How many times have you ordered a taxi via an app and watched the driver struggle to find you? How often have you searched for a scooter on an app map, convinced it was nearby but unable to locate it in reality?
Tupaia, founded in 2020, aims to solve this issue of several meters' inaccuracy in GPS, which is insufficient for urban environments. The Israeli start-up recently received a strategic investment from American tech and communications giant AT&T, through its investment fund AT&T Ventures, following two years of testing in which Tupaia demonstrated its ability to provide centimeter-precision navigation.
The company was founded by Dr. Nadav Lavi and Dr. Kobi Shaim, a former developer at General Motors' Herzliya R&D center, who named the company after the navigator of explorer James Cook. They identified the need for more precise navigation for autonomous vehicles, which require accurate data for safe and precise driving, though the expected launch dates for driverless cars have since been pushed back.
"The automotive sector was our main focus when we started, but we built the technology to be flexible for other domains," says Lavi, the company's CEO. "We have opened ourselves to additional markets that we saw developing more rapidly, but autonomous vehicles will still come. In the meantime, demand will come from areas like manufacturing and machinery management, child, elderly, and dog tracking, and precise navigation for scooters and within airports."
So how does it work? Tupaia's algorithms combine data from the user's mobile GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) with fixed locations of satellite navigation receivers, such as those installed on fixed cellular reception antennas. GNSS integrates information from several satellite networks, including the American GPS, European Galileo, Russian GLONASS, and more.
"We ran many experiments, first in Israel and then in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and Tupaia's results were better than any competing technology," says Ido Shargil, Director and Head of Product and Technology at AT&T's Israel R&D center. "AT&T provides cellular connectivity to 80% of vehicles in the U.S. with its SIM cards, has tens of thousands of cellular sites across the U.S., and works with business entities like car manufacturers, government authorities, and tens of millions of private customers who need Tupaia's capabilities."
Tupaia is a start-up with seven employees, and after October 7th, found itself with two employees drafted into the reserves and another on standby. At a time when more and more foreign companies are reducing ties with Israel, AT&T illuminated its headquarters in Texas in blue and white, and its Israeli branch, employing 550 people, mobilized to assist drafted employees and their families.
The investment amount in the company was not disclosed, but as a strategic investor, the American company is expected to provide the Israeli start-up with financial backing and connections to large customers, alongside implementing economic models through which it can generate revenue from its navigation capabilities. According to the European Space Agency, the GPS services market will grow to $70 billion by the end of the decade. Among the initial investors in the company were Zohar Zisapel and his brother Yehuda, may their memory be a blessing, who passed away last yearת שnd Zohar served as the company's chairman. The investor list also includes Delek Motors, the importer of Mazda, Ford, and BMW, controlled by Gil Agmon, and The Angels Shmuel Levy and Amichai Steinberg.
Jennifer Schwartz, CEO of EcoMotion, Israel's smart transportation community: "We welcome another successful collaboration between innovative Israeli technology and one of the world's leading communication corporations. The advanced technology providing centimeter-level location accuracy for the first time can lead to breakthroughs in various fields and markets such as micromobility, drones, and even automotive. AT&T's strategic investment in Tupaia is further evidence of the strength of Israeli industry at all times, even in these challenging times."
Today, amidst the war, the EcoMotion 2024 conference, the annual international event of the Israeli smart transportation community, will be held for the 12th time. Nearly 1,000 participants, including dozens of international guests, will attend the conference held at the headquarters of Innoviz in Rosh Ha'ayin. The conference will feature panels on the impact of electric vehicles and their charging on the power grid, the role of vehicle connectivity in driver assistance systems (ADAS), and China's central role as a car manufacturing superpower. Participants include Dr. Alida Worts, BMW Board Member, Nicolai Arday, Head of Innovation and Board Member at Volkswagen Group, and senior officials from McKinsey's Future Transportation Corporation.