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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.

Verizon Business inks 5G connected-vehicle deal with teledriving car-share company Vay

What you need to know:

  • Now live in Las Vegas, offers remotely driven electric vehicles (EV) that can be rented by the minute. When requesting a car through the app, a  Vay teledriver delivers a vehicle to the user and picks it up after the journey is complete. Upon delivery, the user takes over and drives to their destination like in a regular car. 
  • Verizon Business is providing 5G connectivity to Vay vehicles and custom data plans to help Vay handle the massive amounts of data generated by its teleoperated fleet.
  • Use cases include near real-time connectivity to provide mobility solutions for teledriven cars; transmitting telematics or diagnostic information from vehicles to Vay and/or Vay customers; and transmitting over-the-air updates to software and firmware in Vay vehicles.

NEW YORK, NY and Las Vegas, NV— Verizon Business and Vay Technology today announced an agreement bringing Verizon 5G connectivity to Vay’s fleet of teleoperated electric vehicles. The deal also includes data plans to help manage massive amounts of data generated by Vay vehicles’ sensors and cameras.

“Vay’s unique operational model shows the importance of mobile connectivity for the future of transportation. From Vay’s app-based user interface to their high-tech teledriving command centers to the vehicle fleet itself, connectivity touches all corners of the business,” said TJ Fox, Senior Vice President of Industrial IoT and Automotive, Verizon Business. “We’re thrilled to work with a company as innovative as Vay, which can use our unrivaled network to fuel their expansions throughout the U.S.”

“Verizon’s technology has been critical for Vay’s entry into the U.S. market from Europe, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them as we expand our commercial and B2B businesses,” said Thomas von der Ohe, Vay co-founder and CEO. “Verizon’s coverage, performance, and network reliability are essential for handling the data load inherent to teleoperating our fleet to the highest standards of safety and capability.”

Vay currently operates its commercial service in Las Vegas, where users can order an electric car via the Vay app and have it delivered to them by a teledriver. While in the car, the users drive themselves, just like in a regular car. When the trip is complete, they end the rental in the app, exit the vehicle, and a Vay teledriver remotely drives it to the next customer. High-performance, low-latency Verizon 5G connectivity helps enable this operational model. 

Verizon connectivity is used for data-intensive, mission-critical workloads such as providing mobility solutions for teleoperation-capable cars; transmitting telematics or diagnostic information from vehicles to Vay and/or Vay customers; and transmitting over-the-air updates to software and firmware in Vay vehicles.

Visit verizon.com/connectedvehicle to learn more about Verizon’s connected automotive solutions and capabilities.

Media contact:
Matt Conte
[email protected]
(917) 848-3040

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $134.0 billion in 2023. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control

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