Elmo, the world’s first company to introduce remotely controlled electric cars in a car sharing service, has raised up to 2.6 million euros from international growth capital fund and other investors to speed up the licencing of remote control technology in foreign markets, grow the team necessary for the development of next-generation technologies and to prepare new eco-sustainable remotely controlled cars and take them to public roads.

Teledriving and driverless transportation are potentially the biggest and most positive changes in the mobility sector in our generation. Global urban mobility market is in flux due to shifting consumer preferences and technological advances. City governments reduce private car ownership in urban areas, consumers seek sustainability, convenience and affordability. Car ownership is declining in favor of public transport, bicycles, car sharing clubs, and ride hailing. 

“We are happy to contribute to an Estonian technology company such as Elmo which is one of the first in the world to put remote control technology based services into daily practical use. We see remote control technologies and the related services as a necessary step in bringing fully autonomous driving technologies into our daily life in the future,” said Ragnar Meitern, head of the lead investor’s representative Highgoal Capital Management. 

Highgoal Capital Management OÜ is a technology focused small alternative funds manager with a track record of identifying and backing some of the most successful founders and companies in the mobility business, their investment portfolio including Bolt and Planet42 among others. The company has experience in in European, Middle Eastern and African markets and has offices in London and Tallinn. FlyCap is a Latvian growth capital fund that offers growth capital to medium-sized companies in Latvia and elsewhere in Europe.  Barolo Invest and SAGGIS are Estonian capital based investors. The financing transactions were counselled by KPMG Baltics and Keystone Advisers.

“It is a great recognition to the current work of our team when experienced investors are willing to contribute to our success in today’s financial climate, and a sign that Elmo’s position is strong in the fast-growing sector of remotely controlled vehicles,” said Enn Laansoo Jr., the founder and CEO of Elmo.

“Although Elmo’s greatest competitive edge has so far been the development of the technology as well as the provision of a short-term rental service in one company, we will now be able to conclude the separation of the technology and the short-term rental business into subsidiaries in order to bring aboard new investors with a more specific focus,” added Laansoo.

Last year, Elmo became the world’s first deep-tech company to bring its road legal remotely controlled cars and drivers licenced by the Transport Administration’s into a real-life car sharing service. Remotely controlled cars have become a daily service on the streets of Tallinn as well as Tartu. For the purpose of licencing the technology, Elmo’s remotely controlled cars have been driven and introduced to customers in the streets of Paris, Munich, Hannover, Zurich, Vienna, Helsinki, Los Angeles and many other big cities. By today, there are ongoing negotiations with more than 50 customers interested in the licensed technology and preliminary work is in process to start driving on the public roads of at least two foreign cities this summer.

Elmo is an Estonian company whose main field of activity is the development of an innovative deep-tech technology for remotely controlled cars (see elmoremote.com) and the provision of eco-friendly car-sharing services (see elmorent.ee). Elmo is the first car rental company in Estonia to receive the quality label for sustainable business.

Additional information:
Enn Laansoo, Jr.
CEO
ELMO Rent AS
enn@elmorent.ee

The electric car-sharing company Elmo has won the public procurement for short-term rental services organised by the Environmental Investment Centre (EIC), so the Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, Rakvere and Valga city employees of the centre will be using ELMO’s eco-friendly vehicles for their work-related drives.

The contract was concluded for a period of 24 months which can be extended by 12 months at the supplier’s request.

“The EIC serves as an example for other state institutions with their use of car-sharing services and preference of electric cars and I hope that practical experience will have an impact on adding the use of car-sharing services among the state’s priorities,” said Enn Laansoo Jr., the Executive Manager of ELMO.

The EIC’s procurement included a phone app-based as well as a normal pre-order rental service. ELMO has offered an app-based rental service for eco-friendly cars for already a decade with an additional short-term rental service with the delivery of the vehicle to the customer’s door available for over a year and a half. For the past three years, the company has been developing a remote control service for the delivery of the cars to the customers. Elmo is the world’s first company to put remotely controlled vehicles to real-life service and plans to use the technology to serve EIC’s employees as well.

According to Andrus Treier, head of the EIC, their organisation has branches across Estonia and the employees of the EIC need to supervise project locations in very different places. “As a responsible establishment, we measure the organisation’s footprint and prioritise the lowering of our work travel related environmental impact. It is therefore important to find a partner who would offer an electric car-rental service that would extend outside the limits of Tallinn.”

ELMO’s car park includes more than a hundred electric cars and additional hybrid cars for more convenient longer drives, having more than 22 000 registered users. The company plans to extend their car park by 15 electric cars this spring with more to follow in the summer and to equip another 20 cars with their remote control technology.

Elmo is an Estonian company whose main field of activity is the development of an innovative deeptech technology for remotely controlled cars (see Elmoremote.com) and the offering of eco-friendly car-sharing services (see Elmorent.ee). Elmo is the first car rental company in Estonia to receive the quality label for sustainable business.

Additional information:
Enn Laansoo, Jr.
Executive Manager
ELMO Rent AS
enn@Elmorent.ee

Elmo, the world’s first remote-control service provider, participated in the annual Autonomy Mobility World Expo, the world’s largest trade fair focused on sustainable and smart transportation services, in Paris, which brought together thousands of interested parties and key industry players. 

