Through this funding, we will accelerate the further sophistication of our L4 autonomous driving technology, which is built upon a massive foundation of driving data accumulated over 27 years. Additionally, we will strengthen the recruitment of engineers and business development members who will support this innovative system.”
■ About MoveEz Inc.
MoveEz is a startup spinning out of Kanazawa University, founded in May 2024 with the mission to “liberate mobility for everyone and create a society without transportation gaps” through the realization of fully autonomous robot taxis. MoveEz’s foundation lies in 27 years of research and development conducted at Kanazawa University since 1998, the dawn of this field. MoveEz began testing on public roads in 2015, ahead of the industry, and currently holds a track record of over 40,000 kilometers driven and 2,000 passengers carried, along with numerous patents. In Japan, MoveEz has successfully conducted field tests in Tokyo, Hokkaido, Chiba Prefecture, and other locations.