Thomas
von der Ohe

Co-Founder, CEO

WHAT DRIVES ME

You come across an opportunity to positively impact societies around the globe maybe once in your lifetime. An opportunity to truly make a difference. Our unique approach to autonomous driving gives us this chance: redefining how people move in a better way. Building and shipping a product with this great team is what drives me day and night.

BACKGROUND

Launched Zoox’ first self-driving vehicle on public streets as leading Technical Program Manager in Silicon Valley, launched Amazon’s first Echo as leading Technical Program Manager on Device Software, Founded two (funded) mobility companies. M. Sc. Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University.

Fabrizio
Scelsi

Co-Founder, CTO

WHAT DRIVES ME

Building products together with an amazing team based on cutting-edge technology to serve a greater purpose and solve problems – for the people, for our planet.

BACKGROUND

Manager of an engineering team in Silicon Valley to build autonomous shuttles, built teams and various mobility products: electric race cars, e-motorcycles, light electric vehicles, electric passenger vehicles, including one of the most successful electric delivery vehicles in Germany. RWTH Aachen, Imperial College London.

Bogdan
Djukic

Co-founder, VP Engineering & Teledrive Experience

WHAT DRIVES ME

Vay is aiming to launch the first vehicle without a safety driver on public roads in Europe. This involves exciting engineering challenges, many of which have never been worked on before, ranging from autonomous vehicle technology, cybersecurity, backend, machine learning and safety-critical SW. Coming up with engineering solutions to these topics is something that I’m super excited to work on at Vay.

BACKGROUND

Team Lead at Microsoft, Senior Software Engineer at Skype. M. Sc. in Computer Science from Belgrade University.

Mariona
Bosch

VP Programs and Engineering Operations

WHAT DRIVES ME

Working closely with people from different cultures and professional backgrounds (hardware, software, operations, etc.) gives me the chance to learn new ways of approaching projects, structuring teams, and setting up processes every day. The results of this incredible teamwork are hugely rewarding, and visible in each step of our product.

BACKGROUND

Part of the management circle at AUDI AG, responsible for the implementation of prototypes at early development stages of new products (innovation vehicles, concept and pre-series vehicles, show cars, design models, testing single parts, PoCs, 3D-printing)

Justin
Spratt

CBO - Business & Corporate Development

WHAT DRIVES ME

What drives me is to work on goals that have a big impact on society. Additionally, I wanted to work with the smartest and most innovative people in the tech world. That’s better at Vay than any other company I’ve spoken to recently.

BACKGROUND

Responsible for global strategic partnerships at Uber, where he focused on deals with automotive OEMs, vehicle fleet operators, vehicle battery technology companies and electrification infrastructure providers. Was CEO and chief growth officer at Quirk. Began his professional life at Morgan Stanley as a fixed income trader after studying economics and finance. Built the first startup incubator in Africa in 2002 and has been mentoring founders of technology startups for over ten years. He is an angel investor in software technology and holds board positions in some of these companies.

Irene
Molins

Director of People

WHAT DRIVES ME

Driven by a passion for fostering vibrant organizational cultures, I am a seasoned leader specializing in People and Culture. Throughout my career journey, I’ve championed initiatives to empower teams, from crafting recruitment strategies aligned with core values to implementing data-driven processes for optimal People Operations.

BACKGROUND

My background spans roles where I’ve spearheaded the establishment of People departments from scratch and led teams through significant growth. I thrive on continuous learning, embracing remote/hybrid cultures and cutting-edge HR technologies. I leadled innovative solutions to optimise processes and initiatives that rewarded InfoJobs a “Best Place to Work”.
Outside of work, my passions for mountains and my dog, reflect my eagerness to explore the wild and love for 4-legs companions.

David
Gossow

Senior Principal Software Engineer

WHAT DRIVES ME

After having worked in autonomous robotics research for a long time in the Silicon Valley, I am thrilled to be working at a company that is finally bringing this technology into people’s everyday lives.

BACKGROUND

Tech Lead at Google Tango in Mountain View, Research Engineer at Willow Garage, yoga instructor since 2018.

Johanna
Loomis

Lead Industrial Designer

WHAT DRIVES ME

What drives me at Vay is the enthusiasm and passion for a vision that is embedded in the company culture, and at the same time the strict discipline in its implementation.

