The 14 top startups have been selected from more than 500 applications to enter the first batch of the IMPACT Connected Car program and receive acceleration, mentoring, training, and equity-free funding. The startups are all focused on solving problems in the connected vehicle sector, including safety, vehicle management, and more.

IMPACT Connected Car, the acceleration program that aims to respond to the industrial needs in the automotive industry, has announced the 14 startups that will enter the program and get acceleration, training, mentoring, and equity-free funding.

These startups are the top companies who applied to IMPACT Connected Car’s first open call. This call for startups launched in October and received applications from more than 500 startups and SMEs coming from 41 countries. Of these, 25 projects were invited to attend the three-day Disruptive Bootcamp that took place last week in the Automotive Technology Center of Galicia (CTAG), in Vigo, Spain.

The Bootcamp included one-to-one and speed meeting sessions and concluded with a jury day during which the 25 participating startups pitched in front of a panel of experts, including the coordinator of the program (FBOX), the business coaching leaders (ISDI), technical coaching providers (CTAG, INSERO, MOVEO, and the clusters AUTOKLASTR and LPNT) and large corporations (PSA Group, Ferrovial Servicios, FIA, FIWARE Foundation). Ultimately, 14 companies were selected to continue on to the next phase of the program.

IMPACT Connected Car is focused on six challenges or verticals within the connected vehicle sector: safety & security, driver assistance, well being, mobility management, vehicle management, and infotainment.

• CardioID Technologies (Portugal): Enabling safer drivers and vehicles through a technology that is able to biometrically identify the driver and produce fatigue and drowsiness alerts.
• CARFIT (France): AI based technology that reads the vibration of the vehicle to make the car maintenance easier and mobility safer.
• Carricare b.v. (Chargetrip) (The Netherlands): Development of predictive deep learning models for fleet managers and energy operators around the world.
• Eccocar sharing S.L. (Spain): Car Sharing solution that optimizes and digitalizes the use of the existing fleets.
• HOMYHUB SL (Spain): Universal plug and play solution for garage openers that turns the smartphone into a Smart Garage Remote enabling users to control, monitor and manage access to the garage, anywhere at anytime.
• Motor Ai (Germany): A developed device which enables digital services in vehicles by collecting data of parked and driving vehicles.
• Parkbob GmbH (Austria): Parkbob enables a seamless last mile experience by delivering context-aware parking rules & restrictions as well as real-time on-street parkability.
• Situm Technologies SL (Spain): indoor positioning provider that enables corporations developing new location-based services.
• Spark Horizon (Switzerland): Universal charging solution. Spark Horizon conceive, install and operate the 1st European network of free charging stations for electric vehicles, sponsored through AI based advertising.
• TRAFFIC NETWORK SOLUTIONS SL (Spain): Using connected floating car data for optimizing mobility in junctions, roundabouts, work zones.
• Worldsensing SL (Spain): Platform to provide Operational Intelligence to cities through a plug and play approach which creates a customized solution to solve problems such as traffic or public space safety.
• Xapix Software GmbH (USA): Helping enterprises to drive sales and partner engagement by creating easy-to-integrate digital services with their legacy data
• Ximantis AB (Sweden): The project aims to forecast and anticipate, exact traffic congestion hot spots, before they have a chance to form.
• Y.Share S.r.l. (Italy): The only patented off the shelf technology to share the car, optimize its usage and turn it into a profit machine.

All 14 selected startups will receive up to €60,000 in equity-free funding and will now begin a six-month acceleration program led by ISDI (business coaching) and CTAG (technical coaching).

The program will kick off with a Digital Bootcamp held next month at ISDI Madrid, during which startups will have the chance to meet each other, network with project partners, and learn from workshops and face-to-face sessions with global experts in the vertical.

Following the Bootcamp, startups will return to their home ecosystems to participate in the rest of the de-localized program. The focus will be on acceleration and training, with an emphasis on mentoring. The entrepreneurs will have access to an international network of more than a hundred recognized mentors as well as founders and investors who are experts in different key areas of knowledge, both in the digital sector and in the automotive industry.

Due to the increased importance of mobility solutions, Europe is placing priority on finding ways to tackle the arising opportunities and challenges posed by these technologies. The new market is expected to represent a €141 billion business opportunity by 2020.

IMPACT Connected Car supports, connects and funds with €2.1 million companies with innovative projects in the fields of wireless chargers, cyber security measures and smart mobility. The program provides a direct link between entrepreneurs and large corporations, as well as addresses the fragmentation in the automobile industry, which until now has hindered its digital transformation.

IMPACT Connected Car is supported by the collaboration of 17 partners from across Europe: HEVO, Little Electric Cars, BOTCAR, Argus, ISDI, FundingBox, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, Ferrovial Servicios, FIWARE Foundation, Groupe PSA, INSERO, Moravskolslezský Automobilovy Klastr, Lublin Science and Technology Park, CTAG, Mov’eo, PARP.

*This article has been updated to reflect changes to the participating startups.

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