Valencian Software Prized in Brazil

Perhaps they’re preparing for the World Cup when taxis will be as rare as an England victory, but Brazil has certainly taken note of the Valencian software company Taller de Innovación abierta, or Talleria, whose project Smartaxi won second prize at ‘Fi-Ware’ Smart Business convention  in the section: Smart Business & Industry, at the Campus Party Brazil.

The Project can provide taxi drivers with a heat map, and if the results are not as spectacular as they might be with Robert de Niro behind the wheel, nevertheless they will be able to discover with this app where the likeliest concentration of potential customers will be.

40 teams from 13 countries competed with the Valencian company, which has its home, like so many Valencian hi-tech firms, on the Campus of Valencia Polytechnic University (UPV).

Talleria uses BIG DATA, the analysis of data in real time, and is the leader in this field in Spain.

Talleria is also the first Spanish project supported by Silicon Valley’s Plug and Play, a global accelerator specialising in growing tech startups. Based in Sunnyvale California, its network includes over 300 tech startups, 180 investors and a community of leading Universities and corporate partners.

Talleria is a team of researchers led by CEO Federico Lopez and Valeriya Zaytseva, a Russian scientist who had previously won the Russian Mathematics Olympics and studied at the University of Moscow before coming to Valencia.

Also fundamental to the company was Bruno, a taxi driver friend whose complaints about cruising the city without finding customers was the initial inspiration for the project.

The European platform of Smart Cities and Communities, has also recognised the merits of Smartaxi for its contribution to improving the quality of life and air in European cities.