SXSW Pitch Finalist: Waycare
The Forrest Four-Cast: February 25, 2020
Waycare is tackling the ever-increasing issues of traffic congestion and fatalities with a cloud-based platform powered by Artificial Intelligence that provides traffic management solutions for cities around the U.S.
By integrating data from sources such as city infrastructure, connected vehicles, and external data partnerships, they provide users with powerful insights to improve traffic and safety management operations.
WayCare’s proprietary, machine-learning platform predicts traffic accidents and related congestion before they occur. The predictive insights are combined with a decision support solution, which allow authorities to select the optimal preventative course of action. WayCare’s SaaS-based solution allows cities to become smart cities without requiring costly infrastructural Investment.
The award-winning technology is already being used in numerous locations, including Ohio, Florida, and Nevada. Tracy Larkin-Thomason, Nevada Department of Transportation Deputy Director says, “Waycare has helped NDOT Freeway Service Patrol dramatically improve our incident identification and response times.”
In Las Vegas, a partnership between the city’s regional traffic center and Waycare resulted in a 17 percent reduction in primary crashes on a portion of the Interstate 15 corridor.
One of 50 finalists for SXSW Pitch 2020, Waycare will pitch in the category of Smart Cities, Transportation & Logistics Technology, 9:30 to 10:30 am Saturday, March 14, before a live audience and a panel of expert judges.
Winners in each of the 10 categories will be announced at the Pitch Awards Ceremony, at 6:30 pm Sunday, March 15. SXSW attendees are also invited to Meet the Finalists from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Monday, March 16. All SXSW Pitch events take place at the Hilton Austin Downtown.
Noam Maital, CEO and Co-Founder of Waycare, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Babson College with a dual degree in Economics and Strategic Management. Prior to his studies, he served as a First Sergeant in the Israeli Special Forces.
Maital talked about the importance of having a strong team, the advice he lives by, and why he would go to Mars.
What is your top goal for Waycare for 2020?
Effectively scale operations across North America
Tell us your favorite thing about being based in Los Angeles.
You can find great hikes within every neighborhood of the city.
With the exception of Waycare, what tech trend is your team most excited about?
Micro-mobility and last mile solutions.
What is the most overhyped tech trend of 2020?
5G networks.
What has the startup experience taught you about life?
Nothing matters more than the quality of the team you work with. A strong team will trump individual talent any day.
What motto or quote do you live by?
Everything happens to everyone.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten — or given?
Lead by example.
What do you eat/drink/do when you are low on energy?
Espresso
If you were offered the opportunity to colonize Mars (but with no guarantee that you would ever return to Earth), would you go?
I would — the opportunity for new exploration and the unknown has always been something that I’ve been fascinated with.
Look for more interviews with other finalists in this space between now and the start of SXSW Pitch on Saturday, March 14. Visit this page to see all previous interviews in this series as well as a list of all finalists.
If you are an entrepreneur, check out the SXSW 2020 Startups Track, which runs March 13–17. This track brings together founders and funders and showcases exciting new companies, products, services, and business models across different verticals and industries.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
