SAN DIEGO--May 16, 2013: SmartDrive Systems, a leader in driving performance solutions that reduce collisions and improve fuel efficiency, today announced it had been selected as a finalist for Red Herring's Top 100 North America award, a prestigious list honoring the year's most promising private technology ventures from the North American business region.
“We are honored to be recognized as a finalist for Red Herring's Top 100 award for 2013”
As the market demand for Big Data solutions for fleets grows, SmartDrive, with the world's largest database of over 61 million recorded and analyzed risky driving events, continues to lead the industry with technology that mines vehicle performance information combined with its proprietary sensor data and analytics, providing actionable intelligence and insights for fleets worldwide. SmartDrive has incorporated a driver-centric approach that arms both fleets and their individual drivers to improve on unsafe and fuel inefficiency maneuvers, greatly lowering collisions, fuel waste as well as carbon emissions. Leading transportation organizations using SmartDrive include Salvation Army, Veolia, Loomis, and the U.S. Marines.
"We are honored to be recognized as a finalist for Red Herring's Top 100 award for 2013," said SmartDrive CEO Steve Mitgang. "Fleets today are recognizing the importance and value of using driving intelligence to gauge and improve fleet performance. Our platform is helping to accelerate the transformation of fleets into more operationally efficient and profitable businesses."
Red Herring has been selecting the most exciting and promising start-ups and "scale ups" since 1995. Finalists are still evaluated individually from a large pool of hundreds of candidates based across North America. Twenty major criteria underlie the scoring and process. They include, among others: the candidate company's addressable market size, its IP and patents, its financing, the proof of concept, trailing revenues and management's expertise. Each company goes through an individual interview after filling out a thorough submission, complemented by a due diligence. The list of finalists often includes the best performing and prominent companies of that year.
This unique assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the company's actual track record and standing, which allows Red Herring to see past the "buzz" and make the list a valuable instrument for discovering and advocating the greatest business opportunities in the industry.
2013 will be remembered as a special vintage. "The finalists list confirms the excellent choices made by entrepreneurs and VCs and the start-ups' solid roots in corporate America, embracing their innovations. By all metrics, it emphasizes the United States' entrepreneurial excellence," said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring.
Finalist selections for the 2013 edition of the Red Herring 100 North America award are based upon technological innovation, management strength, market size, investor record, customer acquisition and financial health. During the several months leading up to the announcement, hundreds of companies in the fields of security, Web 2.0, software, hardware, life sciences, cloud, mobile and others completed their submissions to qualify for the award.
Finalists are asked to present their winning strategies at the Red Herring North America Forum in Monterey, Calif., May 21 to 23, 2013. The Top 100 winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony the evening of May 23 at the event.