At yesterday’s investor event in New York, we presented two strategic partnerships that play key roles in our expansion into richer infotainment and the connected car. These alliances demonstrate our desire to accelerate growth in infotainment and connectivity by collaborating with industry partners on next-generation technology.
Our new partners, OpenSynergy and Autonet Mobile, are acclaimed for developing innovative solutions for the integration of consumer applications and services into the automotive environment. Both partnerships are based on a shared vision – and ambition – to become technology leaders in infotainment and connected services.
OpenSynergy, a specialist in embedded automotive systems, delivers infotainment solutions that bridge the gap between open source infotainment and the traditionally “closed” automotive domain. This collaboration introduces “virtualization” into our OpenAir™ infotainment platform – a virtual software environment that allows various operating systems to run in a safe, automotive-grade environment. This is a key requirement for developing next-generation infotainment systems.
Autonet Mobile, an internet-based telematics and application service provider, enhances our ability to connect drivers, passengers and the vehicle to the Cloud, delivering the seamlessly connected experience consumers demand. Under the agreement, Visteon will be the exclusive provider to Autonet Mobile’s aftermarket and accessory business, as well as the go-to-market partner for all OEM factory-installed devices using Autonet’s connected services, smartphone applications and persistent connection Internet protocol. The partnership opens doors into our customer’s connected services strategy, marketing and sales departments. We will build better connectivity products as a result of our understanding of connected services.
The Autonet and OpenSynergy teams share our excitement. Together we will be able to innovate with greater speed, efficiency and capability. By investing in growth-stage companies, we secure early involvement in the development of next-generation technologies.
Congratulations to all involved. It was a significant effort to bring home these important partnerships and it will take much broader team effort to help them succeed. I look forward to reporting back on the progress we make and hearing your feedback as well.