Q: Tell us a little bit about your company and how it is using innovative methods to solve urban challenges?
A: Mobilyze.ai is a data analytics platform bringing unprecedented market intelligence to the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem. We use high-resolution spatial data to predict household-level EV purchase intent. Our platform allows automakers to micro-target EVs to households most likely to adopt and allows utilities and charge point operators to optimize the deployment of EV charging stations and grid infrastructure.
Q: What inspired you to start your company?
A: EVs are fun to drive and have the potential to make urban mobility vastly more sustainable, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particulate emissions and noise. When asked, 36% of Americans say their next car will be electric. And with new EV models coming to market every day, EV ownership is something these people can do right now. However, only 2% of Americans are buying EVs today, with shoppers saying they don’t fully understand how EVs work, where they would recharge an EV, or what incentives they might be eligible for. We started Mobilyze.ai to solve this problem of EV adoption, providing the information firms and consumers need to make mass-market EV adoption a reality.
Q: Tell us why you decided to apply to the URBAN-X Program? What were the key takeaways for your company during the program?
A: We applied for URBAN-X to learn from a community of entrepreneurs and investors experienced in building disruptive urban-tech companies. Key takeaways for us have been about the economics of venture-backed SaaS businesses, and how to navigate the longer selling cycles in regulated and slow-moving industries.
Q: What advice to you have for other startups and/ or inspiring entrepreneurs looking to reimagine urban life?
A: Find a problem that is a serious pain point in your industry and figure out who is willing to pay a lot of money to make it go away. And above all else, just get started!