oneNav Grabs $21 Million in Funding, Launches L5 GNSS Receiver
Startup Takes in $33 Million Total Funding
Palo Alto, Calif.-based oneNav last week said it had closed a $21 million Series B round, led by GV, with participation from Norwest Venture Partners and GSR Ventures. The newest round brings total funding to $33 million.
The usually tight-lipped GNSS company said it also partnered with In-Q-Tel to provide U.S. intelligence agencies with location technology.
The two-year-old company also rolled out its pure L5 mobile GNSS receiver for smartphones, wearables and IoT devices, which it says provides the highest location accuracy with half the footprint of existing products.
OneNav contends that current GNSS products depend on dated L1 satellite signals that were developed in the 1970s. These L1 signals power location-based services, smartphone navigation and even 911 emergency calls. Constellations have been upgraded with L5 signaling that not only enables better accuracy in urban canyons, but higher power and a protected frequency band.
The company believes that there are already solid markets for its L5 GNSS receiver that include: rideshare, because positioning tech often places users on the wrong side of a street; smartphone navigation, which is susceptible to urban canyon blockages; and emergency calls, as first responders need to pinpoint location of an accident/fire. The last use case seems to be the most widely reported right now--asset tracking—because COVID-19 has required supply-chain assets to be transported and tracked with precision.
Steve Poizner, one Nav CEO and co-founder and CEO, has returned to his location industry after a career in politics and with other companies. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, his GPS company, SnapTrack, develop some of the industry’s first mobile applications. He sold the company to Qualcomm in 2000 for a reported $1 billion.
Poizner quietly assembled a team from such companies as Qualcomm, Apple, Intel, SnapTrack, SiRF, Trimble and eRide. This includes co-founder Paul McBurney from Apple, Bret Sewell of SnapTrack and Intel’s Greg Turetzky, to name a few.
Key Takeaways:
The team at oneNav has collectively filed more than 200 GNSS patents.
While mobile devices have made tremendous progress over the past 20 years, LBS continues to have a significant margin of error, said Karim Faris, general partner at GV. He believes the new L5 GNSS receiver will be important whether that be locating a rideshare passenger or during an emergency situation.
Contact: Bret Sewell, oneNav, (650) 665-0831, bretsewell@onenav.ai, www.onenav.ai.
Questions and Answers with Steve Poizner
LBN: You've assembled an impressive team with experience at most of largest location companies. Was that one of the goals when you started oneNav?
SP: When we started oneNav, we wanted to recruit an all-star team of GNSS engineers to build the first and best next generation GNSS engine. We wanted to start the design process from scratch, using the most modern signal processing and silicon design techniques, fully leveraging all the benefits of L5. We wanted to deliver our Pure L5 GNSS engine to the marketplace as an IP core that is customizable, scalable, and very easily integrated into ACICs or SOCs.
LBN: What new markets do you see for the Pure L5?
SP: Pure L5 is smaller, lower cost and more accurate and reliable than hybrid GNSS receivers. It will be perfect for devices that are space constrained, yet need the high performance and high accuracy benefits of the modern L5 signal. This opens the door for GNSS to be embedded into a wide variety of mobile and IOT devices.
LBN: How does it feel to be back in this industry after more than a decade? Big difference in the market or ecosystem?
SP: I am really proud of the contributions the SnapTrack/Qualcomm team has made to bring GNSS to mobile phones globally. It has had a really significant impact on public safety and productivity around the world. It’s really great being back in this space now with oneNav to bring NextGen GNSS to mobiles.
LBN: What is the biggest trend/new market that you see going forward in the GPS/location business?
SP: As GNSS engines get smaller, easier to integrate, and deliver higher accuracy in urban canyons and other difficult environments, expect to see GNSS receivers showing up in everything that moves, including all kinds of wearables and parcels.
Accel-KKR Buys GPS Insight
Private equity firm Accel-KKR has acquired fleet management software company GPS Insight, a fleet management software leader. Founded in 2005, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based GPS Insight provides SaaS-based fleet management software, GPS tracking and other products for Class 3-6 fleets in the United States and Canada.
