The proliferation of new business models in the mobility space has brought the gig economy to an inflection point. While there’s no doubt that gig workers are here to stay for the foreseeable future, recent events prove that there is space for other business models, especially when it comes to rideshare initiatives.

Meir from the Maniv team recently spoke with Haley Rubinson, VP Business Development at Revel— they unpacked the relationship between mobility start-ups and city regulators, Revel’s new rideshare business, the future of the gig economy, and the question of infrastructure needed to support the electrification of mobility.

Here are some highlights from their conversation:

Inside the mind of a regulator

"I started my career in the public sector at the local level under Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The Bloomberg administration was pushing the envelope: the NYC DOT shut down Times Square to traffic and new bike lanes were transforming the public space. These shifts led me to believe that change was possible, that transportation services didn't need to run like they did 50 years ago."

"An influx in app-based transportation led to the realization—and I say this because at the time I was on the regulator side of things—that the government can't do it all. Even at the beginning of my career the thought was that the government is responsible for everything when it comes to transit. In the intervening decade, regulators themselves have started asking: 'why do tax dollars need to fund every single way to get from Point A to Point B?'"

On working together with regulators

"Working with regulators, helping them grow, shift, and change is helpful and doesn't have to be contentious because at the end of the day we all have the same goals. "

"Coming to the table knowing that government has a responsibility and that we have something we want to do has made things much easier, but not perfect. While it's not smooth sailing all the time, I can say from my experience with Revel that even when we are at odds with the city, we're still able to come together and reach a solution."

The rideshare of the next 10 years

"The goals of the dominant companies in the space are opposed to ours because they don't own vehicles. They're a platform, not a transportation operation company. So if you're Uber or Lyft your interest is to have as many vehicles on the road as possible so that customers get a ride in the fewest possible minutes. If you're a driver and you end up giving one ride a day, Uber or Lyft don't care because it's a service that keeps customers coming back, and they get a portion of that. We're here to disrupt that model."

"We all have to agree that in New York City there are too many cars on the road. A lot of this is because we have a lot of drivers trying to get fares and the business model of the independent contractor driving for platforms only incentivizes underutilized vehicles being on the road."

The state of the gig economy

"When it comes to employees, we first must acknowledge that there are plenty of people who are happy working gig economy jobs. They enjoy it, they're good at it, and it works for them. But for us since day one we've never used gig-economy workers even with our moped business. When you have real employees it's a different relationship to the company and to the service, so there's a different level of pride and accountability our employees take."

"It's irresponsible to throw a whole bunch of cars on the road when the interest of the entity controlling the platform isn't connected with the drivers making a living. This is why we see cities like New York where even though there is a cap on new vehicles, there are still thousands of licensed TLC drivers, and nobody is really making a great living."

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This article is based on Episode 7 of the Anything that Moves podcast. Check it out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Learn more about Maniv Mobility or get in touch at maniv.com

Revel, rideshare, and the gig economy was originally published in Maniv on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Technologies that affect the ways in which we move are fundamental to our day-to-day lives, so it should come as no surprise when mobility tech crosses over into other spaces. Intuition Robotics has developed an AI agent that proactively creates human relationships, whether in an automotive context or to address geriatric loneliness.

On the latest episode of Anything that Moves, Meir and Dor Skuler, CEO at Intuition Robotics break down the changing relationship between humans and machines and how OEMs can leverage technology to transform the in-car experience.

Here are some highlights from the conversation:

How Intuition Robotics’ technology allows its AI assistant to create human relationships

“When we started, it had nothing to do with mobility. It was about helping adults reduce loneliness and allowing them to remain independent for longer. When we started this journey, we found that in order to solve this problem, we actually need to redefine the way humans and machines interact. That’s why we created an AI agent that proactively creates relationships based on trust and empathy with the human subject.”

“If [Alexa or Google Assistant] has all of the information it needs, it will just execute every time a command is invoked. If it’s missing information — like did you mean turn off the light in the kitchen or living room? — it will ask you to fill in the blanks. But that’s not a relationship.”

“We’re talking about an entity that has internal motivation. It doesn’t sit idly by waiting for commands. ElliQ calculates at any given time based on its understanding of the world around you, the human: is it a good or bad time to interrupt? Then based on its understanding of your state, the world around you, and everything it knows about you this leads to it making a decision.”

How contextual AI matters for carmakers

“People have been driving the same cars the same way for decades and all of a sudden there’s new technology being inserted, whereby we’re no longer driving the car, rather the car drives together with us.”

