Skip to main content

Ford teams up with Techstars Mobility start-ups

The Ford Motor Company is to collaborate with three 2016 Techstars Mobility start-ups, Spatial, HAAS Alert and Cargo, to pursue next-generation mobility solutions, including navigation, connectivity and ride-sharing initiatives. Spatial is a Cincinnati-based company that provides a dynamic, human-driven layer of social intelligence to create mapping and navigation. Chicago-based HAAS Alert is a connected notification platform that warns motorists when emergency vehicles are approaching, while Cargo, a New Y
September 9, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

The 278 Ford Motor Company is to collaborate with three 2016 Techstars Mobility start-ups, Spatial, HAAS Alert and Cargo, to pursue next-generation mobility solutions, including navigation, connectivity and ride-sharing initiatives.

Spatial is a Cincinnati-based company that provides a dynamic, human-driven layer of social intelligence to create mapping and navigation. Chicago-based HAAS Alert is a connected notification platform that warns motorists when emergency vehicles are approaching, while Cargo, a New York-based in-vehicle general store, helps ride-share drivers cater to passengers.

Techstars Mobility, a Ford-sponsored initiative now in its second year, was designed to further the automaker’s mission to enhance next-generation mobility solutions while helping start-up companies get their footing in business.

The three companies will continue working with Ford to advance the automaker’s mission to enhance smart mobility. Spatial blends human-driven data such as social media content with machine-assisted analysis to impact how people use maps.

HAAS Alert aims to create intelligent traffic solutions by providing emergency vehicle data to drivers. The Ford-supported pilot program is launching in metro Detroit.

Cargo endeavours to enhance the ride-share experience for both drivers and passengers. Cargo kits, sent directly to ride-share drivers who purchase them, are stocked with products on-the-go passengers commonly want, such as snacks.

“The possibilities are endless when you combine the experience and influence of a storied company like Ford with the energy and innovation of these inspiring start-ups,” said Bill Coughlin, president and CEO, Ford Global Technologies. “This year’s Techstars Mobility program has truly exemplified that, and we’re thrilled to continue working with Spatial, HAAS Alert and Cargo.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Social media a one-stop shop for travel information
    January 20, 2012
    Exponentially widening mobile phone ownership is opening up the field to new ways of obtaining and disseminating better travel information from and to public transport users, via for example social media and tracking riders' phones. Over 50 US transit agencies, including major actors such as TriMet, in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Texas, and San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), as well as smaller operators, now have Facebook and/or Twitter accoun
  • Virtual ticket? It's the future
    January 12, 2024
    We're asking ITS and transportation leaders to give us the heads-up on where mobility is headed in 2024 and beyond. Nick Mackie, head of urban transit at Visa, shares his thoughts
  • Daimler’s double take sees machine vision move in-vehicle
    December 13, 2013
    Jason Barnes looks at Daimler’s Intelligent Drive programme to consider how machine vision has advanced the state of the art of vision-based in-vehicle systems. Traditionally, radar was the in-vehicle Driver Assistance System (DAS) technology of choice, particularly for applications such as adaptive cruise control and pre-crash warning generation. Although vision-based technology has made greater inroads more recently, it is not a case of ‘one sensor wins’. Radar and vision are complementary and redundancy
  • Colorado DoT locates data-rich environment
    January 14, 2020
    Colorado DoT and Esri have been cooperating to unlock data’s potential. Jason Barnes finds out what that has to do with firing a howitzer at snowy mountains – and exactly why things that happened in the past point the way towards future proofing