NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) announced today its investment in ActiveScaler Inc., a startup that develops Managed MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) systems powered by artificial intelligence, alongside DENSO, a leading global automotive components manufacturer, as well as other strategic investors. ActiveScaler will use the investment to continue development and deployment of its Managed MaaS system for leading mobility operators and fleet service providers.

“We want to be the engine behind the future of MaaS – hence the term “Managed MaaS”, which will transform current fleet businesses to provide next generation mobility services,” said Abhay Jain, CEO of ActiveScaler. “Traditional fleet management services and systems are quickly becoming obsolete because of issues like high upfront software and hardware costs, poor ecosystem integration, and lack of flexibility, which are limiting the type and quality of services that can be offered.”

With the increase in global demand for more scalable and efficient services for moving people and goods, ActiveScaler aims to be the leading provider of fully automated operations management for transportation businesses. We accelerate growth and simplify implementation with a modular set of components that enable mobility service providers to deploy solutions to meet their evolving business needs. ActiveScaler is working with a variety mobility providers offering services ranging from regional door-to-door plan, book and pay services with multiple transport modes, to comprehensive AI-based systems for managing fleets of autonomous vehicles and delivery trucks. 

“Our new technology and fresh approach provides the ability to build end-to-end MaaS businesses featuring advanced analytics and automation, high security, and regulatory compliance while reducing environmental impact. This is essential for current as well as future businesses built around multi-mode transportation and autonomous vehicles,” continued Abhay Jain, CEO of ActiveScaler.

“Sumitomo is a leader in global fleet management and supports its customers in efficiently transporting passenger and cargo from point A to point B, so we see real value in ActiveScaler’s technology platform,” said Sam Kato, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Auto & Aerospace Group at SCOA.  “We believe this technology will aid the MaaS industry in optimizing fleet management efficiency and getting the best performance out of their vehicles. We look forward to supporting both ActiveScaler and the fleets by linking them together.”

Currently operating in Asia with over 400 fleets and 35,000 vehicles under management, ActiveScaler’s In-Motion™ platform is proven to be reliable and scalable while improving operational efficiency. Many types of fleets including taxi, limo, shuttles, busses, delivery and service vehicles and long-haul trucks are becoming part of the MaaS movement and making operational efficiency a priority.

The ActiveScaler founding team includes Abhay Jain CEO, Paul Gulati COO, Amit Jain CTO, and David Nagy CMO, bringing broad experience from companies like Apple, Cisco, Evernote, F5, Nuko, Seeing Machines, Verifone, and @Road.

About Sumitomo Corporation of Americas
Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York City, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) has 9 offices in major U.S. cities. SCOA is the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world’s leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, the firm has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide. Its core business units include Tubular Products, Environment and Infrastructure, Steel and Non Ferrous Metals, Transportation and Construction Systems, Chemicals and Electronics, Media and IOT Applications, Real Estate, Mineral Resources and Energy, and Food. SCOA is an experienced leader in promoting advances in automobile manufacturing, and has provided technical innovations to aid U.S. enterprises like Ford, GM and Navistar. Its Transportation Unit provides total project management for its clients, including sourcing, logistics and installation of product equipment for leading manufacturers.   In collaboration with SCOA affiliate company, Presidio Ventures, an early stage investment firm headquartered in Silicon Valley for more than 20 years, SCOA is expanding its portfolio by incorporating new technologies emerging in the mobility space. For more information, visit www.sumitomocorp.com.

About ActiveScaler Inc.
ActiveScaler exponentially improves the flow of people and goods for transportation providers. The company’s Managed Mobility-as-a-Service (Managed MaaS) product suite includes FleetFactor™, In-Motion™ global platform and API, and IMBOT™ that revolutionize mobility by automating operations management with contextual analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Transportation providers can readily improve and expand service offerings while making sense of a growing stream of real-time data. ActiveScaler focuses on serving a range of transportation providers from individual mobility operators to multi-mode integrators and large scale commercial fleets. For more information, please visit www.activescaler.com.

About DENSO Corporation
DENSO Corp., headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electronics and information and safety. Its customers include all the world’s major carmakers. Worldwide, the company has more than 200 subsidiaries and affiliates in 38 countries and regions (including Japan) and employs more than 150,000 people. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, totaled US$40.4 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 9.0 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development.

DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges. For more information, go to www.denso.com, or visit our media website at www.denso.com/global/en/news/media-center/.

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SOURCE Sumitomo Corporation of Americas