Solera Holdings To Acquire Spireon
Omnitrac's parent company signs deal to buy telematics giant
Solera Holdings, the parent company of Omnitracs, has agreed to acquire telematics giant Spireon from a fund managed by Greenbriar Equity Group. The companies, which did not disclose the terms of the acquisition, expect the deal to close during the first quarter.
Irvine, Calif.-based Spireon, which offers the FleetLocate trailer and asset tracking products, has more than 13,000 customers—with nearly 4 million connected devices that generate more than 900 billion data points on its platform.
"This acquisition is strategically aligned with our existing fleet and dealership growth strategies and will expand our customer base. It increases our total addressable market and adds significant opportunities for cross-selling and solution integration that benefit customers," said Darko Dejanovic, Solera CEO, in a statement.
The deal signals another consolidation in fleet and asset management tech companies. This announcement comes less than a year after Solera purchased Omnitracs, which was spun out of Qualcomm [QCOM] in 2013. Other Spireon product lines include the North American operations of LoJack and Goldstar.
Kevin Weiss, Spireon’s CEO, said that Solera will bring new avenues to expand the company’s IoT platform and products to global markets.
IoT Startup Sigfox Files for Bankruptcy Protection, Seeks a Buyer
Citing a slowdown from the COVID-19 pandemic and slow IoT adoption rates, Labège, France-based Sigfox has filed for bankruptcy protection in France. The company, which has raised more than $300 million in venture funding, is seeking a buyer to continue operating its low-power wireless networks.
Sigfox’s financial woes, first reported by Techcrunch and French Tech Journal, have not been mentioned on its own website’s news section. In fact, one of the last company announcements came in December, when it partnered with Skyhook to improve the quality and performance of existing tracking services on the Sigfox’s global network.
The companies, by integrating Skyhook’s positioning services with Sigfox’s Atlas Wi-Fi service, will allow customers to locate their assets in indoor environments.
Sigfox, founded in 2010, has raised money from a number of top-tier companies, including Intel, NTT, Samsung, Salesforce, SK Telecom and many others.
The company posted a net loss of nearly $102 million on revenues of more than $27 million, with $132.8 million in debt, in its annual financial statement.
Comtech Spurns $790 Million Takeover Offer
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. [CMTL] last week rejected a $790 million offer from investment firm Acacia Research Corp. [ACTG] to take over the company.
In October, Acacia made $30-per-share offer to acquire the location services provider after a failed merger with Gilat Satellite Networks. At the time, a Reuters news article said that the company felt pressure to sell the company from one of its shareholders, Outerbridge Capital Management LLC.
However, after months of negative crosstalk, it appears that Comtech and Outerbridge, which owns 4.9 percent of the company’s stock, have agreed on who will be on the location company’s board of directors.
The corporate story changed dramatically over the past few weeks as new Comtech CEO, Michael Porcelain, said “it has become clear that Outerbridge is a knowledgeable and engaged shareholder seeking to enhance value for all stakeholders.”
Overall, the company’s board of directors said that the Acacia proposal “grossly undervalues the [company] and is not in the best interests of Comtech’s shareholders.” Comtech also said that it has made strategic investments that allow it to capitalize on “large, long-term renewal cycles in the 911 public safety and satellite and space communication markets.”
Other Location News:
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
😮 Google Hits Back at Android Location Tracking Lawsuit in US. “The AG is somehow claiming this as a big victory but in reality, a judge rejected his central argument. Unfortunately, just before today's decision, four other state attorneys general rushed to file similar lawsuits making similarly inaccurate and outdated claims," the company said in a blog post
😧 Two Self-Driving Shuttle Companies Fail In One Week. What Does It Bode? “There are many other players working in the shuttle market, including May Mobility, early pioneer Navya, EasyMile, 2getThere, Transdev, Auro/Ridecell and many other players in China.” But then there is…
😉 Toyota, BMW-backed Robotic-shuttle Startup Raises $83 Million. “May Mobility, a self-driving shuttle startup backed by the venture arms of Toyota and BMW, raised $83 million in its largest funding round to date.”
😫 Chinese Satellite Observed Grappling and Pulling Another Satellite Out of Its Orbit. “The SJ-21 then pulled the BeiDou out of its orbit and placed it a few hundred miles away in a "graveyard orbit" where it is unlikely to interfere or collide with active satellites.”
😎 The HERE Pioneer Who Inspired Netflix Hit: "It Was a Time of Unlimited Possibilities." Art+Com, which took on Google in a legal battle, has recently been immortalized in The Billion Dollar Code.
🤞 Developer Dutch Transport App Gaiyo Raises €1.5 million Growth Capital. “Innovactory was founded in 2013 by a team of former TomTom employees.”
😕 Getting Lost: Yet More Delays to Space Force-Protected GPS Program. “Some services have turned to commercial solutions for receivers as delays mount, report says.”
