Portuguese company Veniam expects to have 200,000 vehicles connected with its technology in the next 12 months, by which time it estimates the start of cars with its ‘software’ already included from the factory, the CEO told Lusa.
“We hope to have 200,000 vehicles connected with our technology in the next 12 months, mainly commercial fleets, starting also the vehicles that leave the factory with our software,” said João Barros, predicting a “strong growth” of the Portuguese startup, which turns nine years old in March.
Veniam is a Portuguese technology-based start-up that resulted from the spin-off of the University of Porto, the University of Aveiro and the Institute of Telecommunications.
The company currently has about 40 people, engineers and a commercial team in Germany, Japan and the United States, said Veniam’s CEO, who will speak about its intelligent network platform at FISTA – Forum of technology and architecture of ISCTE, where more than 60 companies will present their products in various areas, which takes place ‘online’ between 24 and 25 February.
“We have developed a unique software platform that allows cars, trucks, buses and all kinds of objects in motion to connect to each other and to the Internet,” said João Barros, who stressed that the startup became known for creating the largest vehicle mesh network in the world in Porto, at the time with STCP buses, which still provide free wifi to passengers.
Subsequently, Veniam made “similar networks in Singapore and New York”, also having autonomous vehicles using its technology.
Veniam “sells its ‘software’ platform for all these kinds of devices, including cameras that are placed in vehicles and other kinds of objects that are collecting data and need to connect to the Internet,” he continued.
The company does not reveal the amount of turnover, but in three rounds of funding – 2014, 2016 and 2018 – in Silicon Valley and New York it raised “approximately 40 million euros”, he said.
João Barros stressed that there are “several fleets in the world” that already use the Portuguese technology’s software.
“We still have confidential projects with several car manufacturers to include our software directly in vehicles from the factory”, as well as “a number of companies that place cameras” developed by the startup in vehicles to increase road safety.
These cameras, he explained, “can detect if the driver is falling asleep” or if he is using his mobile phone while driving. With this technology, companies “can reduce accidents and insurance costs for cars and fleets” by using artificial intelligence to analyse the videos.
With Veniam’s software it is possible for all devices to “themselves become Internet access points for other devices”, meaning “we get a mesh network in which all” these objects “share connections to the Internet”, he said.
The importance of technology in vehicles is explained by the fact that vehicles are many and need to transmit large amounts of data, from maps, to software updates, to data they collect on the quality of the infrastructure and the surrounding environment.
“All this data has to be transmitted to the ‘cloud’ for processing and for all kinds of applications that improve people’s quality of life,” he pointed out.
“Vehicles become part of the Internet in a way that was not possible until now, they are no longer just transport machines, but Internet access points, with sensors that collect data,” he added, stressing that Veniam “always” guarantees anonymity, privacy and data security.
“What differentiates Veniam’s software is precisely the use of artificial intelligence to decide which network is best” – be it wifi, 4G or 5G – “depending on the needs of the various applications”, he added.
The stimuli to relaunch the economy, both European and North American, “will be directed towards technologies that benefit the fight against climate change”, “our technology helps: with more connectivity and more data we can achieve much more sustainable mobility systems”, he said.
“I am convinced that the industry will offer more connected vehicles, with less carbon emissions”, which will allow us to move towards more sustainable smart cities, the official added.
If all goes as planned – return of the automotive industry to business and investment in innovation – Veniam expects to be back “hiring again” by the end of the year.