BACKGROUND

Industrial Product Design Lead at TEAMS DESIGN GmbH for over six years, started as a Trainee in Shanghai City. Worked as Industrial and Product Designer at LOTHAR BOHM ASSOCIATES LIMITED, Lutz Herrmann Design, Indeed Innovation and Werksdesign.

Vladimir
Bilonenko

Director of Software Engineering

WHAT DRIVES ME

Helping engineers to do their best and most important work. Elegance in software. Bringing ideas from books to real life and from one domain to another. Going from A to B fast.

BACKGROUND

Software Generalist. Maps and Mobility Geek (Lon, Lat not Lat, Lon). High Load at Yandex, Geo Analytics and Last Mile at HERE Maps, Mobility Platform at Daimler. Conway’s Law Enthusiast.

ALINA
PRESTI

Teledriver

WHAT DRIVES ME

A car enthusiast, driven by cars, driving and technology.

BACKGROUND

Nursery school teacher. Driver at Skoda’s start-up Caredriver.

Claire
Eagan

Director of Legal

WHAT DRIVES ME

I’m passionate about leveraging technology to democratize transportation and revolutionize the mobility landscape.

BACKGROUND

Senior Counsel Product & Strategy at Uber handling catastrophic loss claims and litigation, 13 years of experience in product & safety advising and risk mitigation, J.D. University of Illinois at Chicago.

Vay expands service area in Las Vegas

  • Vay is significantly expanding its affordable, door-to-door mobility service with remotely delivered (“teledriven”) cars to cover all of central Las Vegas 
  • The driverless delivery area now spans around one quarter of the full metropolitan area, an area nearly twice as large as San Francisco
  • Vay is half the price of rideshare alternatives, making it the most affordable door-to-door mobility service 
  • Vay customers have made over 1,000 trips in total since the service launched in January

BERLIN/LAS VEGAS, June 13, 2024. Vay, the developer of automotive-grade teledriving technology, is announcing a major expansion of its commercial service in Las Vegas, Nevada. With this expansion, Vay now covers all of central Las Vegas – including the strip and surrounding attractions. The service has proven popular as it offers a new, frictionless way of traveling around the city.

Vay launched its teledriving service in Las Vegas in January this year, initially launching around the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Users can now order or drop off a fully electric Vay vehicle along the strip, Chinatown, College of Southern Nevada West, and the majority of the city center. The drop-off zone for one-way journeys – where Vay users can leave their vehicle before a teledriver returns the car – is also expanding to cover all of central Las Vegas.

Users order an electric vehicle via the Vay app and the teledriver brings the car to the user. The user then jumps into the car and drives themself to the destination. Upon arrival, a teledriver drives the car to the next user or parks it. No time is spent traveling to a pick-up location, or trying to find parking.

Vay aims to make cities safer, more sustainable and more livable. The cost-effective per-minute rental, which is half the price of current ride-share alternatives, enables a seamless journey from the “driverless” delivery and its return without the hassle of parking. The teledriving technology allows Vay’s electric fleet to be highly-utilized. This can help to reduce the overall amount of cars in cities. Vay’s teledriving technology is an alternative, more cost-effective approach to autonomous driving. 

Teledriving technology

Vay’s teledriving technology enables a person (“the teledriver”) to drive a vehicle remotely (“teledriving”). Vay is the first company to drive cars without someone inside on public roads in Europe. With the removal of the safety driver in the US in November 2023, Vay became a pioneer in teledriven cars on both continents: Europe and North America. 

Professionally trained teledrivers sit at a teledrive station with a steering wheel, pedals, and other vehicle controls developed to meet automotive industry standards. The car surroundings are reproduced via camera sensors and transmitted to the screens of the teledrive station. Road traffic sounds like emergency vehicles and other warning signals are transmitted to the teledriver’s headphones via microphones.

Vay implements safety and security by design. The Berlin-based scale-up follows key safety standards, including vehicle safety, functional safety (ISO 26262), and cybersecurity (ISO 21434). To confirm Vay’s high safety standards, TÜV Süd, an independent third party for testing, certification, auditing and advisory services, has tested and positively endorsed Vay’s technology. A thorough training program within the Vay Teledrive Academy prepares its teledrivers for professional driving on public streets. Rigorous training and advanced technology empower the teledrivers to drive confidently, always following a safe and defensive driving style.