The Paris Agreement along with numerous climate strikes and protests have made it clear that European citizens expect decisive actions from their governments to halt climate change. Reducing carbon emissions from transportation is among the top priorities to achieve greater sustainability. 

Far from impeding this endeavour, the Covid-19 pandemic made the need for greener urban mobility solutions ever more pressing, as air pollution was found to be linked to higher mortality rates from coronavirus. Meanwhile, social distancing measures are also pushing urban commuters to seek alternative transport methods.

As much as the will to make things move in the right direction is there, mobility systems and behaviours are notoriously difficult to change. That is why it is so important to create opportunities for various members of the ecosystem to share ideas and solutions. This includes public representatives, private infrastructure and transport players, ecosystem supporters, investment funds and, of course, mobility startups.

That is also why we are very excited to have the opportunity to participate in the leading European smart mobility conference Autonomy, which this year will be held virtually on November 4th and 5th. For the second year in a row, Early Metrics is honoured to join key players from across the mobility ecosystem as a partner and speaker.

Among the many exciting companies present during this digital conference, there are 3 mobility startups rated by Early Metrics that you should definitely check out:

Mapping shared-mobility options for greener urban commutes 

Fluctuo develops an API and software platform to aggregate data from third-party shared-mobility services such as free-floating bikes, scooters and mopeds. 

The French startup uses web scraping to collect various data points in real-time from free-floating multimodal operators. It then provides an analytics dashboard to service providers, public transport authorities and municipalities.

Fluctuo also uses this data to provide insights into the offering and usage of shared mobility services in 28 major European cities.

Rating highlights:

Fluctuo earned a strong growth potential rating from Early Metrics in October 2019, which placed it in the top 20% of over 3000 startups. Among its key strengths, we found that the startup has benefited from the experience of its senior staff members in the mobility ecosystem, both in terms of hard skills and business connections.

Listening closely to our cities for smart monitoring

Securaxis has developed the Real-Time Events Detector (RTExD), a monitoring solution based on acoustic sensors. Anomalies are detected with built-in microphones and sounds are transformed into information by relying on acoustic emission detection and machine learning. In short, it turns sound into actionable data.

The Swiss startup’s solution has a wide range of potential applications such as smart city monitoring for security, traffic management and wildlife preservation. It can also be used in structural health monitoring (SHM) for predictive maintenance of buildings or public infrastructure.

Rating highlights:

Sexuraxis develops an innovative technology which demands significant investments in time and resources in order to scale. Still, it was able to secure pilots with large players, signalling a positive market appetite. The rating also showed that the founders have a strong ability to defend their project and convince external stakeholders to support them, as proven by the awards and funding they secured. For instance, Sexuraxis was picked as the first incubatee of the Swiss Business Incubation Centre (BIC) of CERN Technologies in 2018.

Optimising cycling routes and infrastructure for smart cities

Geovelo develops a mobile and web application that offers cyclists optimised routes, taking into account several criteria specifically related to cycling. For instance, the app can design a route that passes through quiet roads to increase safety and it can point out safe spots for cyclists to park their bike on. 

The French startup’s business model relies on the commercialisation of its user data towards public players responsible for tourism and smart city activities. Via its API and dashboard, smart city and mobility representatives can make data-informed decisions when it comes to cycling infrastructure and tourism efforts. 

Geovelo also provides a solution for employers to give tailored internal communication and track their staff’s use of cycling schemes, an important part of measuring CSR impact. 

Rating highlights:

Founded in 2010, Geovelo had a relatively slow start due to the technical complexity of its solution and the density of the market. Despite this, since its rating in 2017, the startup has hit several important milestones proving the relevance of its offering. Indeed, Geovelo now reports having had 600,000 downloads of its mobile app and partnerships with 19 major French and Swiss cities.

Startups are a key component of our transition towards greener, safer and faster mobility. And the companies presented above are great examples of how technology can empower both public and private players in fulfilling their environmental commitments. You will be able to learn more about Fluctuo, Securaxis and Geovelo at Autonomy as they will be exhibiting virtually along with many other mobility startups and corporates. 

As an independent third-party with a mission to bridge relationships between all members of the innovation ecosystem, Early Metrics is also proud to join the conversation during this important digital conference.