Volvero merges with Drive Buddy

Volvero and Drive Buddy, a p2p vehicle-sharing app and a driving behavior analytics solution, have teamed up in their mission of improving the shared mobility sector. After a period of successful partnership, the two companies are merging to bring to the market the patented technology they have created that lies in the process of how telematics solution is applied to the vehicles being shared on the platform.

Volvero, which went through Y Combinator’s startup school, Impact Hub and The EIT Urban Mobility program, currently enrolled in Start-up Chile, is an app that allows private and business owners to share their vehicles with those who need one. It was born to address the problem of inefficient car usage. Indeed, vehicles account for 20% of global CO2 emissions, urban spaces and roads are overcrowded while at the same time an average vehicle remains unutilized for 96% of the time and some of us still do not have access to transportation means. By leveraging these problems Volvero allows for a more efficient distribution of vehicles: owners can cover the ownership costs by sharing them while those who are in need of transportation can find an instant solution for their mobility needs whenever the alternatives are not convenient or available. The company takes it to the next level by allowing owners to share not only cars but also motorbikes, vans, and campers, to name some. All in all, to simplify things, you can call it an Airbnb for vehicles.

The app integrates the Corda blockchain framework that allows for maximum security of transactions and processing of contracts, and (hey, as we live in 2021) cryptocurrency payments. When it comes to security, together with Europ Assistance Volvero has developed unique insurance that is automatically integrated into the existing insurance of the vehicle with no paperwork needed. An instant policy is created at the time of sharing, and it is suitable for any specific situation. Volvero employs the best European experts in the field of Insurtech: Neosurance, an innovative platform able to connect insurance companies with a digital community of users in order to activate appropriate policies for every need of the driver, providing impressive coverage and 24h roadside assistance. Neosurance provides insurance companies, reinsurers, and brokers with an omnichannel distribution platform, to allow the sale of policies to the end customers of their business partners (B2C retailers and intermediaries). This way, retailers (in finance, utility, telco, security, healthcare, etc.) have the possibility to extend the range of services offered by incorporating insurance into their sales or reporting processes.

So, speaking of safety, this is where Drive Buddy and Volvero find each other. Drive Buddy, an Impact Connected Car Alumni and a project funded by European Union H2020, is a smartphone-only based solution that is developed as an SDK [a software development kit that comes in one installable package]. A company can integrate Drive Buddy inside its existing mobile application in a matter of minutes with no need for any special hardware: all the data is collected from smartphone sensors. Drive Buddy’s unique algorithm analyzes driver’s habits using Machine Learning and displays the risk score of the driver on a simple dashboard. Drive Buddy’s solution was successfully integrated to companies all around the world including UK, Australia, and Turkey. Drive Buddy has tracked thousands of drivers and analyzed millions of kilometers of driving data, which made it reach the maximum level of efficiency to offer the car-sharing sector the best mobile telematics solution. The company now has evolved to the next step of merging with Volvero to expand and create more efficient use cases.

Marco Filippi and Emre Yigit Alparslan, founders of Italy-born Volvero and the Turkish Drive Buddy met in London during a startup event devoted to mobility. As one of the main concerns associated with sharing services is safety and level of trust, Volvero not only wanted to provide top-notch insurance but also promote responsible driving behavior and be sure that the drivers can be trusted. This is where Drive Buddy filled the gap. Volvero was utilizing Drive Buddy’s solution from the early days of development, having tracked a great deal of drivers to promote safe driving. The partnership is now growing into the merger: Drive Buddy and the tech team of Volvero have developed a patent technology that focuses on vehicle sharing, or more precisely, the way how telematics technology is being applied to the vehicle sharing platforms. By collecting the data on fixed parameters such as speed, acceleration, abrupt braking, vehicle location etc. the algorithm will give a score to every Volvero user and predict their driving behavior to encourage road safety. The technology has already greatly improved the quality of the service of Volvero, which is currently available in Italy. The company, however, has far-looking plans: with the help of Drive Buddy’s strong global presence, the company will expand to Europe and beyond in 2022 going in with the world’s attempts to optimize the mobility industry.

We have seen the successful transition to sharing economy in the hospitality, entertainment, freelance work sectors…you name it, and in transportation as well, but there is still a stigma in how people see sharing personal or common assets. Mainly, due to a lack of trust and security associated with the process. That is why by merging the forces and coming up with the solution backed up by the latest technologies the two companies have a possibility to really accelerate the popularization of shared mobility while improving road safety and cutting down the emissions produced by the automotive industry in the long run.