Welcome, Tortoise to the Rosecliff Portfolio!
Tortoise joins other forward-thinking mobility companies in the Rosecliff portfolio including Riide electric bikes and Wheels Up aviation. The future of city mobility is a highly contested topic, with electric scooters and self-driving cars hitting our roads and sidewalks. Since 2018, city officials and residents across the united states have complained about electric dock-less scooters littering their streets. Tortoise offers a solution. Tortoise’s software can safely drive any small electric vehicle from a location where it’s underutilized or obstructing the road, to a city-approved parking spot, a public transit hub, and in the near-future, your doorstep. Tortoise combines autonomous technology with human intervention for a holistic view at the future of urban mobility.
Relocating scooters is the single biggest challenge operators face. With a proprietary new solution that doesn’t require an individual to manually pick up and transport the vehicle, Tortoise unlocks new opportunities for the communities and businesses it serves. “So far, Tortoise has partnered with four existing scooter share programs — Wind, CityBee, Go X, and the Portland-based Shared. Tortoise will start deploying its technology across those brands around November, Shevelenko says, with initial programs taking place in both Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital” writes Jessica Klein, in Fast Company.
Dmitry Shevelenko and David Graham launched Tortoise in October 2019. Dmitry was formerly the director of business development at Uber, where he led mobility partnership initiatives. With former stints at Linkedin and Facebook, Shevelenko is a true tech industry veteran. His co-founder David has been brought on by companies like Lyft, Microsoft and Samsung when developing novel technologies and concepts. Together, the two have shared their goal to partner with cities to make them more livable. The Tortoise team works closely with local officials to ensure Tortoise is having a positive impact on the community.
See below for impressive press about Tortoise’s launch!
