Inrix Buys OpenCar to Take on Google and Apple

Inrix Inc., a traffic-mapping and connected-car service supplier, has acquired OpenCar Inc., a 5-year-old startup that has developed a platform for in-vehicle software apps. The deal positions Inrix as an option to Apple Inc.’s CarPlay and Google Inc.’s Android Auto smartphone vehicle interfaces.

Under the deal, OpenCar’s 15 employees—including CEO Jeff Payne—will join Inrix. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Inrix, which was spun off from Microsoft Corp. in 2005, supplies real-time traffic and weather data. Last September, it acquired ParkMe, a Santa Monica, Calif., company that helps drivers locate and reserve open parking spaces. Seattle-based OpenCar is located about 10 miles away from Inrix’s Kirkland, Wash., headquarters.

Inrix plans to start offering OpenCar’s software to customers this spring under the OpenCar name. The platform will allow carmakers to offer third-party apps and greater customization without ceding control to Apple or Google. New apps and software updates will be downloaded directly to a vehicle rather than mirrored from a user’s phone.

Inrix CEO Brian Mistele tells reporters the acquisition could triple the combined operations’ sales. This could include teaming OpenSource’s infotainment platform with Inrix’s new Autotelligent navigation system that incorporates past trip routes into predictive algorithms.

OpenCar’s software, which was partially funded by a just-ended five-year partnership with Mazda Motor Corp., would not operate as a true open source system, Automotive News notes. The newspaper says Inrix will manage content agreements with independent app developers and license the technology to carmakers, who will choose which apps to offer.

Inrix initially plans to target sales of OpenCar’s platform to its existing customer base, which includes Audi, BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Tesla, Toyota/Lexus, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Inrix claims to be the leading supplier of real-time traffic and parking information worldwide. In addition to carmakers and consumers, its customers include local and federal governments in 40 countries. The company predicts the global connected vehicle fleet will grow to more than 250 million units by 2020 from a small fraction of that today.