6 automotive industry startups to watch in 2020

While existing companies are trying to deploy autonomous vehicles, minimize cyber crime and update existing processor hardware, new automotive startups are already having an impact on the automotive industry. These startups are ready to take on the challenges faced by this new era and are likely to continue growth in 2020 and beyond.

This article will discuss the top 6 automotive industry startups you should follow. 

1. Acerta

Acerta is a Canadian artificial intelligence data solution startup industry designed specifically for automotive with the aim of transforming any existing transportation structure into a smart data hub. They integrate domain expertise into machine learning models to deliver results of unmatched services.

Aceta provides clients with a tool responsible for reducing waste, increasing throughput, and boosting product quality. They provide manufacturing, operations, IT/ACT solutions to automotive companies too.

How Acerta works

Acerta uses data from any pre-existing data collection system and transfers it using Aceta's secure custom API which is finally stored on the cloud. This data is automatically structured and prepared for machine analysis and complex relationships between data streams. While data analysis is in process, anomalies are automatically identified, classified and reported to allow for accelerated root cause analysis. The results of analysis is fed back into the system for continuous improvement. Some solutions provided by Acerta are 

• Road friction estimator:  Acerta built a machine learning model to identify the transition points between different road surfaces in the data sets. The model successfully detected changes in road surface in less than one second on average which resulted in a successful miniaturized and optimized models for onboard vehicle deployment. 

• Steering misalignment and loose suspension: Sanity checking algorithm was used to detect loose suspension with an accuracy rate of 95.8% and steering misalignment with an accuracy rate of 100% before they could cause damage to the vehicle occupants.

2. Chanje 

Chanje is an automotive manufacturing company that is  interested in more than just replacing fossil fuel vehicles with electric. They have a long term vision of creating a sustainable urban solution that improves last mile delivery and impacts people, businesses and communities. With the larger purpose of changing human energy, they are working towards becoming both a catalyst for and an example of positive intention.

In partnership with Ryder, they provide exclusive maintenance service, management, dedicated transportation and supply chain solutions. They lower cost for fleet deployment by using Direct Current instead of Alternating Current (AC) during vehicle charging and also use stationary battery storage to further reduce operational cost.

Chanje reduces the risk of trucks being not fully charged by empowering fleet managers to stay connected with a network software backbone that provides remote monitoring, on-down control and proactive error notifications. 

3. GBatteries 

GBatteries is a Canadian company that uses a combination of software and hardware to reduce vehicle charging times down to as fast as five minutes.

GBatteries stands out as an ultra-fast charging AI-based technology responsible for charging automobiles fast without compromising on battery life cycle. Instead of developing new materials or changing batteries, GBatteries uses hardware that consist of "off-the-shelf" components and a software called Charge Sense.

Charge sense is a fully adaptive, self-learning algorithm that generates complex charging pulse profiles based on real-time monitoring and analysis of a battery's internal state. 

4. GuardKnox

GuardKnox is an automotive cybersecurity company that produces an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) called Secure Network Orchestrator (SNO). SNO protects each layer of a vehicle from keyless entry and cyberattacks. This allows protecting users of connected vehicles against threats and cyberattacks that can expose personal information and threaten physical safety.

SNO can be used either inside or outside the automobile as the solution is completely autonomous and does not require any external connectivity or on-going updates. External SNO are been used for In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) cockpit domain controller and Telematics/connectivity domain controller. 

The GuardKnox’s SNO is designed for scalability and flexibility while adhering to the most stringent security and safety standards including ISO26262 and ISO15118. It is a full software stack that can be implemented by the OEMs, Tier 1s and ECU-Aftermarket companies. GuardKnox SNO cybersecurity solution is built around a multi-core CPU and a GAGA module customized with a flexible configuration, in which additional interfaces, interface types or additional types of encryption can be activated by OEMs without changing the footprint of the SNO or the BOM of the vehicle.

5. Humanising Autonomy

Humanising Autonomy is a Detroit and UK-based startup which is leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to go one step beyond detecting pedestrians and actually predict their behavior. 

Humanising Autonomy builds human-centered tools that define how autonomous systems interact with people. They have a pedestrian intent prediction platform that makes autonomous vehicles safer and more efficient in urban environments. This prediction platform uses culture-specific context to capture the full complexity of human behavior in urban environments around the world.

Humanising Autonomy is partnering with Daimler, Airbus, TheRide, Smart Mobility Living Lab London, Transport for London and Arrival to improve road safety and set the global standard for human-machine interactions. The software integrates with driver assistance systems, autonomous vehicle stacks and smart infrastructure systems to improve the safety and efficiency of urban mobility systems across cities worldwide.

With the initial idea of improving pedestrian interactions with fully autonomous cars, Humanising Autonomy has expanded by creating better driver assistance systems in human driven cars, and automated transit systems to help make cities safer.

6. Silicon Mobility

Silicon Mobility is a French startup that creates semiconductors used to reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency.  They design and develop flexible, real-time, safe and open solution technologies targeted at the automotive industry.

Silicon Mobility are the creators  of the Field Programmable Control Unit (FPCU) which is a unique semiconductor architecture used to increase the range of electric vehicles and reduce pollutant emissions of hybrid cars while keeping passengers safe. 

Silicon Mobility offers a complete automotive hardware, software and development platform that offers a complete solution to a wide range of hybrid and electric vehicle control system. The high level of integration and performance of their technology enables multiple levels of savings like heat, weight and cost.

More and more automotive startups choose to work on a wide variety of services and technologies, thus, reshaping the industry and competing with manure industry players. It is vital to closely monitor the industry trends and new competitors to effectively manage an automotive company.