Together For Safer Roads Announces Winners of 2020 Global Entrepreneur Program Pitch Day

Together For Safer Roads Announces Winners of 2020 Global Entrepreneur Program Pitch Day
Three Startups Committed to Advancing Road Safety Join Cutting-Edge Coalition

BROOKLYN, NY ? December 19, 2019 ? Together for Safer Roads (TSR), a coalition of leading private sector companies driven to save lives, today announced the winning Cohort for its third annual Global Entrepreneur Program (GEP). CyVision, Derq and Populus will comprise Cohort 3 and join the coalition as associate members.
Sponsored by GEP Innovation Partners Silicon Valley Bank and Dreampact Ventures, the GEP connects early stage companies with road safety experts at multinational companies and universities to reimagine solutions that reduce crashes and fatalities on the world?s roads. The 2020 Program is focused on addressing problems and building solutions in three core areas:

· Intelligent Transportation Services
· Commercial Transportation Safety
· People-First Transportation Solutions

The winners were chosen from more than fifty companies that applied for membership and after an intense Pitch Day, in which each presented their technology and vision to the TSR Selection Committee. Working with TSR, its members and strategic public sector partners for twelve months, the Cohort companies will receive access to, and mentorship from, member organizations such as AB InBev, AIG, AT&T, CalAmp, Republic Services, Marsh and others. TSR and the members of its expansive ecosystem will also consider piloting these solutions to demonstrate their impact on road safety.

The 2020 Cohort 3 winners are:

Derq – an MIT spin-off with a mission to eliminate road accidents and save lives by using artificial intelligence and V2X communication technologies.

CY Vision – on a mission to to launch the world?s first 3d AR-HUD, a heads up display that runs the windshield into a real-time display system to help drivers have better response time and less distractions.

Populus – with real-time data for vehicles and fleets, the Populus team is on a mission to build a revolutionary platform to help cities and private mobility operators to work together more seamlessly.

?These startups are not only envisioning a safer future, but developing solutions to make it happen, and that aligns with our mission to be a coalition that doesn?t just talk about road safety issues, but solves them,? said David Braunstein, President, TSR. ?We?re proud to welcome each of these new associate members to the organization – they all have very impressive founders and credentials and we are excited to have them involved in our Safer Cities and Safer Fleets programs, specifically. Working together, we expect to see great road safety developments in 2020.?

?It?s great to see Together For Safer Roads mentoring and accelerating the next generation of road safety leaders,? said Jim Olson, SVP of Safety at Republic Services and a Selection Committee member for the program?s pitch day. ?The innovations presented show great promise in moving toward lower traffic fatality rates, safer roads and safer drivers. TSR members are enthusiastic about the opportunity to mentor and work with the pitch day participants to ensure their solutions get to market and in the hands of users as soon as possible. It?s a win-win program for all involved.?

?While we?re always looking for promising startups in which to invest, these road safety champions are working on innovations that can be a matter of life and death,? said Pablo Gonzalez, Co-founder and Principal at Dreampact Ventures. ?Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that while traffic deaths have decreased recently, there continues to be rising numbers of pedestrians and cyclists killed on our country?s roads, with distracted driving and larger vehicles part of the issue. We are proud to sponsor the winners of TSR?s pitch day and help bring these potentially life-saving solutions to market to make roads safer for all users.?

ABOUT TOGETHER FOR SAFER ROADS
Together for Safer Roads is a global NGO that works with government, businesses and community stakeholders on local projects, fleet safety management and technology initiatives to prevent traffic crashes, injuries and deaths. TSR was started in conjunction with the UN’s Decade of Road safety and has partners around the world. TSR?s members include AB InBev, AIG, AT&T, CalAmp, Republic Services, Lyft, Ericsson, GM, iHeartMedia, Octo Telematics, Geotab, PepsiCo, UPS, Walmart, and others. Learn more at www.togetherforsaferroads.org.