Growing cities need smarter transportation systems and Gogoro, a Taiwanese electric scooter manufacturer may have the solution. The scooter gathers, analyzes, and shares rider data to help riders understand best practices for reducing energy consumption and optimizing performance. Vending machines called GoStations allow riders to swap out dead batteries with new ones, and are spread throughout the city for easy access. By 2025 the number of smart cities around the world is predicted to quadruple from 2013, from 21 to 88 hence Gogoro’s planned expansion plans.
As part of the Smart City Expo happening this week, well known Swedish company Ericsson predicted the impact 5G will have on urban transportation. The mobile conglomerate expect that full automation is possible for some services such as public buses whose largest variable cost are drivers. An interesting thought is that of vehicle platooning whereby trucks are driver by off-site operators who co-ordinate acceleration & braking meaning they can travel closer together and open more space up on the roads
The booming startup scene in New York is no secret. 2015 looks set to be a record high for both the amount of VC funding and number of unicorns in the city. One of the reasons New York has emerged as such an attractive location for startups is the talent available thanks to the number of top universities. Columbia, NYU & CUNY all now have their own incubator programs for their students encouraging entrepreneurship as compare by Observer Magazine. There have already been some promising results. For example, NYU’s Varick Street Engineering Incubator program has had 9 exists so far worth a combined $721M
Kick start your Friday (11/20) with a hot cup of coffee, breakfast, a NY-LON battle between the world’s fintech titans, and Q&A with two of the leading figures in fintech globally: Eileen Burbidge and Maria Gotsch. This discussion will make clear the challenges and differences in regulatory approaches, and dive deep into emerging fintech trends in London and New York. Register here for the free event organized by London Partners