Techstars Mobility and NAIAS Announce Startup Applications Now Open for 2018 AutoMobili-D

"The feedback and business success stories we've heard from startups that participated in AutoMobili-D have been very inspiring," said Ryan LaFontaine, 2018 NAIAS Chairman. "This is what made AutoMobili-D such a critical addition to the North American International Auto Show and has provided us with limitless opportunities for future growth and business collaboration."

Interested startups can apply here via the NAIAS website. Startups that apply before October 31st receive a discounted rate of $499 versus the normal rate of $999.

"The worldwide response from startups that came to last year's AutoMobili-D blew me away," said Ted Serbinski, Managing Director of Techstars Mobility. "If you're building anything innovative in the automotive mobility industry, you're going to pass through Detroit at some point. AutoMobili-D is the perfect entry point for early-stage innovative startups to build up their network with key influencers and decision makers in the automotive mobility industry."

Startup Success Stories from 2017 AutoMobili-D

Nearly 50 startups participated from all around the globe, including the U.S., Canada, Dubai, London, and Portugal. The technologies included artificial intelligence and machine learning, to autonomous and connected platforms, to infrastructure communications and security applications.

One of those startups is Acerta, which offers an artificial intelligence platform for machine analytics that provides automakers and suppliers with automatic and real-time malfunction detection and failure prediction. At AutoMobili-D, founder Greta Cutulenco met ZF Group, one of the largest global suppliers. ZF Group soon became a key customer, which helped lead to Acerta raising a $2M seed round.

In addition, NAIAS and Techstars Mobility received feedback from startups stating they garnered significant customer leads and business development opportunities. Here are a few statements from the founders of the startups:
•"It was a cream of the crop event. You can network more in four days at AutoMobili-D than in four years through other channels." — John Mohyi, CEO & Co-Founder, Mohyi Labs
•"It was an amazing way for our company to not only get access to top players in the automotive industry but to actually talk with the top-level decision makers." — Jordan Warzecha, CEO & Co-Founder, Backstitch
•"AutoMobili-D is a great place to get attention and build relationships with OEMs, tier 1 suppliers, investors & other autotech founders." — James Bellefeuille, Vugo
•"Amazing opportunity to engage with leading automotive executives. We were amazed by the quality of the meetings." — Stefanie Lemke, CEO & Co-Founder, GoKid
•"The show was really valuable for us because of the relationships we were able to foster. The BizDevDay meetings alone made the trip worthwhile." — Jon Harmer, COO & Co-Founder, LaaSer
•"It was exactly what we needed." — Shiva Bhardwaj, CEO & Co-Founder, Pitstop
•"Without a doubt one of the most important events to be a part of." — Evan Saunders, Head of Sales & Marketing, URB-E
•"It was simply amazing. Being surrounded by other startups and tech companies in the AutoMobili-D space gave us a thorough understanding of what the future of the auto industry will look like." — Mohsen Mohsenpour, ShiftRide