JAGUAR LAND ROVER EXPANDS FUTURE TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH OPERATIONS IN PORTLAND, OREGON

 (MAHWAH, NJ) – July 27, 2016 – Jaguar Land Rover continues to grow its future technology research efforts in Portland, Ore., with the announcement of a new state‑of‑the‑art facility, 30 new engineering roles and three new innovative start‑up companies joining its Tech Incubator program.

To oversee this exciting technology research expansion for Jaguar Land Rover, Rupert Poole has been announced as the new Senior Collaborations Manager for Future Technology and will run all Jaguar Land Rover Technology Centers in Portland, as well as manage collaborations within the Tech Incubator. Poole brings to his new role over 20 years of automotive experience, 14 of which were with Jaguar Land Rover, where he most recently held the position of Head of Future Infotainment in the UK.

As part of its Tech Incubator program, Jaguar Land Rover today also announced the three latest start‑up companies to join its Portland center: AVE, Validated and Lyfeboat. These companies will work alongside Jaguar Land Rover to explore the development of future infotainment technologies in the U.S and join current Jaguar Land Rover Tech Incubator start‑ups Workfrom, SICdrone and Carfit.

“With the rapid growth and evolution of future technology, it’s an incredibly exciting time to be leading Jaguar Land Rover’s Technology Center and Incubator program in Portland,” said Rupert Poole, Portland Senior Collaboration Manager, Jaguar Land Rover. “The latest start‑ups to join our Tech Incubator, AVE, Validated and Lyfeboat share our spirit of innovation and we’re excited to work with them to explore ways of enhancing the driver experience for our customers.”

Over a six month period, as part of the Incubator program, these three new start‑ups will be given a combination of direct investment and services, development support from engineers, internal and external mentorship and designated space in the new Jaguar Land Rover Tech Incubator in Portland.

AVE optimizes in‑vehicle entertainment experiences to meet the expectations of the growing number of passengers, in both the front and rear of cars. Using AVE’s technology, brands can deliver existing content to infotainment systems in a format that is highly efficient, easily consumable and consistent with other in‑car user control models.

Validated is an app that lets shops, restaurants and other businesses buy their customers a ride or pay for their parking. For merchants, Validated is a tool to boost spending and build loyalty. Validated is currently live in Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles.

Lyfeboat is an innovative software that provides easy‑to‑use logistics and online booking tools for auto service centers, allowing them to communicate directly and transparently with their customers.

To further Jaguar Land Rover’s future technology research, the company has also announced the addition of a new 20,000 sq. ft., state‑of‑the‑art vehicle center, focused on the development and trial of new technologies and in‑car experiences for customers. This new facility is scheduled to open in late 2016, with plans for Jaguar Land Rover to recruit and employ up to 30 additional developers and engineers in‑house. In July 2014, Jaguar Land Rover opened its Open Software Technology Center (OSTC) in Portland, for its proximity to technology hubs in California and Seattle. The Jaguar Land Rover Tech Incubator opened in January 2016 and together, the two facilities have grown to have approximately 80 employees. The innovative Incubator was created to encourage, promote and support new automotive and connected‑car technologies that are being developed by U.S. start‑ups. The Jaguar Land Rover Incubator has committed to selecting around 120 start‑up companies to work with over the next decade.

Current and past JLR Tech Incubator companies include:

• ParkIT‑ Computer vision/machine learning technology using cameras to collect real‑time parking availability data and lot utilization analytics to improve the parking experience for drivers, parking managers, and cities.
• Urban.Systems ‑ builds vibrant communities using technology to facilitate civic engagement, deliver services and share resources. They do this through an open, secure, transaction platform and a searchable catalog of solutions compatible with this platform.
• BabyBit™ ‑ a small wearable sensor you snap onto your baby’s clothing. It connects through the caregiver’s smartphone and sends notifications throughout the day, giving new parents the information they need when they can't be with their baby. 
• Workfrom ‑ a platform that connects the growing community of nomadic workers, creatives, freelancers, independent professionals and entrepreneurs with the businesses that support a work anywhere culture. 
• SICdrone ‑ a UAS solutions company that builds off the platform of: Speed, Stability, Payload and Distance.
• Carfit ‑ a device that monitors vibrations of the steering wheel to analyze driving information and road conditions, enabling drivers to make informed decisions on usage, costs and maintenance.

The start‑up companies from the inaugural group selected for the Jaguar Land Rover Tech Incubator have already begun to see successes. ParkIT has started further collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover and has secured a real‑world trial of their technology with the city of Portland, while Urban.Systems has been working with a number of companies globally on its open connected infrastructure platform and are currently in the final stages of its next round of funding.  BabyBit™ has seen successes as well, with extensive national coverage of their demonstrated infant wearing technology with vehicles.

To learn more about the Jaguar Land Rover Incubator, or to apply, please visit: https://www.jlrtechincubator.com