In our never-ending obsession with technology and the future, we try to always better ourselves and the things around us with great innovations and technological advancement.
We have seen companies that provided the first hybrid cars, first run flat tires, first twin turbo charged engines, the list goes on and on.
Today we bring into the spotlight a company called DERQ.
Derq is a Dubai-based MIT spin-off with a mission to eliminate road accidents and save lives by using artificial intelligence and V2X technology to help predict and prevent car accidents before anyone else on the road. Their goal is to eliminate collisions at any time, independent of the vehicle model, autonomy and surroundings, by providing proven and tested artificial intelligence, connected vehicles and driver assistance technology.
In a nutshell – regardless of your car make and model year – Derq will install artificial intelligence to help solve a world-level problem which is how to make the roads safer and the citizens happier.
Based out of Dubai, the team at Derq has decades of experience building autonomous and connected vehicles, driver assistance systems, and IoT devices.
Their products have strong ties with academia and industries across the globe and their exposure throughout various disciplines hail from MIT, Georgia Tech, IIT, and McGill.
The Co-Founders Dr. Georges Aoude, Karl Jeanbart & Dr. Amer Abufadel have experience with leading technology firms and agencies including Ford, Siemens, NASA, and governments in the United States, Canada, and the Middle East.
As a matter of fact, Derq just raised 1.5 million dollars through seed funding after graduating from Techstars Mobility Accelerator program which is based in Detroit. The company has decided to invest in growing its team and opening an office in Detroit as they believe it’s the epicentre of mobility innovation in the entire US.
It doesn’t stop there, Derq also plans on using the cash to advance its tech that aims to reduce vehicle accidents by improving how cars and infrastructure talk to each other.
On the other hand, to avoid any copyright infringement situations Derq has developed and patented an application layer that sits between these communication layers and aims to predict incidents such as crashes and then notifies nearby drivers — something that will gain even more relevance as more autonomous vehicles hit the road.
Also, they are currently working with Smart Dubai Office, Roads and Transport Authority and Dubai Oasis Authority to implement Derq’s road safety technology in Dubai’s Silicon Oasis.
With the market being so diverse and accepting change – we highly doubt such an innovative product not to become the norm in a couple of years.