Announcing the 19 Mobility Startup Pitch Competition Finalists at AutoMobili-D

Announcing the 19 mobility startups selected as finalists for the AutoMobili-D 2018 startup pitch competitions. These pitch competitions will be held on January 16, 2018 at the Detroit Auto Show.

Today, I’m delighted to announce the 19 mobility startups selected as finalists for the three mobility startup pitch competitions at AutoMobili-D 2018.

These 19 mobility startups were selected from the 57 mobility startups coming to AutoMobili-D 2018. It was quite challenging to narrow down that list to the finalists.

These startups will be pitching in front of an impressive roster of judges. Some of the distinguished mobility startup judges include:

• Michigan Governor, Rick Snyder
• Michigan Lieutenant Governor, Brian Calley
• City of Detroit, Mark de la Vergne
• Detroit Venture Partners, Jake Cohen
• Fontinalis Partners, Chris Thomas
• Hemi Ventures, Amy Gu
• Invest Detroit Ventures, Patti Glaza
• Maven Ventures, Jim Scheinman
• Sherpa Capital, Liz Keen
• Techstars, Dave Drach
• Techstars Mobility, Ted Serbinski & Lisa Seymour
• Trucks Venture Capital, Reilly Brennan

I’m excited where we ended up. An incredible lineup of startups with an all-star roster of judges is a super combination. The pitch competition is going to be amazing to watch!

Here are the mobility startup finalists in each category:

Autonomy & Control Systems

Covers control systems, sensors, & smart infrastructure.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 – 1:00pm

• 1.21GigaWatts — Petach Tikva, Israel — Transforming traffic from liquid dynamics to switching packets. Our Autonomous Traffic Controller tracks vehicles based on their RF footprint, builds a dynamic map, delivers alert signals to vehicles’ own radar in the PHY domain & like air traffic control, coordinate AVs through complex scenarios.
• Apollo — Portland, OR, United States — Apollo is the voice of the self-driving vehicle.
• CARMERA — New York, NY, United States — CARMERA provides real-time 3D maps and navigation-critical data for autonomous vehicles, as well as 3D scene reconstruction and street analytics data for built environment uses.
• May Mobility — Ann Arbor, MI, United States — May Mobility is a driverless transportation company focused on services for places like central business districts, enterprise campuses, and mixed-use developments.
• PolySync — Portland, OR, United States — PolySync provides enabling technologies for autonomous vehicle technology.

Safety Solutions

A specific focus on collision avoidance, emergency response, and passenger safety.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 – 2:30pm

• Acerta — Waterloo, Ontario, Canada — Acerta is a platform that uses machine learning to detect malfunctions and predict failures in real time for vehicles coming off the assembly line or being driven. The platform is offered as a cloud service.
• Alchemy — Waterloo, ON, Canada — Alchemy is constructing the next generation of windshields for autonomous vehicles.
• CARFIT — Paris, France — CARFIT leverages car vibrations with AI to anticipate maintenance needs.
• Derq — Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Derq is an MIT spin-off developing AI-based V2X software applications for connected and autonomous vehicles to eliminate road accidents and save lives.
• HAAS Alert — Chicago, IL, United States — The HAAS Alert Safety Cloud connects motorists, connected and autonomous vehicles to a smart in-road network that delivers real-time data feeds of emergency vehicles en route and on-scene.
• NERVteh — Ljubljana, Slovenia — NERVteh is a high-tech company specialized in simulation technologies. Their primary service are driver skills evaluation and specialized driver training, with main focus on critical situations.
• SEEVA Technologies — Seattle, WA, United States — SEEVA Technologies designs visibility systems for mobility. SEEVA’s technologies quickly clean windshields, cameras, LIDAR and other sensors to help vehicles see.

Mobility Applications & Ride Sharing

Smartphone-based solutions including ride sharing, fractional ownership, entertainment, & mass transit.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 – 4:00pm

• AirspaceX — Detroit, MI, United States — AirspaceX is developing a multi-mission electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for on-demand passenger mobility and logistics solutions; helping people and companies avoid traffic to save time and money.
• Connecthings — Paris, France — Awarded world best solution for “Mobility & Sustainability” at SCEWC 2016, Connecthings turns city transit’s passive infrastructure into contextually-aware talking asset through citizen-centric technologies, that automatically inform riders of options by public or private transports.
• GoKid — New York, NY, United States — Award-winning and venture backed, GoKid is the complete carpool solution for schools, teams, and active families. Our mobile-first technology platform makes carpool setup easy and convenient—allowing parents to share driving responsibilities with other families they know and trust.
• LISNR — Cincinnati, OH, United States — LISNR® is the new standard for device connectivity using sound. As the leading, global provider of data-over-audio technology, LISNR®’s proprietary near-ultrasonic protocol is being used across the connected world to power over 100 million devices and counting.
• Spatial.ai — Cincinnati, OH, United States — Spatial.ai power vehicles to answer questions only a local would know.
• VeloMetro Mobility — Vancouver, BC, Canada — If you live, work or play in the city and want flexible personal transportation without the usual torment of urban travel,  Veemo’s sharing service frees you from traffic congestion, the need to have a driver’s licence, inactivity, exposure to the elements, and the cost of operating a car.
• Wheeli — New York, NY, United States — Wheeli is the carpooling app for college students. Think of it as the Airbnb for the empty car seats on the road.

If you’d like to meet these mobility startup finalists, grab your ticket to AutoMobili-D here. Also, reserve your spot and join us on January 16 for the Automotive + Startup Innovators Networking Reception.