Auto Supplier INRIX Agrees to Buy Software Firm OpenCar

Auto supplier INRIX Inc. said it has agreed to purchase a small software developer that could help auto makers lessen reliance on Apple Inc. or Google parent Alphabet Inc. for connected features in cars and trucks.

Closely held INRIX, based near Seattle, is snapping up OpenCar Inc. for an undisclosed price. INRIX executives say they plan on integrating their company's homegrown traffic data and other services into OpenCar's programs so that cars can suggest routes based on driver behavior.

"This will position INRIX head-to-head with Google and Apple," INRIX Chief Executive Bryan Mistele said in an interview. "Car makers don't want to give full control of the dashboard to these tech giants."

Mr. Mistele said the acquisition could lead to a tripling of sales because of new opportunities. INRIX became better known in the auto industry when Fontinalis Partners, a venture-capital firm co-founded by Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford, invested in it. Porsche SE, the holding company that controls Volkswagen AG, and venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers have also helped fund INRIX.

As most car companies commit to adding Apple's CarPlay or Google's Android Auto— in-dash digital systems that mirror the screen and the key functions of a user's phone—auto executives have also continued investing in their own systems that connect drivers to the outside world. By continuing to develop in-house systems, auto makers can continue to collect data and offer services via internal software and Internet connection.

Today, applications are used mostly through a driver's phone and not on the car's computer.

"We're excited to see additional competition in this important connected car segment," said Marcus Keith, who runs the Audi AG division that handles in-car connectivity.

OpenCar was founded five years ago and had been funded by Mazda Motor Corp. before the purchase. INRIX was founded in 2005 by former Microsoft Corp. executives Mr. Mistele and Craig Chapman. INRIX has been building a portfolio of capabilities through acquisitions. in September, the company purchased ParkMe, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based company that helps consumers find, reserve and pay for parking world-wide, adding to INRIX's leading global position in traffic-data services.

INRIX collects data from consumer and commercial vehicles, mobile phones, municipalities, toll booths, parking structures and parking meters to give a real-time picture of traffic and parking. The company is the primary provider of data behind congestion maps on mobile phones and navigation systems in vehicles and the main source of traffic data for local and federal governments in 40 countries.

Write to Mike Ramsey at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 09, 2016 07:35 ET (12:35 GMT)

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