“I’m not talking about Level 5 autonomy, I’m talking about ADAS, L2, L3. It takes forever for new features to be introduced to cars and even longer for users to trust and learn how to use them properly. As autonomy becomes increasingly sophisticated users begin questioning how they can express concerns to the vehicle that controls and impacts our safety and lives.”

“OEMs need to create an experience that’s differentiated or else they risk becoming commodities. Brands need to create an extension between what people are seeing on TV and the day-to-day experiences they’ll have in the car. Is the car for family moments, road trips, a workspace, or simply for performance? At the end of the day, the in-cabin experience for passengers in the backseat is uncurated and not differentiated between competing OEMs.”

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This article is based on Episode 4 of the Anything that Moves podcast. Check it out on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Maniv Mobility is a venture capital fund investing in the world’s leading mobility startups. Our growing portfolio is made up of early-stage, disruptive startups committed to a new mobility future. With decades of experience in the mobility, transportation, and policy sectors, Maniv’s ecosystem includes a global network of experts and industry leaders — allowing us to closely partner with startups and drive better outcomes.

Learn more about Maniv Mobility or get in touch at maniv.com

What do autonomous vehicles and companion robots have in common? was originally published in Maniv on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The pandemic sparked a cycling revolution with far-reaching impact. But while most of the attention has focused on how consumers are increasingly buying bikes and ebikes, what about people who bike for a living?

Meir from the Maniv team recently spoke with Mina Nada, CEO of Zoomo (fka Bolt Bikes) — they unpacked the gig-economy and its evolution, how early-stage mobility start-ups are attracting investment, and the rise of bikes and ebikes from a consumer and commercial perspective.

Here are some highlights from their conversation:

Starting out

"Zoomo started as a side-hustle, it was me trying to hit KPIs as a GM at Deliveroo— a company from the UK where 90% of delivery are done on bikes. Sydney, on the other hand, is hilly and less dense, meaning that the majority of the delivery workers used cars and those who rode bikes were really slow."

"Between 2015 and 2017 couriers on ebikes were killing it. They were the most efficient so I kept pushing to have more ebikes on our fleet at Deliveroo. But, we came across two problems: traditional ebikes weren't fit for purpose as couriers require extensive battery range and these ebikes didn't have the proper safety features for riding at night or in the rain. On top of that they were really heavy and frankly unaffordable when it came to maintenance."

"I pitched the idea internally at Deliveroo and they rejected it based on the fact that it was too capital intensive. That's why we ended up doing it ourselves by founding Zoomo in 2017."

The battle of the gig-economy

"I think it's easy to argue for giving workers more money and more rights in an environment of plenty. But, in the current pandemic environment with really high unemployment, I don't know if there's going to be the political will to pursue Uber and Lyft on these fronts, and the rest of the delivery economy as well. If regulations do pass, it would be a bit of a Pyrrhic victory, if this actually leads to even lower employment and people were resorting back to taxis and the old school way of doing things."

Attracting VC investment

"The reality is that some VCs are only trying to find the next Facebook, the next Google, and that's obviously hard to do. Savvy investors are realizing that there's a huge movement in the electrification of mobility and that it makes sense to electrify smaller vehicles. I believe that within five years there will be more light electric vehicles on streets than electric cars and VCs will try to pick those winners."

"Don't let the perfect get in the way of the good, move fast, score goals, and remember that unit economics matter. We're in a post-WeWork world where you can't just hope that you're going to loose money all through to an IPO. Grow revenue fast with solutions that suit customers' needs while proving that there are profitable unit economics."

Micromobility in a post pandemic world

"You're going to see people rediscovering cycling and just how efficient it is, how fun it is, how exhilarating it can be — but most important, how quick it is to move around. Then, you can have the speed of two wheels and none of the sweat with an ebike. I think that there's going to be a segment of people moving from their cheap bikes to something that they spend a little more money on, but serves to move them around.”

“On the personal mobility side, I have so many friends who now ride bikes for fun, including myself. I never actually rode a bike— forget about an ebike— until the pandemic hit, and today I spend more time on Strava than I do on Facebook."

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This article is based on Episode 1 of the Anything that Moves podcast. Check it out on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Maniv Mobility is a global venture capital fund investing exclusively in leading mobility startups. Our growing portfolio is made up of early-stage, disruptive startups committed to a new mobility future. With decades of experience in the mobility, transportation, and policy sectors, Maniv’s ecosystem includes a global network of experts and industry leaders — allowing us to closely partner with startups and drive better outcomes.

Learn more about Maniv Mobility or get in touch at maniv.com

What about those who bike for a living? Maniv and Zoomo unpack the gig-economy. was originally published in Maniv on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.