👏 PenguinIN, Actility & Abeeway Partner to Offer Enhanced Smart Tracking Solutions. “PenguinIN, Actility and its subsidiary Abeeway are entering into a partnership aimed at expanding on Managed Indoor Positioning and Navigation.”
👍 Meet Corinne Vigreux, Europe's First Woman Tech Unicorn Founder. “Bootstrapped until 2005, TomTom’s valuation went from $40 million to $1 billion.”
🚗 Volvo Offers Vodafone GPS Vehicle Tracker. “Volvo Car UK offers new Vodafone Automotive VTS S5 tracking device for all Volvo models.”
✔ DINPAS Consortium Paves Way for Fully Autonomous Systems by Advancing Globally Available Positioning. The DINPAS consortium is an industry-wide cooperation between research institutes, the telecom-industry, telecom operator as well as small and medium-sized companies and consists of RISE, AstaZero, Combitech, Ericsson, IBG, Katla Aero, Lantmäteriet, Telia and u-blox.
🙁 Waymo Sues California DMV To Keep Driverless Crash Data Under Wraps. “Waymo filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles to keep driverless car crash data from being made public” …and an update: Waymo Can Keep Some Driverless Data Secret for Another 22 Days.
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.
Advertisement
While we aren’t giving ourselves a pat on the back, Location Business News has gone from zero to nearly 24,000 subscribers in a little more than 12 months. If you would like to gain more exposure for your products, services, or webinars/events, contact us at info@driverlessreport.com. We also have nearly 30,000 LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media followers.
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Ford Selects Telenav’s SmartHorizon
Telenav said that Ford [F] has chosen the company’s SmartHorizon application to enable ADAS features in Ford vehicles in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. SmartHorizon offers Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), mandated for driver safety by EU regulations for all newly manufactured light vehicles starting in 2022.
Using map data, car data, and learned driving patterns, SmartHorizon predicts the most probable path (MPP) the driver may take, the company said. It then provides relevant map, traffic, and navigation information to ADAS systems to prepare for changing conditions, such as low visibility, speed limits, heavy traffic, and blocked lanes.
Contact: Sanjay Khatri, Telenav, (408) 410-3331, www.telenav.com.
Digital Matter Adds Polte to Location Engine
Digital Matter has announced the addition of Polte to its Location Engine, which is a new cloud-based location solver and data enrichment engine. Digital Matter's Yabby Edge and Oyster Edge devices are the first to offer support for Polte through the Location Engine.
IoT asset tracking use cases include supply chain visibility, high-value pallet and package tracking, the company said. The Edge product line is Digital Matter's latest LPWAN battery-powered asset tracking solution for indoor/outdoor asset tracking.
Contact: Christina Wicker, Polte, (919) 527-0923, christina@polte.com, www.polte.com.
NextNav Participates in EC’s APNT Evaluation
NextNav [NN] has announced that it participated in the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) alternative positioning, navigation, and timing (APNT) evaluation in Ispra, Italy. The trial analyzes the technologies “which could deliver positioning, and/or timing information, independently from GNSS, to be effective backup in the event of GNSS disruption, and if possible to be able to provide PNT in the environments where GNSS cannot be delivered,” JRC said.
The test furthers the European Union’s creation of a backup to GNSS, such as Galileo or GPS, and is intended to assess which technologies could strengthen and expand the European PNT capacity, the company said.
PNT services are critical for the global economy, with studies estimating a contribution to the European GDP of approximately 10 percent, the company said. “The trials conducted by ISPRA on behalf of the European Commission are part of the global trend to develop a resilience layer to space-based GPS/GNSS systems that is more secure and available,” said Ganesh Pattabiraman, CEO of NextNav, in a statement.
Contact: Mahmood Abu-Rubieh, for NextNav, NextNav@launchsquad.com.
Pozyx Introduces RTLS Planning Suite
Pozyx rolled out its RTLS Planning Suite for anchor and network planning. With the planning suite, users can plan infrastructure network and coverage, verify deployment on a floorplan, optimize installation budgets and validate project feasibility. The RTLS Planning Suite, in four modules, generates infrastructure recommendation and installation proposal with accurate budget input, the company said.
Contact: Elly Schietse, Pozyx, 32 479 761825, marketing@pozyx.io, www.pozyx.io.
Shield AI Grabs U.S. Air Force Contract
Shield AI has announced that it has been awarded the “maximum amount” through the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) program, in conjunction with Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), to accelerate the integration of its Hivemind autonomy software into military and commercial platforms.
Hivemind supports AI for Small Unit Maneuver (AISUM), which provide the Air Force and other services the ability to employ teams of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to highly contested areas, the company said. In addition, Hivemind will integrated into a commercial eVTOL aircraft.
The company also announced it has signed a contract with VSK Tactical, through reseller and facilitator Contingent Global, to provide Brazil with V-BAT 128 unmanned aircraft systems.
Contact: Lily Hinz. Shield AI, media@shield.ai.
