Veniam

Type| Private
Industry| Connected transportation
Founded| 2012; 14 years ago (2012)
Founder| João Barros, Robin Chase, Roy Russell and Susana Sargento
Headquarters|

Mountain View, California

United States

Key people

João Barros, Founder & CEO
Rui Costa, CTO
Jane Hoffer, CBO

Services| Vehicle based Mesh Networks & Connected Vehicles

Veniam was a technology startup focused on building large WiFi mesh networks using moving vehicles like city buses or taxis. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and was founded in 2012,[1] receiving 4.9 million dollars in 2014 in a funding round from True Ventures,[2] USV, and Cane Investments. Veniam's technology is being used in Porto's city buses, with about 230,000 users with onboard units (OBUs) installed on over 600 buses, taxis, and garbage trucks.[3]

They aim to equip vehicles with wireless hotspots, creating a mesh that could be used to build sensors to turn the city smarter. Each vehicle is equipped with a NetRider, a multi-network unit with Wi-Fi (802.11p), DSRC, GPS, and 4G/LTE connectivity.[4] Veniam was acquired by Nexar in 2022.[5]

## Contents

* 1 Company
* 2 Products
* 3 Awards
* 4 Investors
* 5 Institutional Partners
* 6 References

## Company

Veniam was founded by João Barros, its CEO, Roy Russell, former Zipcar[6] CTO,[7] Susana Sargento, a professor at the University of Aveiro, and Robin Chase, former CEO of Zipcar and Buzzcar. The initial behind Veniam was to pioneer large-scale Wi-Fi mesh networks that utilize moving vehicles, for a dynamic connectivity infrastructure for the Internet of Moving Things (IoMT).[8] This vision aimed to transform urban transport into a shared network capable of collecting data, real-time communication, and smart city applications by harnessing the collective movement of fleets.[9]

In its formative years, Veniam worked with prototypes and test pilots in Porto, deploying Wi-Fi-enabled systems on public buses operated by the local transit authority STCP to demonstrate data collection and connectivity.[10] These initial trials, launched around 2014, involved equipping over 400 buses to form a mobile mesh network linked to the city's optical fiber backbone, allowing passengers to access free WIFI while gathering urban data for applications like traffic monitoring.[11] The pilots validated the technology's potential for scalable IoMT deployment in dense urban settings.[12]

## Products

Veniam Platform

## Awards

* 2018 named Best Connected Product/Service at TU Automotive
* 2017 ScaleUp Portugal Award Tech Winner
* 2017 Telecom Council Spiffy Winner - San Andreas Award for the Most Disruptive Technology [13]
* 2017 CNBC 50 Disruptors - list of companies whose "innovations are changing the world.”[14]
* Winner of TU Automotive Best Auto Mobility Product/Service 2016[15]
* 2016 Best Auto Mobility Product/Service Winner by TU Automotive[16]
* 2016 CNBC 50 Disruptors - list of companies whose "innovations are revolutionizing the business landscape.”[17]
* Winner of the “Best New Venture” at the WBA 2015 Wi-Fi Industry Awards[18]
* Winner of WBA Scale Up Award 2015 for the outstanding innovation and solutions brought to market [19]
* Winner of the 2015 Red Herring Top 100 Award[20]
* Winner of the NOS Innovation Award 2015 [21]
* Winner of the Portuguese Venture Competition “Building Global Innovators” (ISCTE–IUL; MIT Portugal)[22]
* Most Likely to Succeed Idea within the Cable Industry at CableLabs’ Innovation Showcase[23]
* Named 2015 Gartner “Cool Vendor” in Smart Cities[24]
* Named FierceWireless “Fierce 15” Top Wireless Company List of 2015[25]

## Investors

* Cane Investments[26]
* Cisco Investments[27]
* Liberty Global[28]
* Orange Digital Ventures[27]
* True Ventures[29]
* USV[30]
* Verizon Ventures[27]
* Yamaha Motor Ventures And Laboratory Silicon Valley[27]

## Institutional Partners

* Carnegie Mellon Portugal[31]
* European Union[32]
* Instituto de Telecomunicações[33]
* ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon
* MIT Portugal[22]
* O NOVO NORTE
* Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional
* University of Aveiro[34]
* University of Porto[34]
* University Technology Entreprise Network Portugal

