Miovision attracts $120-million of investor funding

Miovision, a Kitchener ON-based firm using computer vision, artificial intelligence and advanced modelling to help cities modernize their approach to traffic management, announced it has completed a CAD$120-million minority funding round, led by TELUS Ventures. This funding will help Miovision become the platform that cities across the globe will use to measure, manage, and optimize traffic congestion and safety. 

The TELUS Ventures investment was supported by a syndicate of investors led by McRock Capital – which invests exclusively in industrial IoT companies – and includes both new investors and existing investors who chose to increase their support for the company.

Accelerate the growth of smart traffic platform

Funds raised from this round will allow Miovision to accelerate the growth of its smart traffic platform, hiring the talent needed to quickly develop new product capabilities and bring them to market. The company aims to hire more than 100 new employees in 2020, increasing its Canadian workforce by 50 per cent.

“This funding round will help Miovision realize its goal of becoming the platform by which cities everywhere measure, manage and optimize traffic,” said Miovision co-founder and CEO Kurtis McBride. “I’m proud that our investors – including a world-leading communications company like TELUS – are as excited about our vision as we are and want to be a part of it.”

Kurtis McBride, CEO of Miovision.

Dedicated IoT network

As part of its investment, TELUS will also become the preferred wireless provider for Miovision worldwide. Leveraging TELUS’ dedicated IoT network, purpose-built for IoT connected devices, Miovision-equipped traffic signals will allow cities to remotely access, analyse, and action data generated at intersections.

“TELUS is taking bold steps to improve the lives of Canadians by investing in Smart City technology that will connect and empower municipalities to build stronger, safer communities,” said Rich Osborn, Managing Partner, TELUS Ventures. “With our investment and Miovision’s technology, we can further advance our goal of enabling remarkable human outcomes for Canadians – and citizens around the world – by easing traffic congestion, reducing carbon emissions and making intersections safer for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.”

TELUS will hold two positions

As part of its investment, TELUS will hold two positions on Miovision’s Board of Directors joining existing Board members, including: McRock’s Whitney Rockley, and early investors MacKinnon, Bennett & Co’s Ken MacKinnon and former BlackBerry Vice President, Strategic Alliances Chris Wormald.

Miovision was established in 2005, bringing to market a portable product that accurately gathers and analyses traffic data. In 2017, Miovision launched a smart traffic platform allowing cities to modernize their existing analog traffic signals by adding connectivity and video-based, multimodal traffic measurement and analysis. Miovision’s suite of products and services help cities to better understand, manage, and optimize traffic; reduce congestion and emissions; while improving traffic safety.

Better manage traffic

As urban areas grow, the pressing need to better manage traffic has helped Miovision achieve a revenue CAGR of 37.4 per cent over the last 10 years. Its products have processed more than 23 million hours of traffic video, counting more than nine billion vehicles in the process.

RBC Capital Markets acted as Miovision’s exclusive private placement agent for this round of investment – Miovision’s fourth. Three previous rounds of investment totalled $45 million.