Israeli startup Ride Vision, developer of collision-aversion technology, announced a $7 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by OurCrowd, with participation from YL Ventures, Mobilion VC, and Metagal, a motorcycle mirror manufacturer.
Mobileye’s two-wheeled brother
Ride Vision have developed a wide-angle dual-HD camera system that’s mounted on the front and back of the bike, LED alerts fit on the side mirrors, and a central computing system (ECU), which processes the video and translates the data into actionable insight, alerting to potential collisions on each side.
The system alerts when potential danger is lurking in a rider’s blind spot, whether it be an aggressive overtaking vehicle, real-time impact alert, and the system will also beep to keep you driving at a safe distance. Ride Vision explain that the signals that alert the driver have been developed thoroughly, so that they will only alert to immediate dangers. This is done to allow drivers a smooth uninterrupted ride, understanding that the rider needs to be solely focused on the road.
The Ride Vision system records the data from the ride straight onto a dedicated mobile app. The app also displays a ride summary, analysis, and other defined parameters like maximum speed. The data is kept secured in the Ride Vision app and not shared anywhere else.
The company notes that the system will receive periodical updates, including new safety alerts and expanded features like automatic emergency calls, further impact alerts, and creating videos of the data pulled from your last ride in order to share on your social media channels.
Hitting the European markets in 2021
Ride Vision CEO Uri Lavi explained in a conversation with Geektime that following the last funding round, the company focused on developing its system, and now with the development stage coming to an end, the company moves to launch its product around the world. Initially commercialization efforts will focus on Israel, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, France, Austria, and the U.K., with the U.S., Japan, China and Canada following.
Alongside marketing its tech to motorcycle lovers, Lavi also noted that Ride Vision has entered a partnership with German car parts giant Continental AG, in addition to working with other motorcycle manufacturers to preinstall the collision aversion technology already at the manufacturing stage.
According to Lavi, as of today Ride Vision has no real market competitors: “The are only really adaptive cruise control systems for luxury models. Currently, their technology is radar-based and focuses on acceleration and deceleration of the bike. These are more of comfort solutions rather than safety, like the one Ride Vision provides. ”
Ride Vision was founded in 2018 by Uri Lavi and CTO Lior Cohen. The newly funded capital will help support the global product launch. To date, the company has raised $10 million. "As motorcycle enthusiasts, we at Ride Vision are excited at the prospect of our international launch and our partnership with Continental," Lavi adds, "This moment is a major milestone, as we stride toward our dream of empowering bikers to feel truly safe while they enjoy the ride."
