The Portuguese startup founded by the Técnico alumnus Luís Rita – CycleAI – won the WSA European Young Innovators, an initiative aimed at young innovators who use digital technology to achieve the UN SDGs.
Luís Rita shares the satisfaction and enthusiasm with of the CycleAI team to be among “the most prominent European innovators”, and stresses that all the recognition they have been receiving are important. “We don’t want to be just another ‘award-winning startup’. Our goal and most important victory will be achieved when the app reaches our target community”, he stresses.
According to the Técnico alumnus, the social impact of the project “is our greatest asset” and might have been a decisive factor. “We developed a cutting-edge AI technology, and we counted with the participation of Codrin Bostan in the engineering team”, adds Miguel Peliteiro, co-founder of CycleAI.
This victory is an important step for CycleAI growth, and will allow the team to have more visibility, “which is very important for a startup whose growth is organic”, says Luís Rita. “The prototyping process is the most important moment to make our work visible abroad”, adds the alumnus. The participation of the Portuguese startup in the WSA European Young Innovators 2021 is already bearing fruit, as CycleAI was able to attract the attention of a multinational.
Recently, CycleAI was one of the startups selected to be part of Microsoft for Startups. “Getting the support of a multinational of this size was a dream come true. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to get what we need – mentoring and resources – to tackle the final stage of CycleAI development”, points out Miguel Peliteiro. “We couldn’t ask for more. At the same time, it turns out to be a notorious validation of what we have been creating, which makes us feel very pleased”, adds the co-founder of CycleAI.
The team is about to launch the route planner – faster, shorter and safer. “In a first phase, the app will be a pure and simple route planner, and will have free access”, explains Luís Rita. The access to the route planner must be done through CycleAI website.
CycleAI was founded in 2020 with the aim of empowering cyclists in fighting for their own safety. The app will help to ensure safer cycling in cities through AI.
