Samsung Electronics and group companies are trying a belated push into the business of supplying technology to car makers, while rivals are already sewing up lucrative deals with an industry that is notoriously difficult to break into.
Data compiled by Thomson Reuters IP & Science shows the world’s top smartphone maker and other Samsung Group tech affiliates are ramping up research and development for auto technology, with two-thirds of their combined 1,804 U.S. patent filings related to electric vehicles and electric components for cars coming since 2010.
The analysis did not include filings made after 2013 due to a lag between filing and publication.
An experimental new dashboard computer can not only keep track of your behavior behind the wheel, but even predict what you’re about to do next.
With the vast majority of road accidents resulting from driver error, and distraction a growing problem thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones, carmakers are increasingly exploring ways to track driver behavior behind the wheel. Volvo, GM, and others are already testing systems that will monitor head and eye positions to pick up on signs of distraction.
Automatic, the connected car platform whose sensor and app combination is sometimes referred to as a “Fitbit for your car,” announced this morning $24 million in Series B funding, led by the investment arm at USAA, a top insurance and financial services provider for military families, which today counts 11 million members. Also participating in the round were new investors CDK Global, and Comcast Ventures, who join existing investors Y Combinator, RPM Ventures, Anthemis Group, Amicus Capital and angels Mark Goines, Jared Kopf, Rob Chandhok and Dan Rose.
Over the past couple years, both Nokia Growth Partners and Intel Capital announced separate $100M Connected Car Funds. Is the promise of universally connected and intelligent vehicles closer to becoming a reality?
According to the data, investments to companies in and around the connected car space are indeed gaining traction among both venture capital and corporate investors. Firms tracked in the connected car market within the CB Insights database include a range of technologies, covering:
Smotion es una alianza entre tres compañías vascas que surge con el objetivo de impulsar nuevos sistemas de movilidad sostenibles y conectados a Internet. Su primer proyecto consiste en el diseño de un pequeño vehículo de ocio eléctrico eficiente y basado en la tecnología de la Internet de las Cosas.