Accel-KKR also announced that Rhino Fleet Tracking and InSight Mobile Data were merged with GPS Insight, as the private equity firm’s portfolio companies focused on fleet management, field services and GPS tracking, the company said.
Key Takeaways:
Gary Fitzgerald, CEO of GPS Insight, will continue as CEO of the combined businesses.
The global fleet management market is poised to reach $34 billion.
GPS Insight, IMD and Rhino serve more than 11,000 accounts spanning more than thirty industries and over 225,000 vehicles.
Contact: Lindsey Rattan, Rhino Fleet Tracking, (800) 293-0420, lrattan@rhinofleettracking.com, www.rhinofleettracking.com.
Other Location News:
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com.
🤞 Europe Wants to Bring GPS and Skype to the Moon. “Satellite navigation and teleconferencing could be available to lunar explorers by 2030.”
👌 Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 Chipset Launched. Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 supports GPS/ A-GPS, NavIC, BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS, and SBAS.
✔ Garmin Acquires AeroData. Company serves 135 airlines worldwide.
👏 Tech Company Marketing New Tracker System with LTE, Bluetooth. Former Boeing [BA] employees started IoT tracking company Pebblebee.
👍 Olulo Uses Skyhook’s Precision Location System in Kickgoing Scooter Share Program. Olulo is a kick-scooter sharing platform operating in select Korean locations.
✔ Ericsson Tests 5G Network Validity in Cross-Border Travel. “Similar tests were executed a few days back by Verizon Communications Inc. [VZ] when it partnered with Honda Motor Co.”
🤦♂️ The Costly Pursuit of Self-Driving Cars Continues On. And On. And On. A friend said the never ending investment in autonomous cars reminds him of the money spent on Intelligent Transportation Systems over the decades…
😊 Indiana University Receives $8M from PSCR for Indoor Localization Prize Competition. “The multiphase challenge serves to build a community of experts in localization and public safety.”
Advertisement
Have you ever been reluctant to reveal your personal email address online or in person?
The answer is almost universally YES! So, if you happen to be one of those who thinks twice about these matters, ManyMe might be the answer to your worries.
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com.
Tersus GNSS Partners With Spatial Technologies
Tersus GNSS has partnered with Spatial Technologies to combine the company’s GNSS RTK products with Spatial’s enterprise delivery and technology services. The partnership will create more business opportunities for both companies and help achieve better customer satisfaction, said Xiaohua Wen, Tersus GNSS CEO and founder. Both companies said the combined resources will enable them to support customers, particularly in North America.
Contact: Xiaohua Wen, Tersus GNSS, xiaohua.wen@tersus-gnss.com, www.tersus-gnss.com.
Hexagon | NovAtel Introduces GNSS Module for ADAS and Autonomy
Hexagon | NovAtel rolled out the PIM222A, which the company says is part of an automotive GNSS positioning products line for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomy. PIM222A integrates NovAtel’s SPAN technology from to provide position data in tough urban environments, the company said.
GNSS receivers and inertial measurement units (IMUs) ensure availability of position, velocity and attitude, even when satellite signals are briefly blocked, the company said. The PIM222A, which was created in collaboration with STMicroelectronics, can be applied to low-, medium- and high-production volumes with such options as multi-frequency, multi-constellation, RTK and dual-antenna precision, the company said.
Contact: Holly Tatum, Hexagon | NovAtel, (309) 291-0966, holly.tatum@hexagon.com, https://novatel.com/industries/autonomous-vehicles.
TomTom GO Navigation Now on Android Auto
TomTom [TOM2] said its navigation app, TomTom GO Navigation, is now available on Android Auto. Drivers with an Android device are now able to interact with TomTom GO Navigation on their (Android Auto-compatible) vehicle’s infotainment screen, the company said.
TomTom said as one of the first navigation apps to be available on Android Auto, GO Navigation can be downloaded via Google Play. The app is also available through the App Store and Huawei AppGallery.
Contact: TomTom, tomtom.pr@tomtom.com, www.tomtom.com.
