What Bliq does

Bliq GmbH is a Berlin-based company that operates a subscription-based driverless car service built on Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric vehicles fitted with a proprietary autonomous-driving stack. The stack consists of a custom roof-mounted sensor module housing 9 cameras and 12 antennas, NVIDIA AGX Orin compute, dual in-cabin passenger screens, voice control, and a remote human-supervision layer staffed by licensed local operators. The company is officially certified for driverless operations in Estonia, where its Tallinn service is the only live market with no driver behind the wheel.

The business model centers on time-window bookings (hours or days) via the Bliq mobile app, with members paying a recurring subscription for reserved vehicle access rather than per-trip fares. Revenue streams include the recurring membership, a €1,500 refundable Priority Access deposit that also unlocks a Trial Month of up to 60 hours, usage-based overage credits, and a four-pronged B2B commercial offering spanning subscriptions, rentals, vehicle sales, and custom deployments. Customers span individual consumers (Priority Access currently available in Germany) and businesses, with European country rollouts planned for 2027.

Bliq was previously described in 2022 press coverage as a Berlin-based gig-economy driver app aggregator, and has since pivoted into driverless vehicle development. It has raised a reported $13.5M Series A led by NEA (May 2022), plus earlier and later capital from Atlantic VC, Proeza Ventures, Speedinvest, Revel Partners, FJ Labs, Amplifier, Angel Invest and Space Capital. The company operates from offices in Berlin and Tallinn and is led by co-founder and CEO Julian Glaab, with co-founders Johannes Riedel (COO) and Torgen Hauschild (CTO) on the management team.

Name

Bliq

Legal name

Bliq GmbH

Website

https://bliq.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bliq GmbH operates a subscription-based driverless car service built on retrofitted Hyundai IONIQ 5 EVs with custom perception hardware and remote human supervision. It serves private and commercial customers in Estonia and Germany, with broader European rollout planned for 2027.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Autonomous Vehicle Services

NAICS

Passenger Car Rental (532111), Taxi and Ridesharing Services (485310)

SIC

Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)

akta.pro primary industry

Autonomous Ride-Hailing / Robotaxi Platforms (THADADAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

On-Demand Private Ride-Hailing (Solo Rides) (THADADAA), Ride-Hailing / On-Demand Mobility for Business (Managed Ground Transport) (TLABALAF), Car Rental & Mobility Booking Platforms (Carshare/Rideshare/Micromobility) (THALAFAE)

Keywords

• Autonomous vehicle technology
• Driverless car subscription
• Mobility as a service
• Autonomous driving software
• Electric vehicle fleet

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Driverless car subscription (membership): Recurring subscription where members book a driverless car for time windows according to their individual plan. Post-Trial Month customers sign a separate Membership Agreement for ongoing paid use.
2. Priority Access deposit: One-time €1,500 refundable deposit to secure first-wave availability and a Trial Month of up to 60 hours of service. Deposit is retained as consideration for Priority Access and Trial Month once the Trial Month starts.
3. B2B vehicle rental and sales (commercial solutions): Commercial deployment options include renting Bliq vehicles and buying Bliq vehicles for business use, plus custom deployments.
4. Custom deployments / licensing of driverless technology: Bliq offers custom deployments of its driverless technology beyond its own subscription and rental offerings.
5. Additional usage credits: Customers can purchase additional hours/credits in the app if the included monthly allotment is exceeded.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Core offering

