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CloudCar: Delivering Seamless and Personalized Infotainment Experiences in the Vehicle

In-vehicle entertainment systems are evolving constantly as cars become more and more connected. Automakers have responded to consumers’ tech obsession of having an increased number of services and expanding set of features. Everybody seems to want more in their infotainment systems. However, when it comes to in-car features, they do not always live up to expectations.
CloudCar’s distinct “voice-first” approach to in-vehicle content not only enables a personalized, driver-centric experience, but also provides the utmost flexibility and scalability for car manufacturers. By normalizing cloud based content into common use cases that are not specifically tied to apps and intelligently processing driver intent, the platform allows drivers to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. This approach eliminates the driver’s need to hunt through an abundance of infotainment applications and menu items to access the desired content. It also provides OEM control for building and retaining brand loyalty and owning the vehicle data for future monetization opportunities.
An Adventurous Journey
CloudCar’s journey started in 2011 in Silicon Valley, a hot spot for technology companies. Four years later, the company introduced its first product justDrive, a voice activated connected car application, which was exclusive to Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. justDrive brought a unique experience for the driver as it combined the three major elements of the mobile phone, the car, and relevant content.
In 2017, CloudCar secured an investment from Jaguar Land Rover and achieved an early win by completing their product development of the Online Media Application, which is out on the road today. This product brings cloud-based media streaming services into the vehicle. The firm also has filed forty-five patents in which sixteen are awarded.
CloudCar has established key partnerships with leading content providers to strengthen its partnership portfolio and is working with new global automotive customers in the European, US and Asia markets. The company has recently expanded its locations globally, building a diverse workforce to address the global automotive economy. Besides in the United States, CloudCar currently has presence in China, the UK, Germany and France. Their recent growth also led its headquarters to move to a larger office space now located in Santa Clara, California, USA.
Like every business, CloudCar has faced challenges, but has also learned through experiences. For one, the automotive industry has shifted vastly over the past few years and continues to change. This change has shaped the company’s product portfolio into what it is today which anchors on cloud-content integration and analytics services. CloudCar has also defined its requirements around platform flexibility, the desire for personalized content and data privacy mechanisms. With automotive DNA at its core, CloudCar’s successful products are in the market and its experienced teams continue to work collaboratively with their trusted global partners to develop new offerings and solutions.
The Au Courant CEO
CloudCar was co-founded in 2011 by two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who both had an appetite for technology innovation and taking risks. In 2016, Philipp Popov was announced as CloudCar’s new CEO, succeeding one of the founders who is currently a continuing member of the board.
Having Philipp onboard with his seasoned automotive and entrepreneurial expertise, where he delivered infotainment systems to automotive customers like Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Tesla, it became a completely different ball game for CloudCar. His proven abilities, perseverance and knowledgeable audio and infotainment background is what the company needed.
Philipp reshaped CloudCar by building a strong diversified team and adding the product discipline and robustness required by automakers. With excitement, ambition and the focus of its leadership team, the firm is earning the trust and loyalty of existing and future customers. Observing the industry talent, Philipp asserts, “It’s a very exciting time to be in the automotive industry. CloudCar is rapidly growing and we’re continuously looking for top talent to join our dedicated team.” He adds, “Our combination of automotive and Silicon Valley experts work with OEMs to redefine the customer experience and enhance the journey in the car.”
Customer Oriented Approach
CloudCar’s platform lets automotive OEMs choose from a breadth of cloud-based services. The wide range of integrated service providers and depth of understanding for driver intent provides OEMs the flexibility when designing their in-vehicle infotainment solutions. The company works with global leading service providers to categorize data into common driver use cases that fall into specific groups like Media, Places, People, Knowledge, Smart Home and Productivity. Their solution brings all the relevant cloud-based content into the vehicle and makes it available through an on-board Software Development Kit (SDK). No clunky connection to the driver’s mobile phone is needed to obtain the desired content and deliver the desired services.
Aiding and Revolutionizing the Industry
CloudCar is developing the future of connected car technology for car manufacturers by solving the needs of the driver with voice-first infotainment. Its cloud-based cutting edge technology, including machine learning capabilities, provides the connected-onboard infotainment features that automakers are seeking to fulfill their business needs. The company is working with premium manufacturers on exciting opportunities and challenges in the machine learning and infotainment fields. CloudCar’s innovative solutions are at the intersection of Silicon Valley’s technology entrepreneurship and the rapidly changing global automotive experiences. It has experts in key areas like cloud technology, data sciences, and user experiences just to name a few.
A Step Ahead of the Competition
As a cloud-based platform, CloudCar integrates machine learning capabilities with voice-first infotainment to deliver a seamless, user-friendly and personalized experience. The service provides car manufacturers with a hardware agnostic, portable SDK that is embedded in the vehicle’s head unit. Consequently, automotive OEMs have access to all of the cloud-based services and providers integrated into its platform.
The firm’s solution is different from many other solutions in the market as it is not app-based thus, there is much more flexibility in designing the user experience. This allows car manufacturers to meet the needs and preferences of their customers in the vehicle. CloudCar integrates the relevant content from an ample selection of cloud-based content providers and transfers the information through the SDK into the car. This is ideal for easily mapping content to a voice-first experience. In addition to content accessibility, the CloudCar platform supports an extensive list of use cases. When coupled with the contextual vehicle data from the Human Machine Interface (HMI), the firm can build a rich driver profile based on infotainment usage and preferences, and offer unique AI services to personalize the driving experience.
One of the pain points that CloudCar addresses for automakers is the need to maintain control of their brand identity and retain data ownership. The company provides automotive OEMs with a white label platform that offers flexibility, customization, and complete ownership of the data while delivering the desired experience for their consumers.
Infotainment for the Future
As it pertains to improving the driving experience, CloudCar has some pretty lofty goals. Their engineers continue to advance the machine learning and AI technologies with the utmost ambition of anticipating the driver’s needs and unique, tailored driving experience. The team on the front line of their organization also spends lots of time engaging with customers, keeping up with their objectives and expectations to sustain a valuable client relationship.
Looking at today’s in-vehicle experience, the company sees the opportunities. CloudCar’s integrated platform brings services to drivers without having to connect their phone while moving between vehicles and still being able to bring their preferences with them.
Technology trends towards the autonomous driving and the shift towards shared mobility is redefining the role of infotainment services in the vehicle. CloudCar will continue to lead this effort and evolve with the fast changing automotive industry.