Japanese taxi operator Newmo has signed a roughly $132 million Series B led by KDDI as it prepares a 2028 autonomous-taxi launch in Sakai, Osaka prefecture, initially with safety drivers aboard. The company announced the financing on November 9 and said payment was expected shortly.
Newmo already operates around 1,900 taxis while developing its own autonomous-driving technology. Its roughly $114 million Series A closed in July 2025, when the company reported more than 1,000 taxis across three Osaka operators. Figures are in US dollars, converted at November 6, 2026 reference rates.
KDDI had already supplied computing capacity to train Newmo’s driving models. Under their November 6 partnership, the telecom group will also provide vehicle communications, remote monitoring and precise positioning for the planned service.
Newmo says the financing will support taxi-company acquisitions and launches in new regions alongside autonomous-driving development. It ultimately aims to operate 10,000 conventional taxis and 1,000 autonomous taxis.
The partners are also considering supplying dispatch, fleet-management and remote-monitoring functions developed in Sakai to other regional transport operators.