Israeli smart road company Valerann has announced that it has completed a $5 million seed financing round from investors including Rio Ventures Holdings, 2B Angels, and Spanish telecom company Telefonica.
Valerann was founded in 2014 by CEO Gabriel Jacobson, CTO Shahar Bahiri, CBO Michael Dan Vardi and COO Daniel Yacovich. The company has 18 employees of whom 13 are in Tel Aviv and 5 in London.
Valerann has developed technology to transform roads into smart infrastructures, connected up to generate real time high resolution information on what is happening at any point on the road. The company's platform operates using a wireless, sensory IoT system. The information is used to detect risks, prevent accidents, optimize intersections, automate traffic control centers, and support connected and autonomous vehicles. The Valerann system transforms the road into a stable base for a complete, smart transportation eco-system.
Valerann's platform is being used by the UK government's Highways England, Transurban, the largest highways operator in the US and Australia, and Israel's Netivey Ayalon. In 2019, the company expects to being working with two major operators in France and Spain.
Valerann is also interested in providing information to smart, connected car operators and in this context is working with Bosch, Jaguar and Land Rover. The company's devices include LED lighting, which can change color or flash to indicate to drivers that something is happening on the highway.
Jacobson told "Globes," "The big challenge is that we are changing an industry that is still slow and traditional - the highway operators industry and more broadly infrastructures. But I think and I'm even sure that it is now undergoing a substantial change in its outlook and becoming more rapid and open to innovation because of everything that is happening in the world of autonomous transportation."
He added, "The buzz is reaching deep into infrastructures, highways and governments are making them more open to innovation and processes that previously took decades now take two years. Today a small company like ours is working with organizations that we could only have dreamed of in the past."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 24, 2018
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