AZOUR, Israel, February 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Ituran Location and Control Ltd. (NASDAQ: ITRN, TASE: ITRN),
today announced the launch of the DRIVE innovation center in
Tel Aviv to promote the
development of cutting edge Smart Mobility technology. The
innovation center is the first of its kind and will include a range
of activities aimed at providing assistance to start-ups and
entrepreneurs. These activities will include guidance in value
proposition validation through the creation of meaningful long-term
partnerships with leading mobility firms.
The initiative is sponsored by leading partners in the field
including Mayer Cars and Trucks, Hertz (NYSE: HTZ), Honda (NYSE:
HMC), Volvo Cars (Nasdaq Stockholm: VOLV-B.ST) as well as
Ituran.
The center incorporates a startup accelerator, advanced
prototyping labs and a co-working space. The center is designed to
support start-ups of all stages with guidance and expert advice.
DRIVE's partners will actively engage with the startups by
providing expertise, optional investments, and prototyping
development lab opportunities that may evolve into further business
relations. This joint work will enable the startups to receive
accelerated validation of their technology and business model.
DRIVE will be led by founding partners Omer Shachar, Dr. Tal
Cohen and Boaz Mamo. Mr.
Shachar is an investment executive from the Mayer Group. Dr.
Tal Cohen serves as adjunct
associate professor at the Georgia Institute
of Technology in Atlanta,
and is an entrepreneur who has founded and invested in companies,
now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Mr. Mamo is a specialist
in smart mobility entrepreneurship and founder of EcoMotion and
Capsule, a smart mobility accelerator.
Eyal Sheratzki, CEO of Ituran, commented: "We see
tremendous importance in the investment and development of new
technologies that will drive us to the forefront of technological
advancements, in an ever-changing market. Together with our
partners, we have established this incubator in order that we can
contribute our vast experience in the car market to talented and
motivated entrepreneurs and engineers. Our goal is to assist local
entrepreneurs in our field by providing them with our experience
and tools, and bring future DRIVE nurtured solutions into the use
of our customers around the world. For Ituran and its partners, we
will gain early access some of these most advanced ideas and
technology that are born within these companies."
According to DRIVE's CEO Boaz Mamo: "DRIVE was created from a
significant need in the world of smart mobility entrepreneurs to
hone innovations to real market needs through collaboration with
market leaders, creation of initial stage prototypes, and the
ability to back the collaboration with focused investments. DRIVE
will unite all its resources in order to locate and support the
most promising start-ups in the field of smart mobility in
Israel and around the world."
"The transportation industry is facing a dramatic change," he
continued. "DRIVE will have the ability to provide start-ups with a
clear visual of this changing market and to provide DRIVE's
partners with meaningful connections and innovation
opportunities."
About Ituran
Ituran provides location-based services, consisting
predominantly of stolen vehicle recovery and tracking services, as
well as wireless communications products used in connection with
its location-based services and various other applications. Ituran
offers mobile asset location, Stolen Vehicle Recovery, management
& control services for vehicles, cargo and personal security.
Ituran's subscriber base has been growing significantly since the
Company's inception to over 1m subscribers distributed globally.
Established in 1995, Ituran has over 1,300 employees worldwide,
provides its location based services and has a market leading
position in Israel, Brazil, Argentina and the
United States.
For more information, please visit Ituran's website, at:
http://www.ituran.com
Company Contact
Udi Mizrahi (udi_m@ituran.com )
VP Finance, Ituran
(Israel) +972-3-557-1348
International Investor Relations
Ehud Helft (ituran@gkir.com)
GK Investor Relations
(US) +1-646-201-9246
SOURCE Ituran Location and Control Ltd