Introducing Valerann, IRF Start-up Label Winner 

The IRF Start-up Label is a recently launched IRF initiative designed to support high-potential mobility start-ups, help them showcase their credibility, and further build trust with their clients, investors, and employees. Winners of the label will benefit from IRF’s official endorsement for three consecutive years in which they will gain professional mentoring, exposure to relevant stakeholders in the IRF Network and assistance with bespoke actions aligned with start-up’s priorities. 

In 2021, the International Road Federation partnered with the FIA Smart Cities Global Start-up Contest to give one of the 18 finalists of the Season 5 Contest the possibility to obtain its IRF Start-up Label.  As a result, IRF together with the jury of international experts comprising representatives of FIA Smart Cities Partners, FIA Member Clubs and other organisations, selected Valerann as the recipient of the label. 

When it comes to transforming mobility, data becomes a key element to assess and quantify the gap between where we stand and where we want to be – but that is not enough. In order to fully transform mobility, we need more innovative companies to change the way we think, we plan, we design, we deliver, and we manage transport systems. We believe Valerann to be one of them, we see their potential to think out of the box and bring that innovation we need, by transforming data into intelligence. 

1. Could you tell us in a few words what Valerann is about? 

Valerann stands for certainty through data. Today, road operators have access to near limitless data. Yet, time after time we see these operators resort to manual and labour-intensive methods to identify, locate, verify and respond to events. Most operators still use phone calls as their primary means of detection and patrol as their main way of verifying accidents. This is not because they do not have access to data. Rather, it is because they do not trust the data to make critical decisions; the loops are not calibrated, the cameras are not aligned, open sources are too noisy… there is always a (good!) reason why they do not rely on these individual sources of data to make life or death decisions. We fix that. We created a platform that automatically collects, analyses, fuses, and verifies all of the relevant data sources. This allows the operators to make faster and better decisions, in real time; saving lives, time, and money. 

2. To understand it better, could you give us one example of a problem one of your clients has encountered and how has Valerann helped him? 

One of our clients had needed to improve their response to incidents. We worked with them to analyse 10 years of historical data and created a machine learning module that predicted what areas had the highest likelihood of an accident given traffic flow, weather, visibility, road works, time of day, etc. This helped them deploy their patrol more effectively, prioritise response more deliberately, focus their attention to the right place at the right time, which ultimately helped reduce reaction times and increase safety 

3. Now let’s talk about the Valerann team. How was Valerann born and why is your team the perfect fit for the solution you propose?

Valerann was created 5 years ago. We actually started by looking into the world of in-road sensors to help collect high fidelity data from the road, but soon understood that the problem was not the lack of data, it was the lack of trust in existing data. We have built our team around this concept with experienced tech executives, PhDs, ITS experts and more. However, our team is not yet complete. We are hiring across the board, so go check out our website! 

4. What are your expectations as an IRF Start-up Label Winner?

The recognition from IRF is already a huge boost to our credibility and visibility in the market. It is an honour. We hope that we can also work with IRF to connect with partners who would find our offering valuable and help us connect with the right people there to smoothen the process. 

5. Where do you see Valerann in 10 years? 

In 10 years Valerann will allow operators of all sizes; from National motorway authorities to small municipalities the ability to actively manage their road; making it safer, greener, and less costly. We will do this through a completely virtual control centre that sources (anonymous) information from vehicles, social media, navigation apps, and public contributors. No setup time, no integration fees. Go on the Valerann website, select your road areas, and we will instantly generate your virtual control centre and allow you to start managing your road  

Michael Vardi
CBO at Valerann

Gabriel Jacobson
CEO at Valerann

Daniel Yakovich
COO at Valerann

Ran Katzir
CTO at Valerann