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Our mission is to democratize access to the physical world for 2 billion people with a disability.

We're market leader in making pedestrian crossings accessible to blind and low vision pedestrians, with over 1.5 million streets crossed. Our goals goes far beyond that: helping 2 billion people with a disability explore places in the their most accessible way.
Image of the three founders of AYES. Left to right Vincent, Willem and Michiel

The story

AYES was born when founders, Vincent Janssen, Willem Van de Mierop and Michiel Janssen, came together on their mission to solve the biggest barrier for people with a disability: mobility. They got inspired by a blind family relative and we're motivated to build a solution that would help him get around more easily and independently.

 

And so enter our mobile app oko that helps people around the world to explore new places and reach their destination in the most safe and accessible way.

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Officially launched in 2021, AYES is headquartered in New York City.  

Oko today

Today, oko empowers blind and low vision pedestrians with independent, confident crossing at signalized intersections. With over 1.5 million street crossings, our oko app is now an essential tool for blind and low vision people.

A user using the OKO application to cross the street_edited_edited.png
A mockup of an iPhone showing our OKO app.

The vision

Our primary mission is to empower the 300 million blind and low vision individuals globally with our best-in-class app, enabling them to explore and navigate the world independently. We believe that we can only make a substantial impact in their lives by developing a solution for a mainstream device, like a smartphone.
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Looking ahead, oko is becoming the premier navigation and exploration app, tailored to meet the diverse needs of 2 billion people with all types of disabilities.
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Ultimately our goal is to be the best-in-class, AI-enhanced navigation all for all people around the world. 
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