Skip to main content

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

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Reporting on the direction of the US's ITS research effort
    January 19, 2012
    The US ITS Joint Program Office has been working with industry stakeholders to help define the form of future research projects. Here, the Office's James Pol discusses progress and future goals
  • Oxa & Beep deliver AV services in Florida
    February 29, 2024
    Shuttles are part of Ultimate Urban Circulator Project which includes monorail expansion
  • MaaS must be seamless and invisible - or forget it
    June 5, 2018
    MaaS experts from around the world converged on ITS International’s MaaS Market Atlanta conference to talk about how MaaS can be implemented in the US. Andrew Bardin Williams had a front row seat. Transportation experts from around the world gathered in the US earlier this month to discuss the future of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and how it could be deployed in the US market. While most attendees at ITS International’s MaaS Market Atlanta conference were familiar with the MaaS concept, the US’s highly
  • Safer roads need safe systems approach, better infrastructure
    January 19, 2012
    Some developed countries are far from leading the way when it comes to making road infrastructure safe. In fact, says the Road Safety Foundation's Joanne Hill, they learn a lot from what is happening in emergent nations. A new report from the Road Safety Foundation, 'Saving Lives, Saving Money - the costs and benefits of achieving safe roads', makes some startling assertions about attitudes to road safety. Although concerned predominantly with the UK, there are some universal lessons to be learned, accordin