## References

1. ↑ "Startup Veniam Builds "Internet of Moving Things"". 5 December 2014. http://startup50.com/veniam-internet-of-moving-things/.
2. ↑ "Veniam Picks Up $4.9M To Turn Buses Into Wi-Fi Hotspots". 2 December 2014. https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/02/veniam-picks-up-4-9m-to-turn-buses-into-wi-fi-hotspots/.
3. ↑ "Hundreds of Portuguese Buses and Taxis Are Also Wi-Fi Routers". http://www.technologyreview.com/news/533176/hundreds-of-portuguese-buses-and-taxis-are-also-wi-fi-routers/.
4. ↑ "A network for the Internet of (moving) Things". 2015-09-29. http://gcn.com/blogs/emerging-tech/2015/01/iot-connected-vehicles.aspx.
5. ↑ "Nexar acquires Veniam". 3 August 2022. https://data.getnexar.com/blog/nexar-acquires-veniam/.
6. ↑ "Robin Chase on Zipcar and her next big idea". 31 January 2008. https://www.ted.com/talks/robin_chase_the_idea_behind_zipcar_and_what_comes_next.
7. ↑ "Veniam Wants to Build a Smart City One WiFi Bus at a Time". 2 December 2014. http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2014/12/02/veniam-wants-to-build-a-smart-city-one-wifi-bus-at-a-time/.
8. ↑ Veniam. "Veniam Brings Internet of Moving Things Technology to U.S." (in en). https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/veniam-brings-internet-of-moving-things-technology-to-us-300003062.html.
9. ↑ "Veniam wants to move the internet" (in en-US). 2014-12-02. https://om.co/2014/12/02/veniam-wants-to-move-the-internet/.
10. ↑ Shueh, Jason (2014-12-05). "Turning Public Transit into Smart City Hot Spots" (in en). https://www.govtech.com/network/Turning-Public-Transit-into-Smart-City-Hot-Spots.html.
11. ↑ Pires, Rafael (2014-10-23). "Veniam’Works transforms more than 400 Buses into free Wi-Fi Hotspots" (in en). https://www.portugalstartups.com/2014/10/veniamworks-transforms-more-than-400-buses-into-free-wi-fi-hotspots-2/.
12. ↑ Shueh, Jason (2014-12-05). "Turning Public Transit into Smart City Hot Spots" (in en). https://www.govtech.com/network/Turning-Public-Transit-into-Smart-City-Hot-Spots.html.
13. ↑ "2018 SPIFFY Nominees announced - CALENDAR | Telecom Council". https://www.telecomcouncil.com/spiffys/.
14. ↑ staff, CNBC.com (16 May 2017). "2017 Disruptor 50: No. 34 Veniam". https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/16/veniam-2017-disruptor-50.html.
15. ↑ "Veniam's Vehicle Networking Solutions Win CNBC Disruptor 50 and Best Auto Mobility Product/Service Award". http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/veniams-vehicle-networking-solutions-win-cnbc-disruptor-50-best-auto-mobility-product-2134853.htm.
16. ↑ "2016 Tu-Automotive Awards | News, Awards, Categories". 8 June 2016. https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/2016-tu-automotive-awards-news-awards-categories/.
17. ↑ staff, CNBC.com (7 June 2016). "2016 Disruptor 50: No. 28 Veniam". https://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/06/veniam-2016-disruptor-50.html.
18. ↑ "Veniam Wins Wi-Fi Industry's Best New Venture". http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/veniam-wins-wi-fi-industrys-best-new-venture-2065279.htm.
19. ↑ "Veniam on Facebook". https://www.facebook.com/veniamworks/posts/veniam-just-won-the-scale-up-award-of-the-wireless-broadband-alliance-wba-for-th/409676922557005/. [user-generated source]
20. ↑ "Veniam Wins 2015 Red Herring Top 100 Award". http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/veniam-wins-2015-red-herring-top-100-award-2032049.htm.
21. ↑ "1ª edição do Prémio Inovação NOS distingue quatro empresas". http://www.nos.pt/institucional/PT/media/em-destaque/Paginas/1-edicao-do-Premio-Inovacao-NOS-distingue-quatro-empresas.aspx.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Gallagher, Don. "MIT Portugal - MIT Portugal". http://www.mitportugal.org/press-releases/veniam-is-the-winner-of-bgi-3rd-edition.html.
23. ↑ "Veniam Voted Winner at CableLabs(R) Innovation Showcase". http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/veniam-voted-winner-at-cablelabs-innovation-showcase-2044937.htm.
24. ↑ "Veniam Named 2015 Gartner "Cool Vendor" in Smart Cities - Marketwired .". http://marketwired.sys-con.com/node/3356832.
25. ↑ "Veniam Named to FierceWireless "Fierce 15" Top Wireless Company List of 2015". http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/veniam-named-to-fiercewireless-fierce-15-top-wireless-company-list-of-2015-2029150.htm.
26. ↑ "About Us - Our Operations - Other Operations - Liberty Global Ventures". http://www.libertyglobal.com/ventures.html.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 "Verizon Ventures leads $22 mln Series B funding in Veniam". 12 February 2016. https://www.pehub.com/2016/02/661333/.
28. ↑ "Liberty Global - largest international cable company". http://www.libertyglobal.com/.
29. ↑ "Welcoming Veniam". 2 December 2014. https://trueventures.com/welcoming-veniam.
30. ↑ "Introducing Veniam - Union Square Ventures". 2 December 2014. https://www.usv.com/blog/introducing-veniam.
31. ↑ "Veniam'Works Makes Buses Wi-Fi Hotspots". http://cmuportugal.org/tiercontent.aspx?id=5464.
32. ↑ "European Union Women Innovators prize 2016 - Innovation Union - European Commission". http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?section=women-innovators&pg=2016.
33. ↑ Engenharia, Agri-Ciência, Consultores de. "Start-ups and Spin-offs". https://www.it.pt/AboutIT/PartnershipsStartUpsAndSpinOffs.
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Jornal Online - Universidade de Aveiro". https://uaonline.ua.pt/Pub/news.asp?tg=144&lg=pt&pg=1.

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