VisionTrack Product Joins Geotab Marketplace
VisionTrack has announced that its Autonomise.ai solution is now part of the Geotab Marketplace. The VisionTrack product is fully-integrated with direct access through Geotab's MyGeotab fleet management software. VisionTrack’s IoT platform features computer vision to collect, process and analyze real-time video and data, the company said.
Contact: VisionTrack, http://www.visiontrack.com/us.
Cipia Integrates Product Into Gurtam GPS Tracking Platform
Cipia [CPIA] has announced that its aftermarket products will be expanded to support SaaS platforms. The company is collaborating with Gurtam to integrate Cipia-FS10 into Gurtam's Wialon platform, a GPS tracking and IoT platform.
Cipia-FS10 device is a fleet-focused aftermarket product that incorporates AI and computer vision algorithms to detect driver drowsiness, distraction and identity, the company said.
Another company offering Cipia-FS10 is 3Dtracking, which gives fleet managers a full view of events captured by the device. The platform can be configured to send real-time alerts by email or SMS to fleet managers, the company said.
Contact: Liat Rostock, Cipia, Liat.R@cipia.com; Olga Mishchankova, Gurtam,
miol@gurtam.com; Tony Miller, 3Dtracking, (617) 418-3045, tony@3dtracking.com, www.3dtracking.com.
Otonomo Partners With NextBillion.ai
Otonomo Technologies Ltd. [OTMO] has partnered with NextBillion.ai to offer customers access to OEM connected vehicle data from Otonomo’s platform across North America and Europe. Otonomo’s vehicle data serves several market areas: Fleet management, electric vehicles, emergency response services, smart cities, on-demand services and last-mile delivery, the company said.
NextBillion.ai will leverage this partnership to build enhanced maps, enabling use cases that are not possible using typical mapping platforms, which include parking space identification and others, the company said.
Contact: Jodi Joseph Asiag, Otonomo, jodija@otonomo.io, otonomo.io.
u-blox Rolls Out IoT Certificate Manager
Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox rolled out its IoT certificate manager that continuously renews device credentials in a fully automated mode. Together with the company’s existing zero touch provisioning service, it provides out-of-the-box on-boarding to IoT cloud platforms with total control of the device certificate lifecycle.
Building on the root of trust included in SARA-R5 series LTE-M cellular modems, it provides a fully integrated silicon-to-cloud security solution, the company said. Certificate lifecycle control is suited for IoT devices that integrate with leading IoT cloud platforms including the AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT Hub, and DPS services.
Contact: Natacha Seitz, u-blox, 41 76 436 0788, natacha.seitz@u-blox.com, www-blox.com.
PAR Integrates Flyby Location Platform
ParTech, Inc. (PAR), a subsidiary of PAR Technology Corp. [PAR], has partnered with Radius Networks to integrate their Flybuy SaaS platform products into the PAR ecosystem. Flybuy, a location technology platform used at more than 30,000 locations in 50 countries, features Flybuy Pickup, which provides delivery driver location updates.
Contact: Christopher Byrnes, (315) 743-8376, chris_byrnes@partech.com, www.partech.com.
IGEN Networks Extends GPS Fleet Partnership With CEA
IGEN Networks Corp. [IGEN] has extended its partnership County Executives of America (CEA) for an additional three years to market its Medallion GPS fleet management platform. The County Executives of America represent more than 700 member Counties across the US with an estimated 350,000 light commercial fleet assets.
Contact: Neil Chan, IGEN Networks, (855) 912-5378, info@igennetworks.net, www.igennetworks.net.
Shanghai-based SingularXYZ has released its Y1 GNSS receiver, which is also its first product for the global market, the company said. The receiver features full-constellation tracking and 60-degree IMU tilt surveying, OLED display and WiFi web UI.
Contact: SingularXYZ, https://www.singularxyz.com/Y1.html.
People
The Institute of Navigation’s (ION) Norman P. Hays Award was presented to Dana Goward, Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation president, at a ceremony in Long Beach, Calif. ION says “the purpose of this award is to recognize an individual who has contributed encouragement, inspiration, and support to the advancement of navigation while engaged in management of the military services, civil government or industry.”
CalAmp has named Mark Gaydos as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Gaydos was previously CMO at Nlyte Software and held executive positions at Engine Yard, Oracle and SAP America. CalAmp asset tracking product brands include CalAmp, LoJack, TRACKER, Here Comes The Bus, Bus Guardian, iOn Vision, CrashBoxx and others.
Sheeva.AI has named Randy Brown as Director of Communications. Brown brings more than 15 years of experience in communications, marketing, and public relations leadership to Sheeva.AI, the company said.
Jobs
Sales, Marketing, Engineering Jobs. Javad GNSS.
Project Manager, B2B. Webfleet Solutions.
Sales, Marketing, Engineering Jobs. Swift Navigation.
Get your company’s products and services in the 2022 Location Industry Yearbook!