Innovative start-ups and SMEs using artificial intelligence to improve electric vehicle charging, big data to solve public transport inefficiencies and behaviour change technology to increase sustainable travel are among a new cohort of businesses joining the Intelligent Mobility Accelerator.

The Intelligent Mobility Accelerator (IM Accelerator) is a partnership between Connected Places Catapult and Wayra UK, the largest global corporate accelerator run by entrepreneurs and part of Telefónica’s Open Innovation Hub. The programme is designed to attract disruptive start-ups with high-growth potential into the UK transport industry, helping them grow into world-leading companies. The programme is backed by Hyundai and Amey, who will all provide support to start-ups at the accelerator, including mentoring, coaching, and access to their high-level expertise and networks.

To date, the IM Accelerator has generated over 30 commercial pilots for the 28 start-ups that have previously participated in the programme. Combined, these start-ups have raised over $250M in external investment. Notable success includes kerbside management and mobility technology firm AppyWay, who received strategic investment from Hyundai and the Sumitomo Corporation as part of its total £7.6 million Series A funding round; and, electric vehicle range prediction technology company Spark EV, who received support to trial its technology on Hyundai electric vehicles. These were both a direct result of AppyWay’s and Spark EV’s involvement on the accelerator. Valerann, from the first cohort, was recently a CES Top Tech Winner. Its Smart Roads Platform has also been awarded 2020 Best of Innovation in the CES Innovation Awards.

The programme’s goal is to develop companies who will create solutions for the most pressing transport problems facing the world today, improving day-to-day life for millions of travellers, while creating new UK-based industry leaders in a £1.4bn global transport systems market.

The new cohort includes:

• Arrive.by – Cost-effective, highly scalable cloud-based fleet management system.
• BetterPoints – Award-winning behavioural change technology company delivering highly effective evidence-led modal shift and sustainability incentive programmes for transport and mobility-related organisations, enterprises and cities globally.
• Capte BV – An all in one IoT platform that includes hardware, software and connectivity to achieve the best out of vehicle fleets.
• CARFIT – Developed technology that reads car vibration to understand their usage and self-diagnose maintenance needs.
• Cazana – Big data and predictive analytics providing automotive insights for the future of vehicle ownership.
• ev.energy  – An AI-powered software platform that connects EVs, chargers, and power grids to intelligently manage EV charging. It delivers the cheapest, greenest energy possible, at home and on the go.
• Helix Technologies – Designs and manufactures advance innovative satellite positioning antennas that are essential for tomorrow’s driverless and autonomous world.
• Motor AI – Level 4 autonomous driving system software based on cognitive neuroscience and ground-breaking research.
• Phantasma Labs – Helps self-driving cars to understand humans better by focusing on the “edge cases” or scenarios that are difficult to predict.
• XapiX – A data integration platform for the automotive, logistics and IoT industries.

Connected Places Catapult SME Development Director Alex Weedon said: “We are excited to welcome such a diverse group of exciting businesses to the IM Accelerator. We had a large number of quality applications which allowed our judges to select a group which really represents the scope and ambition of the thriving SME and start-up community currently working on mobility in the UK. We’re aiming to replicate the success that many of the SMEs that have already taken part on the accelerator have experienced, and we have a fantastic group of world-leading partners who will help us realise this.”

Bruno Moraes, Country Manager at Wayra UK, said: “This programme is the first in the UK to cover all fields related to Intelligent Mobility, supporting data-driven solutions for the most crucial transport problems that we face. More than 150 start-ups and scale-ups applied to join the programme.  From many different countries, those companies bring some of the most innovative solutions in the mobility space. The success of this programme would not be possible without our world-class partners. We’re very pleased to continue these partnerships with the launch of Cohort Four and we also look forward to developing business opportunities between Telefónica, our partners and the start-ups joining us now.”