vialytics has won 2nd place at the "AI Beyond Borders Awards" (AIBBA). This award is presented by the AI Competence Center, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and German Entrepreneurship GmbH. The AIBBA honors German startups that cross national borders with outstanding AI solutions and conquer an international market. At the startup festival "Bits & Pretzels" in Munich, vialytics Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist Danilo Jovicic-Albrecht accepted the award.
"This award means a lot to us, as we only entered the US market this year," said Danilo Jovicic-Albrecht after the award ceremony in Munich. "It took an incredible team effort to achieve this success." As one of three awarded German AI startups, vialytics can look forward to € 15,000 of prize money. In addition, the three winners will receive a package of benefits and opportunities to help the companies scale internationally.
For vialytics, the award is a great confirmation of the steps the company has dared to take in recent years. After the first municipalities in other European countries were won as customers as early as 2021 and vialytics France was founded as the first independent subsidiary outside Germany, the entry into the US market followed in spring 2023 with another vialytics subsidary. Co-founder and CPTO Achim Hoth explains the challenges this step entailed: "At first glance, a road is just a road, a fairly universal asset. But if you take a closer look, every country has its own special features, be it the way the road is made or visual differences. It's very important for us that our AI is robust enough to work on any road in any country and deliver good results."
To sustain international success in the coming years, vialytics now benefits from the German Entrepreneurship’s and the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection’s "US Market Access" program. As part of the award, the three winners will have access to funding in January 2024. For vialytics, this opportunity is a crucial in gaining a foothold abroad and building a network of partners. Danilo Jovicic-Albrecht concludes by summarizing vialytics' recipe for success: "We have an international team, we think globally and overcome borders. There is no other award that fits better with our values and our mission: providing every city with vialytics and helping people in local government with our system."