Bliq operates a subscription-based driverless car service in which members book a Bliq-equipped Hyundai IONIQ 5 for time windows (hours or days) via the Bliq mobile app, with every journey supervised remotely by licensed local operators. The first vehicle, a Hyundai IONIQ 5, is retrofitted with a custom roof-mounted sensor module (9 cameras, 12 antennas), NVIDIA AGX Orin compute, dual passenger screens, and voice control. Bliq also offers commercial deployment options (subscribe, rent, buy, custom) and a paid Priority Access early-access programme.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bliq Driverless Car Service Subscription-based driverless car service that lets members book a Bliq-equipped Hyundai IONIQ 5 for time windows (hours/days) via the Bliq app, with remote human supervision by licensed operators. Built in Berlin and rolling out across Europe.
• Hyundai IONIQ 5 powered by Bliq The first vehicle made driverless by Bliq: a Hyundai IONIQ 5 retrofitted with a custom roof-mounted sensor module (9 cameras, 12 antennas), NVIDIA AGX Orin compute, dual passenger screens, and voice control. ~600 km range, 18 min charge, 70 km/h max driverless speed, 768 L storage, 4.8s 0–100 km/h acceleration.
• Bliq Priority Access Paid early-access programme with a €1,500 refundable deposit that secures first-wave availability of Bliq's driverless service in the customer's city and includes a Trial Month with up to 60 hours of service. Currently available in Germany, with planned expansion to other European countries in 2027.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~600 km driving range, 70 km/h max driverless speed, 4.8s 0–100 km/h, 18 min charge time on the Bliq Hyundai IONIQ 5
• +2 more outcomes

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hyundai (IONIQ 5)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBliq's first driverless vehicle is a Hyundai IONIQ 5 powered by Bliq, providing the base electric vehicle platform (~600 km range, 70 km/h max driverless speed, 4.8s 0–100 km/h, 18 min charge time) onto which Bliq retrofits its driverless technology and roof sensor module.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or IntegrationNVIDIA AGX Orin is referenced as the compute platform powering Bliq's driverless system (listed as 'Coming soon' on the product page).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Waymo: Alphabet-owned autonomous ride-hailing service operating L4 robotaxi service in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. Directly comparable as a fully driverless consumer ride service; Bliq targets the same end-user mobility outcome with a subscription/time-window twist and an EU focus.
• Cruise (General Motors): GM-owned robotaxi program that operated driverless ride-hailing in San Francisco before pausing operations in 2023. Closest historical analog to Bliq's OEM-retrofitted AV subscription model, with deep integration to a production EV platform (Origin/Chevrolet Bolt).
• Zoox (Amazon): Amazon-owned autonomous ride-hailing company building purpose-built robotaxi vehicles. Directly comparable as a fully driverless consumer mobility service targeting private ride-hailing economics, though Zoox is purpose-built vehicle versus Bliq's Hyundai IONIQ 5 retrofit.
• Tesla (Robotaxi / FSD): Tesla's planned Robotaxi service and Full Self-Driving software target the same driverless ride-hailing opportunity as Bliq, on a retrofit basis to its existing Model 3/Y fleet. Comparable as an EV-native AV ride-hailing platform with subscription/usage pricing ambitions.

Emerging players

• Wayve: UK-based autonomous driving startup developing AV2.0 foundation-model-based driving software, with OEM partnerships (Nissan) and operating in Europe. Comparable as a European-focused AV player competing for the same regulatory and OEM relationships in the EU market.
• Pony.ai: Autonomous driving company operating robotaxi pilots in China and California with Toyota-backed vehicle platforms. Comparable as an OEM-retrofitted driverless ride service, though operating in different geographies; relevant comp for unit economics and city-by-city certification strategy.
• Aurora Innovation: Autonomous vehicle company developing the Aurora Driver for both ride-hailing (via Toyota partnership) and trucking. Comparable as a full-stack AV platform targeting consumer mobility with similar regulatory and OEM-partner dependencies as Bliq.
• May Mobility: US-based autonomous mobility company operating low-speed driverless shuttle services with Toyota Sienna Autono-Maas platform. Comparable as an early-stage commercial AV ride service pursuing city-by-city regulatory approvals and B2B/B2G deployment models.

Broad incumbents

• Mobileye: Intel-owned AV technology supplier providing EyeQ chips, REM mapping, and self-driving stack to multiple OEMs globally, with robotaxi ambitions (Mobility-as-a-Service). Comparable as a supplier/operator in the autonomous mobility stack that could partner with or compete against Bliq's driverless service.

Others

• Nuro: Autonomous vehicle company focused on last-mile delivery rather than passenger transport, with similar L4 regulatory pursuit (California DMV permits). Adjacent peer with overlapping AV stack challenges (retrofit sensors, NVIDIA compute, regulatory certification) and partnership needs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/julian-glaab
• Xx.com/bliq_ai

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bliq