Revolutionizing the In-Vehicle Connected Experience: An Interview with Todd Thomas, CRO of Aiden Automotive
I had the pleasure of interviewing Todd Thomas the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of Aiden Automotive. Todd joined Aiden from his most recent position as the CEO of a stealth startup within the SBD Radical Innovation Accelerator. He is a recognized voice in connected products & services, connected vehicles, telematics, mobility, IOT, AI and data science.
Todd’s projects include GM’s OnStar Guardian and Verizon hum, and was the 2020 Google Android for Cars Open Innovation “Shark Tank” Champion. He has an Economics degree from Claremont McKenna College, has studied Strategy Execution at the Harvard Business School, and has an MBA and an MS in Data Science from the WP Carey School of Business, ASU.
What motivated you to launch your startup?
It’s been 20 years and connected cars still aren’t really connected to anything. The in-vehicle connected experience is clunky and extremely limited. Drivers still rely on their phones anytime they need something in the car like finding and paying for parking or charging, finding something to eat, getting online, or anything.
Aiden was created to finally connect connected cars and to make the in-vehicle experience seamless, responsive and convenient, to finally turn cars into smart cars.
What is it that excites you about what you’re building?
There is huge demand for a connected in-vehicle experience from drivers, and auto manufacturers, and from companies that want to deliver their services into cars like parking services, charging networks, in-vehicle shopping, insurance, predictive maintenance, fleet management… the list is endless.
AiDEN’s mission is to make the in-vehicle experience seamless, responsive and convenient, while at the same time creating revenue streams for both auto manufacturers and service partners.
The Aiden platform also provides a simple and intuitive 100% GDPR and CCPA-compliant consent management enabling car owners to choose which digital services they want, who they want to share their data with, and who they don’t.
What has been your biggest challenge when growing your startup?
Aiden is something brand new. We’re not a data aggregator, we don’t use hardware or mobile apps. Aiden is a services platform: the first connected services software solution to provide streaming 2-way communication directly with the vehicle and across vehicle brands.
Our biggest challenge has been in helping partners and investors understand the impact of this new way to communicate and deliver services into vehicles and the nearly limitless services and monetization opportunities the Aiden Services Hub unlocks.
What are your future plans for your startup?
We were just in Porto, Portugal at the Connected Vehicle Conference. The AiDEN Services Hub showcased LetMePark, LetMeCharge and OnMyWay™ Commerce live in a Lynk & Co EV-connected car. Guests stepped into the car and experienced seamless parking and charging services, and MAVI’s OnMyWay™ Commerce, including ordering the evening’s signature Porto Pink Tonic cocktail through the in-vehicle user experience.
Starting in May we will be rolling out live on Lynk&Co cars and on Volvo & Renault Trucks across the EU. In late 2023 and early 2024 we’ll be rolling out on Volvo & Mack Trucks in the US.
We are actively engaged in multiple additional projects with almost every other major auto OEM and are attracting a ton of interest from every major car insurance carrier.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
AidenAuto.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/aidenauto/mycompany/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-thomas-52021433/
This was very insightful. Thank you so much for joining us!
