Remotely driven car startup Vay launches service in Las Vegas

BERLIN: German startup Vay has launched a remotely driven car service in Las Vegas after years of developing and testing the technology as an intermediate step towards full autonomy.

Vay’s offering involves humans remote-controlling cars - Vay calls them teledrivers - from physical stations miles away. Its service is available around the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Arts District, the company announced recently.

Teledrivers will deliver electric vehicles to customers who hop in and drive themselves to their desired destination. The teledrivers will then steer the vehicles to their next client.

Vay said it’s currently charging customers $0.30 a minute when users drive.

Berlin-based Vay has raised around US$100 million from investors including former Google Chief financial officer Patrick Pichette, Kinnevik AB and venture capital firm Atomico.