VivaCity raises at $42M valuation to make US cities safer, starting with New York

Around 39,000 group were killed successful centrifugal conveyance incidents successful nan USA successful 2020 — and 6,200 of those deaths were pedestrians. Needless to say, those deaths aren’t conscionable statistics: each has a ripple effect connected families, loved ones and nan wider communities. Viva is looking to tackle proscription impacts aft raising $8.5 cardinal successful backing to grow its carrier information postulation into North America, pinch nan semipermanent dream to reduce nan number of injuries and make postulation safer overall. 

Viva (or VivaCity arsenic it is known successful nan U.K.) is already well-established successful Australia and nan U.K. and is now bringing its artificial intelligence sensors to New York City. It will activity pinch nan New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DoT) connected a caller information information study project. Viva’s sensors stitchery anonymized information showing really different thoroughfare users move (or don’t) done nan city. They tin show really galore vehicles aliases group are walking successful which direction, wherever and erstwhile congestion occurs and moreover observe “near misses” betwixt vehicles aliases vehicles and pedestrians.

This wealthiness of anonymized information is intended to assistance NYC DoT successful making strategical decisions that thief group move from A to B much efficiently, much sustainably and much safely. The mentation is that if you tin foretell wherever accidents are apt to occur, taking action to forestall them thumps waiting for 1 — aliases much — to hap earlier trying to do thing astir it. 

“There is simply a captious request for exertion that adapts to nan changing mobility landscape. Reactive decision-making is not fresh for intent and it is costing lives. To change, we request to person information to amended understand really group are utilizing nan roads,” Viva’s CEO Mark Nicholson explains. “This helps authorities to redirect their billions of yearly infrastructure finance into nan correct places.”

“The main driver for some myself and my co-founders is to tackle ambiance change. It’s nan sad truth that globally, carrier is nan astir stubborn erstwhile it comes to emissions — moreover pinch electrical vehicles coming in,” says Nicholson. In a nutshell, mediocre carrier infrastructure is simply a people-killer successful much ways than one. “Making our streets safer intends much group tin spell places connected ft aliases by two-wheeled pedal-power. Good for people, bully for nan planet.” 

“I’m excited to spot nan effect this will person connected roadworthy safety, peculiarly for susceptible roadworthy users for illustration cyclists. The cognition that nan roads are vulnerable is nan No. 1 logic that group don’t rhythm more, truthful thing we tin do to alteration that will person a immense ambiance impact,” says Nicholson.

Nicholson and his co-founders met astatine assemblage successful 2011, erstwhile they raised half a cardinal dollars to build an experimental car that was 50x much businesslike than modular roadworthy vehicles. Bitten by nan entrepreneurial bug, they founded Viva successful 2015, looking to amended roadworthy information and conflict ambiance collapse.

Since its foundation, Viva has deployed much than 3,500 sensors successful 7 countries. These sensors tin observe 9 different modes of carrier and person accumulated an awesome 20 cardinal roadworthy personification counts. Its latest backing intends to thief it turn further.

Viva’s latest backing is led by sustainable infrastructure VC investor EnBW New Ventures (ENV), sustainability-led replacement assets and SME finance head Foresight Group and Gresham House Ventures, nan maturation equity limb of master replacement plus head Gresham House. Using this fundraising, Viva says it is focused connected continued growth, pinch 2 peculiar goals: 

First is its soul description , of which nan New York City collaboration is simply a part. “We’re already coming successful complete 100 U.K. cities and person worked pinch authorities successful Australia and astir Europe to amended understand their roads,” says Nicholson. “With our sensors installed successful Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, NYC DoT are now analyzing this information to prioritize projects for nan areas astir successful request of information and different improvements.”

The 2nd extremity is to grow nan Viva merchandise line.  “Our imagination is for roadworthy carrier infrastructure to go data-driven, including real-time systems for illustration postulation signals. The caller merchandise portfolio has targeted products that reside nan 3 awesome challenges nan manufacture faces: roadworthy safety, sustainable carrier and web optimization to hit congestion,” Nicholson concludes. 

Nicholson is successful nary uncertainty of really valuable nan information collected by Viva tin beryllium to creating livable cities. “If we look backmost 10-20 years, different industries person been revolutionized by data, including advertising, trading and retail. These industries are now radically different because of information that has gone into their ecosystems.”

The collation of large-scale anonymized information will let for nan study of really a city’s roads function: really and erstwhile group move about, and wherever nan bottlenecks and blackspots are. Ultimately, this tin lead to safer streets and livable cities wherever citizens aren’t acrophobic to prosecute pinch progressive travel. 

You mightiness person noticed really there’s an accent connected “anonymized data” present — nan institution tells TechCrunch that privacy-by-design is basal to nan company, and it claims that maintaining nan information and confidentiality of people’s information is captious to nan company’s success.

“I judge powerfully that nan early of nan Smart City has to beryllium citizen-centric,” says Nicholson. “As such, we person designed our solutions from nan crushed up to guarantee nan privateness of each citizen. The strategy was developed utilizing information protection-by-design principles and is afloat compliant pinch GDPR.”