Driveway Software

Driveway Software, founded in 2011 by Igor Katsman and Jake Diner, operates within the insurance technology sector, providing a specialized telematics platform for the usage-based insurance (UBI) market. The company was established to offer a cost-effective solution for auto insurance carriers of all sizes, enabling them to enter the UBI market without the substantial investment previously required for hardware-based systems.

The core of Driveway's business is its end-to-end, smartphone-based telematics platform, which was designed with both the insurer and the consumer in mind. The platform leverages the sensors already present in a driver's smartphone, combined with cloud-based analytics and machine learning, to monitor driving behavior. This eliminates the need for a physical OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) device to be installed in the vehicle. The technology automatically detects trips and analyzes driving patterns, scoring drivers on metrics such as speeding, aggressive braking, acceleration, cornering, and phone distraction. This data provides automotive insurers with comprehensive intelligence for more accurate risk assessment and premium pricing.

The business model is centered on providing this platform to insurance companies as a turnkey solution. Revenue is generated by enabling insurers to more accurately price policies based on individual risk profiles, which can lead to increased profits by attracting and appropriately pricing safer drivers. The company has partnered with firms like Pinnacle Actuarial Resources and Zurich Insurance Company to deliver its solutions. In July 2021, the assets of Driveway Software were acquired by Earnix, a software provider for insurers and banks, to integrate Driveway's telematics app into a new UBI and Behavior-Based Insurance (BBI) offering.

The company achieved significant milestones, including securing a $1.3 million seed round in 2013 and a subsequent $10 million Series A funding round in 2015. By 2015, its consumer app, Drivewise.ly, had collected over 500 million miles of driving data from more than 250,000 drivers. Founder Igor Katsman, who served as CTO and later CEO, brought over 20 years of executive experience and has authored 16 patents. He holds a Master's in Computer Sciences from Technion University and an Executive MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

Keywords: usage-based insurance, UBI, telematics, insurtech, driver behavior analytics, smartphone telematics, auto insurance, risk assessment, driver scoring, mobile telematics, cloud analytics, driving data, behavioral-based insurance, BBI, fleet management, safe driving, insurance pricing, vehicle tracking software, mobile signal processing, big data analytics