NoTraffic raises $17.5 million from former Uber exec

NoTraffic has raised $17.5 million in a Series A round led by Nielsen Ventures, a firm founded by former Uber and Dropbox executive and ex-Balderton Capital GP Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen and VEKTOR Partners, a VC firm focused on mobility disruption.

Leading early-stage venture capital investment firm Grove Ventures, insurance leader Menora Mivtachim Group and Meitav Dash also participated, alongside existing investors, lool ventures, which led the company’s Seed round, Next Gear Ventures, and North First Ventures. Lior Handelsman, one of the founders of SolarEdge and Grove Ventures’ general partner, will join the NoTraffic’s board.

NoTraffic was founded in 2017 by Tal Kreisler, Uriel Katz and Or Sela to bridge the innovation gap between all mobility fields. It give city planners more insight and control over their traffic infrastructure and also helps upgrade and future-proof this infrastructure to support the rise of autonomous vehicles and other current and future shifts in digital mobility.

In trials and partnerships with transport authorities across North America including the City of Phoenix and in the State of California, NoTraffic’s automated system has been shown to drop waiting times by as much as 50%. In an average city, NoTraffic has been shown to remove 26,000 tons of emissions – equal to taking around 5,700 vehicles off the road – and saving motorists 4,655 months of time stuck in traffic jams a year.

“NoTraffic is reinventing how entire towns, cities and countries move,” said Fjeldsoe-Nielsen. “Instead of looking at the challenges presented by traffic jams, its approach looks at the opportunities provided by improved traffic flow.

“Its pragmatic, bigger-picture view has seen it build a solution that works with and for everyone in a city; the authorities and their planners, commuters, tourists, businesses, and pedestrians, for decades to come. I’m delighted to join them on this journey.”

CEO of NoTraffic Kreisler said: “The current fundraising round is of strategic importance to us, and will help us to extend the technological breakthrough on which our developments are based, and support the expansion of our business activities.”

Handelsman said: “NoTraffic’s technology is a one-of-kind opportunity to transform traffic management systems, bringing digitalization, IoT, and automation to cities’ roads based on deep technology capabilities, real-time data and unique AI expertise. We believe in NoTraffic’s exceptional team and we are sure they will continue to build and grow, changing cities’ infrastructure and making it more efficient, safe, and cost-effective.”

Following an increase in demand for the platform, the funding will be used to expand the NoTraffic team across all departments including research and development, business, marketing, and sales as well as to expand into new markets. NoTraffic is planning to arrive in Europe this year and is looking into other markets and verticals.