Miovision has acquired Winnipeg startup MicroTraffic with the goal of bringing collision predictions to its traffic management tech.
MicroTraffic uses predictive modelling to anticipate potential car crashes. The tech expands on Miovision’s goal to fix road congestion and broader traffic problems.
More than 1.35 million people are killed in traffic accidents each year, according to the World Health Organization.
Miovision did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, though all of MicroTraffic’s around 21-person team is joining the former company as it absorbs the tech and existing customers. Miovision noted that MicroTraffic has customers in more than 100 communities around the world.
With the use of machine learning and predictive modelling, MicroTraffic analyzes traffic data to help road safety engineers recommend plans for safer intersections. According to the company, its tech can result in an up to 80 percent reduction in risk. The tech takes into account things like speed and conflict angle to quantify the frequency and severity of near-misses for more than 60 potential crash scenarios.
More than 1.35 million people are killed in traffic accidents each year, according to a 2018 report from the World Health Organization. At the time, the report noted that road traffic injuries were the leading killer of people aged five to 29 years of age. The majority of those accidents affect pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
The World Health Organization said, “the price paid for mobility is too high, especially because proven measures exist,” and called for “drastic action.”
In recent years, improving road safety has become more prevalent for government organizations. In Canada, local governments from Edmonton to Toronto have adopted Vision Zero initiatives that are meant to decrease traffic-related fatalities. In the United States, the federal government recently allocated $800 million USD to create more safe roads.
“Our mission has been to help communities of all sizes to achieve their Vision Zero goals – meaning zero serious injuries or fatalities from traffic crashes,” said MicroTraffic CEO and co-founder Craig Milligan. He is joining Miovision alongside MicroTraffic co-founder and CEO Joel Penner.
RELATED: Miovision acquires Pittsburgh firm Rapid Flow to bolster its traffic management systems
In recent years, Miovision has bought up companies in its space. MicroTaffic marks Miovision’s third acquisition to date. Most recently, in October, Miovision purchased Pittsburgh tech company Rapid Flow Technologies to improve its traffic management platform. Rapid Flow uses real-time data to provide an adaptive traffic signal control system to optimize signal timing.
The year before, Miovision bought Arizona-based Traffop in its first acquisition. The deal allowed Miovision to offer a software-only solution to cities and towns that want to analyze traffic data without the need to immediately install additional hardware.
Regarding its acquisition strategy, CEO Kurtis McBride noted, “Miovision continues to develop its platform to enable cities to better measure, manage and optimize their traffic. Part of that development is adding new solutions onto this network, like MicroTraffic, that provide new, useful insights from traffic data. We’ll continue to look at ways to add solutions to our platform, whether that’s via partnerships, acquisitions or in-house development.”
Founded in 2005, Miovision uses a combination of computer vision, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced analytics to help cities reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions. Miovision has both a software and hardware solution that enables communities to remotely manage and track their traffic networks.
Miovision claims to have worked with more than 2,000 customers in 63 countries. It states that its technology has detected over 30 billion vehicles and 1.5 billion pedestrians.
The startup has raised around $180 million to date, most recently quietly closing a $15 million “growth financing round” in October 2022 that was co-led by return investor McRock Capital and EDC. Prior to that, Miovision raised a $120 million Series C round in 2020. Its backers also include Telus Ventures, BDC Capital, and HarbourVest Partners.
MicroTraffic was founded in 2017, and raised around $1 million overall, according to Crunchbase. In recent years it took part in Highline Beta and Aviva Canada’s joint accelerator through which it was able to work on a program that allowed it to help improve safety measures for 50 intersections in Canada.
UPDATE 28/02/2023: This article has been updated with commentary from Miovision’s CEO and with details about an October 2022 funding round.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Denys Nevozhai.
