The Autolabs Launches

NOVI, MI--(Marketwired - June 03, 2015) - Today at TU Automotive Detroit, a group of automotive industry technology companies announced The Autolabs, a global automotive alliance focused on the connected car. Founding members Cogniance, CloudMade, Navmii, Parkopedia, peiker, Pelagicore and Nebula Systems have joined forces to provide automotive solutions that are design driven, cloud oriented, and Millennial focused. The Autolabs' goal is to enable cars that Millennials will love. By working with The Autolabs, car manufacturers can transform themselves from sellers of low-margin products to providers of compelling, cloud-based services that entice Millennials into lifelong brand loyalty.

The Autolabs was founded to deal with a profound demographic shift that will change the nature of the automotive industry: the Millennials. Much like the Baby Boomers changed the world and set the pace for generations after, today's Millennials are having a similar effect on society. Millennials think and behave differently from all other age groups before them; that is, they consume in new ways, thinking in terms of digital services, not products. The automotive industry's in-car experiences must follow this model to compete, or risk losing a generation to new, software-driven competitors.

The Autolabs answers this call. As a group of nimble, world-changing technology companies, it has a fundamental understanding of the market shift that Millennials are causing, and possesses the in-car technologies needed to take the auto industry from product category to service category. By partnering with the members of The Autolabs, auto manufacturers can move from being product-centric brands into digitally native, Millennial Ready brands, with profitable services and solutions that transform their offerings. And the alliance members are ready now to provide all the main building blocks required to build tomorrow's Millennial Ready connected car.

Over the next few years, The Autolabs will operate labs across the world, fostering partnerships between auto manufacturers and technology companies. The labs will offer co-working spaces, networking events, and conferences to create opportunities for interaction and innovation. The initial labs will be located in Silicon Valley and Stuttgart.

The #GetMillennialReady Campaign
#GetMillennialReady is the inaugural PR and social media campaign The Autolabs is launching with the debut of the alliance. Its goal is to raise awareness of this influential, car buying demographic, and how the industry can be responsive to their needs. Expect a steady flow of information around the The Autolabs over the next few months, and follow the hashtag #GetMillennialReady to ensure you get news about us and our partners.

Select member quotes

Cogniance Quote, Michael Shraybman, CEO:
"The Millennials are a huge opportunity for auto manufacturers," said Cogniance CEO Michael Shraybman. "But as digital natives, their experience and behavior translate to a very different set of expectations on cars and on physical mobility in general. Cogniance, teaming up with our partners in The Autolabs, understands this demographic's needs and can deliver to automakers the solutions they need to capture this generation of car buyers. We look forward to working with The Autolabs members to deliver design driven solutions that Millennials will love and buy."

CloudMade Quote, Juha Christensen, CEO:
"Our software solutions speak perfectly to the group's mission of providing design-driven connected car experiences that appeal to Millennials. Auto manufacturers need to address this highly influential demographic or they will lose them to new, digitally driven competitors. The members of The Autolabs have the solutions right now to address this need and we are delighted to be a part of the initiative."

Nebula Systems Quote, Andrew Steer, CEO:
"We are delighted to be invited to join The Autolabs initiative," says Andrew Steer, CEO of Nebula Systems. "This brave new world needs a cohesive, representative voice that can relate our ground-breaking business models, that we see as the next phase of engaging Millennials, into vehicle manufacturers' hearts. It's better to speak with one voice than to shout over each other, and The Autolabs will give us the opportunity to do that."

Parkopedia Quote, Eugene Tsyrklevich, CEO:
"In the era of the connected car, it is encouraging to see The Autolabs Alliance recognize the importance and relevance of parking information," commented Parkopedia's CEO, Eugene Tsyrklevich. "Millennials like travelling and they like to drive. With the Parkopedia app they can do just that in over 52 countries across the globe without worrying about where to park their car!"

peiker Quote, Mathias Köhler, CTO:
"The Autolabs alliance is an important initiative as Millennials are a quickly emerging influence on the future of the automotive industry," said Mathias Köhler, CTO of Peiker. "Collaboration across the industry is what's needed to solve this major market challenge and we're delighted to be actively involved in this effort. I am excited that we, peiker, as an established automotive tier-1 supplier and a leader in automotive connectivity, can combine our experience from the car industry and our innovative technologies with the enormous momentum of young Silicon Valley and international companies, bringing in their experience from Consumer Electronics, Smartphones and Cloud Computing."

