TEL AVIV, 16 June, 2020 – Optibus, the cutting-edge software platform for public transportation, was selected among hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forum’s “Technology Pioneers”. Optibus plans and schedules the movements of vehicles and drivers, improving mass transit in hundreds of cities around the world. The company has also been supporting transportation agencies dealing with the complex service planning required for COVID-19 contingency plans and exit strategies.
The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers are early to growth-stage companies from around the world that are involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations, and are poised to have a significant impact on business and society. Technology Pioneers community is an integral part of the larger Global Innovators community of start-ups at the World Economic Forum.
Following its selection as Technology Pioneer, Optibus CEO and co-founder Amos Haggiag will be invited to participate at World Economic Forum activities, events and discussions throughout the year. Optibus will also contribute to Forum initiatives over the next two years, working with policymakers and private sector leaders to help define the global agenda on key issues.
“We’re excited to welcome Optibus to our 20th cohort of Technology Pioneers,” says Susan Nesbitt, Head of the Global Innovators Community, World Economic Forum. “Optibus and its fellow pioneers are developing cutting edge technologies all over the world. Beyond their innovations, these firms are contributing greatly to improving the state of the world.”
“Being acknowledged by the World Economic Forum as a technology pioneer is not just a great honor for Optibus. It also signals the crucial importance of public transportation in the global discourse about mobility, cities and the environment – and the role that technology plays in making them better,” says Haggiag. “Our innovative combination of advanced optimization algorithms, cloud computing and artificial intelligence can ultimately help reduce congestion and pollution in cities around the world.”
This year’s cohort selection marks the 20th anniversary of the Tech Pioneers community. Throughout its 20-year run, many Technology Pioneers have continuously contributed to advancement in their industries while some have even gone on to become household names. Past recipients include Airbnb, Google, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Palantir Technologies, Spotify, TransferWise, Twitter and Wikimedia.
2020 Tech Pioneer firms are shaping the future by advancing technologies such as AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain, biotechnology and many more. The diversity of these companies extends to their leadership as well, as over 25% of 2020 Tech Pioneers are female led. The firms also come from regions all around the world, extending their community far beyond Silicon Valley. The full list of Technology Pioneers can be found here.
Technology Pioneers have been selected based on the community’s selection criteria, which includes innovation, impact and leadership as well as the company’s relevance with the World Economic Forum’s Platforms.
All info on this year’s Technology Pioneers can be found here: http://wef.ch/techpioneers20
More information on past winners, information on the community and the application link can be found here.
About Optibus: Optibus is a cutting-edge software platform that brings much-needed innovation to the essential mobility mode at the heart of our cities: public transportation. Optibus leverages a robust combination of artificial intelligence, advanced optimization algorithms and distributed cloud computing to make public transportation smarter, better and more efficient – and ultimately nourish freedom of movement and sustainable cities. A cloud-native SaaS company founded in 2014, Optibus powers complex transit operations in over 300 cities around the world, planning and scheduling the movement of vehicles and drivers to improve the quality and reliability of transit service and make operations more efficient. Optibus is headquartered in Tel Aviv and has offices in New York, San Francisco, London and Dusseldorf. (www.optibus.com | info@optibus.com)
About World Economic Forum: The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).
About the Global Innovators:
The Global Innovators Community is a group of the world’s most promising start-ups and scale-ups that are at the forefront of technological and business model innovation. The World Economic Forum provides the Global Innovators Community with a platform to engage with public- and private-sector leaders and to contribute new solutions to overcome current crises and build future resiliency.
Companies who are invited to become Global Innovators will engage with one or more of the Forum’s Platforms, as relevant, to help define the global agenda on key issues.