Derq picks up first grant from Michigan’s PlanetM

Dubai-based software company Derq is the first recipient of a grant under a new $1 million programme from Michigan state’s technology innovation facilitator PlanetM. Derq’s V2X software applications to predict and prevent accidents recently went live at a Detroit intersection, said Georges Aoude, chief executive and co-founder of Derq. “In addition to the grant, PlanetM has shown us that Michigan state is open for business,” he said. Over the coming year companies including Derq will get 75% of the costs
June 6, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
© F11photo | Dreamstime.com
Dubai-based software company Derq is the first recipient of a grant under a new $1 million programme from Michigan state’s technology innovation facilitator 8439 PlanetM.


Derq’s V2X software applications to predict and prevent accidents recently went live at a Detroit intersection, said Georges Aoude, chief executive and co-founder of Derq. “In addition to the grant, PlanetM has shown us that Michigan state is open for business,” he said. Over the coming year companies including Derq will get 75% of the costs of any testing programme including at Mcity, a self-contained 20 hectare “fake city” just outside Detroit.

“The start-up technology being tested here in Michigan will lead to meaningful improvements in thei quality of life and access to transportation solutions thr oughout the state,” said Trever Pawl, vice-president of PlanetM, the mobility research arm of the Michigan Economic Development Commission.

“We’re constantly working to address the needs of those people engaged in the mobility community and we’re taking it to the next level through testing and deployment,” said Pawl.

Booth 300

Related Content

  • January 9, 2018
    Making the most of Michigan
    Michigan DoT’s Kirk Steudle takes time out from the ITS World Congress in Montreal to talk to Colin Sowman. Thirty years ago, a professional engineer named Kirk Steudle joined Michigan Department of Transportation (MDoT). Today he’s the state transportation director, responsible for more than 16,000km (10,000 miles) of state highways (including 4,000 bridges), some 2,500 employees and a budget of more than $4 billion. We caught up with Steudle during the ITS World Congress in Montreal and asked how he
    Read More
  • September 19, 2017
    Michigan fosters real-world testing of workzone ITS
    Turning a ‘problem’ into ‘an opportunity’ is the mantra of just about every business book and Michigan Department of Transportation (MDoT) looks set to achieve that aim in Oakland County, where 29km (18 miles) of the I-75 needs to be reconstructed. Running north-northwest from Detroit, the I-75 carries around 170,000 vehicles per day but, being built in the 1970s, it now requires an additional lane in each direction and upgrading to the latest design and safety standards. Upgrading will be carried out in
    Read More
  • December 3, 2018
    Panasonic in Colorado: Rocky mountain way
    Panasonic is at the heart of a C-V2X project which began last year in Colorado. The company’s smart mobility boss Chris Armstrong tells Adam Hill how it is working out Colorado needs traffic and transport solutions – and fast. The US state’s population has grown 50% in the last 20 years and another 50% hike is predicted in the next 20. It also spends more than $13 billion in roadway crash costs each year. In 2015, 546 people died in traffic-related crashes, and more than 3,000 were seriously injured.
    Read More
  • November 6, 2024
    Derq attracts investment from two venture capitalists
    Money will be used to expand activities in the US and Middle East
    Read More

Highlighted Content