About Autolabs
The Autolabs is a global industry alliance whose members provide automotive solutions that are design driven, cloud oriented, and Millennial focused. Its mission is to bring together technology innovators and automakers to usher in a new era of connected, digital, design-driven automotive experiences that Millennials will love. Its members' solutions transform automakers from product sellers to profitable, brand loyal, cloud-base service providers. Join the movement at www.autolabs.com.

About Cogniance
Cogniance is a global technology innovation firm with roots in Silicon Valley. We exist to help innovators bring software and hardware products to market. Working with venture-funded startups and Fortune 500 companies, we co-create technology products, helping our customers with their strategy, design, build, launch, and evolution. In doing so, we practice Advanced Simplicity, balancing complex solutions with refined user experiences, fusing technology and design in the process. More information is available at www.cogniance.com.

About CloudMade
CloudMade is a global software supplier to the automotive industry based in Menlo Park, CA. With a strong focus on innovation, CloudMade builds comprehensive solutions and building blocks for the connected car that enable automotive manufacturers to create stunning user centric experiences. CloudMade helps automakers better understand vehicle performance and connect with customers at a deeper level to improve efficiency and brand loyalty. More information is available at www.cloudmade.com.

About Nebula Systems
Nebula Systems develops secure, cloud-based, vehicle data analytics platforms that access the vast and unexploited data generated by modern vehicles, empowering car owners to know more about their vehicle's health in the process. Its MECH5 platform addresses the main problem in the connected car world: limitations in obtaining key data from virtually any car. By using manufacturer specific protocols, Nebula Systems provides over 100 times more vehicle data than most competitive offerings, allowing customers to deliver monetizable, high-value, data-rich service offerings. Visit www.nebulasystems.com.

About peiker
peiker is a leading provider of components in the area of communications technology -- both for cars and for professional radio (PMR). Headquartered in Friedrichsdorf, Germany, peiker has spawned subsidiaries in France, the USA, China, and Mexico. Founded as an acoustics company in 1946, its product portfolio extends to all components of in-car infotainment and entertainment. peiker's connectivity modules are suitable for use in vehicles and enable a fast and reliable data transmission on the road; under the heading of "connected car", it thus opens the car door to the internet, navigation, other manufacturer-specific assisted services, and emergency call (eCall). Among peiker's regular clients are renowned international auto manufacturers, industrial firms, government agencies, and mobile phone manufacturers. More information is available at www.peiker.com.

About Parkopedia
Parkopedia is the world's leading parking information provider used by millions of drivers every month. It provides detailed information on over 28 million parking spaces in 40 countries around the world, allowing drivers to find the closest parking to their destination, telling them how much it will cost, and whether the space is available. Visit www.parkopedia.com.

About Navmii
Navmii is the world's leading free satellite navigation app and location-based services company. The Navmii app is available for iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone devices across the globe. Navmii apps are available for 87 countries on every continent on earth. Navmii has more than 23 million users and uses its own proprietary mapping data combined with the Open Street Map initiative to deliver reliable open sourced navigation to users, who can also contribute information to help the app improve. Visit www.navmii.com.

About Pelagicore
Pelagicore is a technology and product development company which focuses on applying Open Source software in the automotive infotainment industry. Our team of technology and Open Source community experts enable a novel, holistic approach to development. Our unique expertise stretches from silicon design to OEM expert advisory roles. We build software frameworks and key components to accelerate the implementation of infotainment systems, based on Open Source. Our products and services help our customers identify and maximize the value of Open Source in their product development. Visit www.pelagicore.com.