ORBCOMM Upgrades Light Speed Logistics’ Refrigerated Fleet
ORBCOMM [ORBC] said Canada-based Light Speed Logistics is retrofitting its refrigerated fleet with the company’s cold chain monitoring solution in preparation for the sunsetting of 3G wireless service. Light Speed is upgrading their refrigerated trailers with ORBCOMM’s advanced telematics solution to track the freight’s location and temperature.
Contact: Sue Rutherford, ORBCOMM, (703) 433-6360, rutherford.sue@orbcomm.com, www.orbcomm.com.
Arrival Selects HERE SDK for Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicle transportation company Arrival said it is using HERE Technologies’ location data and technology platform to power its in-vehicle Human-Machine Interface (HMI) navigation product. Arrival, which has used its own technology in its products since 2015, enabling EV production through its Microfactories.
HERE said its software development kit (SDK) provides real-time visibility into the geographic location of mobile assets. Off-line capabilities include route calculation, location search and turn-by-turn navigation.
Contact: Adrianne Montgobert, HERE Technologies, 49 151 72 11 67 81, adrianne.montgobert@here.com.
TRX Systems Rolls Out EW Kit
TRX Systems said it is rolling out the Dismount Electronic Warfare (EW) Kit, which was developed as a U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) prototype. The TRX EW Kit adds new capabilities to the company's NEON Personnel Tracker-MIL, expanding the integration between the NEON Location Service and the ATAK application, the company said.
Other features include the ability to detect and geo-reference NAVWAR threats including GPS jamming, repeating, and spoofing.
Contact: Nicholas Boushell, TRX Systems, (410) 507 -8265, boushelln@trxsystems.com, www.trxsystems.com.
LoJack Italia to Equip 13,000 Vehicles With Telematics
CalAmp [CAMP] said its subsidiary, LoJack Italia, has partnered with Program Autonoleggio, a corporate fleet rental company in Italy. LoJack Italia hopes to equip the company’s 13,000 cars and commercial vans across its rental fleet as part of the U.K. group Salford Van Hire Program, the company said.
To combat vehicle thefts, Program Autonoleggio's rental fleet will be outfitted with LoJack Premium Touch, which combines VHF and GPS/GSM technology for advanced asset location tracking, the company said.
Contact: Lojack, lojack.it.
DroneSense Introduces Mobile Streaming and Asset Tracking
DroneSense is adding mobile streaming and asset tracking to its unmanned aircraft program software. Mobile Streaming, allows any authorized user with an iOS or Android phone or tablet to livestream into the secure DroneSense Ops Hub, the company said.
DroneSense's Mobile Streaming feature allows users to view all participating devices and drones together on a map. The second feature, Asset Tracking, allows users to visualize anyone with a GPS device in real time and to identify themselves as officers, patrol cars, K-9 units, unmanned aircraft, robotic units and others, the company said.
Contact: DroneSense, contact@dronesense.com, www.dronesense.com.
People
Verizon [VZ] named TJ Fox senior vice president of industrial IoT and automotive. Fox will be responsible for leading business development, commercial modeling, and cross-functional efforts for Verizon’s IoT and connected auto activities, the company said. Fox previously served as SVP and president of Verizon Business Markets.
Contact: Matt Conte, Verizon, (917) 848-3040, matthew.conte@verizon.com.
Geoflex, a SaaS provider enhancing GPS/GNSS-based applications, has won on May 20th the Jury Award of SPRING50, a competition of deep tech startups taking place in Paris-Saclay.
Receiving the award is company founder and CEO Romain Legros.
Contact: Ludovic Privat, Geoflex, ludovic.privat@geoflex.fr, www.geoflex.xyz.
Pointr appointed Boston-based tech veteran Hilmi Ozguc as a strategic board member. Hilmi's most recent company, Swirl Networks, aimed to reinvent consumer retail shopping experience through an indoor location-based software platform, the company said.
Pointr offers its Deep Location platform that features indoor positioning, digital mapping at scale, wayfinding, real-time occupancy counts, visitor flows and geofencing. Some of the company’s customers include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, CBRE, Siemens, ISS, Cisco, and Extreme Networks.
Contact: Eva Cheng, 44 7393436256, eva.cheng@pointrlabs.com, www.pointr.tech.