Elmo was represented among 200 exhibitors from a total of 80 countries who represented various transport solutions aimed at sustainable development. Mobility TV, a French television channel focused on mobility solutions, highlighted Elmo as one of the six most potential changemakers in the sustainability of urban traffic.

‘We have been introducing our remote-control service and technology in Central Europe for the last 9 months, and negotiations are underway with several car sharing companies and districts to make their service more sustainable and profitable by implementing a remote-control service. As part of the fair, we made several new contacts with lawmakers to discuss which legislative framework would need to be adjusted for the introduction of remote-controlled technology on public roads,’ said Enn Laansoo Jr, the CEO of Elmo. ‘I can safely say that, at the current stage of development, the remote-control technology developed by Elmo can be considered innovative worldwide and has great potential for large international markets.’

In addition to Elmo, other companies from Estonia focused on future mobility were also represented, such as Bolt, Äike, Liigu, Comodule, Oolter Bike.

Elmo is an Estonian company whose main field of activity is the development of innovative deep tech technology (see elmoremote.com) and the provision of environmentally friendly vehicle sharing services (see elmorent.ee). Elmo is the first company of rental vehicles with a responsible business quality label in Estonia.

Elmo, creator and operator of electric car tele-driving technology, will be present at Autonomy Mobility World Expo 2023 to showcase its road legal 4G based tele-driving technology and introduce its application possibilities for more sustainable, convenient and affordable mobility options.

During the show, visitors will be able to discover the technological equipment installed inside the car and test the tele-driven car in Elmo´s demonstration area.

Elmo is the only company in the world with both a tele-driving technology platform and a fleet of shared vehicles in operation in public service.

In 2022, Elmo tele-driving technology and first tele-drivers have passed the approval test of the Estonian Transport Administration and TÜV certification is in making. Thus, the company has received official authorization to put its cars on public roads in Estonia in order  to offer the service to its car-sharing customers, which has already done for more than a thousand trips.

The Elmo tele-driving technology add-on shifts the car-sharing experience to another level. Thanks to innovative technology, Elmo vehicles are delivered driverless to the place that suits the user. With the help of 6 cameras installed on the vehicle and a 4G mobile network data control and transmission module, an operator drives the car remotely from his remote-control station to the place of delivery.

Currently, applications for traffic permits are also being processed in several European countries, including France and in the US.

Already accredited on Estonian roads and offering public service, Elmo will start providing tele-driving technology service in coming months also in other countries within EU!

Come and meet us at:
Stand G12
Exhibition Centre – Pavilion 6
1 Place de la Porte de Versailles 75015 Paris
22 – 23 March 2023

About Elmo
Elmo is an Estonian start-up that has developed innovative tele-driving technology for vehicles.

Created to make car sharing more efficient, accessible, and environmentally friendly, Elmo technology can be used wherever it optimizes and reduces costs or avoids dangerous situations for drivers. Elmo’s activity as an electrical car sharing operator in its home country has made it possible to implement and prove the viability of the technological solution.

AUTONOMY MOBILITY WORLD EXPO (AMWE) is the world’s largest annual gathering of international policymakers, institutions, NGOs, corporations, companies, and start-ups focused on sustainable urban mobility solutions welcoming 200+ exhibitors, 300+ speakers, and 8,000+ participants every year in March.

Kristiina Kalda
kristiina@elmoremote.com
+372 5072682
+33 6 78 01 22 78
Area Manager

Enn Laansoo Jr.
enn@elmoremote.com
+372 5216858
CEO and founder

The team of Elmo, the world’s first company to offer car sharing with remotely controlled cars on public roads, was extended by new remote drivers certified by the Transportation Authority, allowing the company to expand their remote-controlled electric car service and fleet on Estonian roads.

Last autumn, Elmo launched a service where rental cars were brought to customers via remotely controlled cars. By now, a total of three remote drivers have been certified with at least seven soon to be added. The service is gaining popularity due to its novelty as well as practicality in terms of better time management.

According to Enn Laansoo, Jr., CEO of Elmo, the right to drive issued by the Transportation Authority is unique in the world. “We have taken another leap for the company as well as the world, because our remote-controlled cars as well as the remote drivers are the first in the world to pass an examination of the Transportation Authority, being granted permission to drive on public roads and to service customers on a daily basis. This serves as an assurance that the technology we developed corresponds to all necessary safety requirements.”

In addition to Estonia, the company has trained remote drivers and tested the technology on the public roads of Berlin, Munich, Hanover, Paris, Los Angeles, Helsinki and other foreign cities where the technology and its opportunities have been introduced.

“The addition of new remote drivers is a big step towards our future vision where consumers can use a convenient car sharing service, travel more efficiently and more sustainably,” added Laansoo Jr..

The key to ELMO’s success is the innovativeness of the Estonian state with their all-round readiness for support and cooperation. “The testing of ELMO’s remote-controlled cars and the examination is a good example of how open Estonia is to innovative solutions that correspond to all safety requirements. We are so happy that Estonia’s first electric car rental service company has taken the lead in this innovation of our traffic culture,” said Jürgo Vahtra, head of the Land Vehicle Unit at the Transportation Authority.

Elmo is an Estonian company whose main field of activity is the development of remote-controlled cars and related innovative technologies (see elmoremote.com) and the provision of an environmentally friendly vehicle sharing service (see elmorent.ee).

More information:

Enn Laansoo, Jr.
CEO ELMO Rent AS
enn@elmorent.ee