Mistletoe, Inc. and WHILL, Inc. Enter Capital Alliance
Collaborating To Accelerate the Future of Smart Mobility
WHILL Inc. announced today that Mistletoe, Inc. and WHILL are entering a capital alliance with the goal to create new types of value for future smart mobility within urban environments.
As urban infrastructures become more and more connected, intelligent and automated, and as roadways become increasingly congested, the development of smart cities must allow for efficient, flexible and accessible travel across various modes including sidewalk travel. WHILL, manufacturer of revolutionary personal mobility devices they refer to as Intelligent Personal Electric Vehicles (EVs), foresees the need for smart mobility as an exciting and meaningful opportunity to better link people, vehicles and communities for a better quality of life through technology and innovation.
“Urban infrastructure has been automobile-centered for a century.” said WHILL CEO, Satoshi Sugie. “As technologies, such as autonomous mobility evolves, the infrastructure for cities, roadways and sidewalks will soon witness drastic change. Sharing the vision with Mistletoe, WHILL is going to accelerate the development of smart mobility within a decade.”
Taizo Son, Representative Director, President, and CEO of Mistletoe explains that, “Mistletoe supports startups solving big challenges that humanity will face in the near future. One such challenge is the issues stemming from urbanization such as air pollution, noise pollution, and traffic congestion.
“At Mistletoe, we believe that “human centric” and AI enabled personal mobility, will fundamentally change the way we view transportation and space, and hence, greatly contribute to solving the challenges of urbanization.
“Therefore, Mistletoe was greatly moved by WHILL, who develops advanced personal mobility systems and envisions global expansion with a mission to ‘Deliver Fun and Innovation to Pedestrian Travel.’ Mistletoe sees great potential in WHILL’s high-quality products made possible by their great technical strength.
“As Mistletoe is currently working on a grand project, to design a new form of city beneficial to both humans and the environment from the ground up using next generation technologies, we are excited to invest into WHILL, and to support and partner with them towards this long term endeavor. We look forward to working alongside them in Asia and US to advance the ecosystems there.”
About Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the collective impact community to empower startups and innovators to create a more human-centered and sustainable future through technology. It is comprised of founders, investors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and visionaries in the startup and venture communities who share the lofty ambition of addressing the problems humanity faces in the near and long-term future.
About WHILL, Inc.
Since its founding in 2013, WHILL’s mission is to transform today’s antiquated power wheelchair and scooter experiences into a new kind of empowering device, an intelligent personal electric vehicle (EV). WHILL is reinventing the personal mobility industry with intelligent personal EVs that focuses on an approachable and aesthetically pleasing powered vehicle that boosts confidence and pushes the boundaries of personal transportation. Headquartered in the Bay Area in the United States with offices in Tokyo and Taiwan, WHILL is focused on enabling everyone to explore the world in comfort and style.
Please direct all inquiries regarding this article to:
WHILL, Inc./ WHILL K.K.
PR representative: Sayuri Tsujisaka
Tel: +81-80-2584-1164
E-mail: pr@whill.jp
10/17 740-01454-MKT-16
