The sporting event or concert was fun, but escaping from the crowded venue to return home, or on to another destination, can present several dilemmas—dealing with traffic if you drive yourself, catching a ride share or cab that can be costly, or relying on public transportation, if it’s available.
But what if a fleet of small vans that could whisk one away for just a few bucks just happened to “know” a game or show would soon be letting out and headed to the venue, waiting and available for a quick getaway?
That’s the theory behind group rideshare company Fetti’s new NeuralShuttle. The Fetii AI platform trains on data gathered from past trips, operating its original group rideshare shuttle, and then future group and NeuralShuttle trips.
“Once we’ve gotten the signals based on historical data that is able to predict future demand for these situations, we then dispatch the appropriate number of vehicles to certain spots, as well as the fact we’ll dispatch the vehicles to the stadium for post event transportation, and, basically provide the information through the system of where those vehicles need to go, when they need to go there. Everything automated, powered by the Fetii AI,” explained Fetii CEO Matthew Iommi, in an interview.
Still in its early days of operation, Fetii’s NeuralShuttle has already found a lucrative partner in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the home of the Atlanta Falcons NFL football team, transporting fans to and from games.
Fetii already had lots of data on Atlanta from its group rideshare business.
“We were able to come to them and say our artificial intelligence, Fetii AI is telling us that we have a lot of fans that are originating from this area within this city,” explained Iommi. “If we set up shuttling points from there to there, we’re able to officially transport people to the game, decrease congestion, enhance costs, and only dedicate the amount of vehicles that our AI is telling us is needed.”
Fetii is also ran a pilot program with State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL Arizona Cardinals, for a Morgan Wallen concert.
In Texas, concert goers at the Live and the Station and Chilliest music festivals were able to catch rides on NeuralShuttle vans, according to Iommi.
Each van carries a driver and 14 passengers and is operated by what Fetii calls its vehicle service providers, or VSPs. They’re essentially individual operators working through the Fetii system.
Riders can reserve a spot on the Fetii app, or simply walk on board and scan a QR code to pay, Iommi said.
The shuttle won’t necessarily take riders to their final destinations, but drop them off at central locations that Fetii’s AI has “determined is a good fit for the customer,” Iommi explained.
Fetii is rolling out NeuralShuttle slowly. Indeed, Iommi says the service hasn’t really had its official public launch, explaining “Obviously, we wanted to train the AI and make sure that we worked out all the quirks before we did this mass announcement.”
The goal, he said, is to eventually offer NeuralShuttle service in all 12 cities where Fetii operates.
It’s the next big move for the rapidly growing company Iommi and his a college buddy at Texas A&M University started in 2020 when they noticed group of students on the move who used traditional rideshare services were often split up due to the small capacity of the vehicles.
The company they named Fetii, after a South Pacific term for family, began offering a ride sharing service that only serves groups using 15-seat vans. Initially funded by the partners selling off an online tutoring service they also owned plus some cash from what Iommi calls “angel investors.”
Fetii’s found many more such angels in the last five years as it expanded to a dozen U.S. cities, moving two million passengers in six states.
Among its deep-pocketed backers are investor Mark Cuban and startup incubator Y Combinator who joined Goodwater Capital and others in a $7.35 million seed round funding earlier this year.
At the time, Cuban said he was attracted to Fetii after his daughter told him she enjoyed using the service.
“My daughter has used it many times and raved about it,” Cuban explained in an interview last January conducted via email. “She suggested I reach out. She thought it would be a great investment. So I talked to the team and really love what they are doing. So I invested.”
Fetii bolstered its leadership recently, bringing on former DoorDash executive Chad Dennis as head of driver and fleet operations, Iommi said.
The company is also raising revenue through an in-app advertising program as well as sponsored vehicle wraps.
But aside from expansion and offering new services like NeuroShuttle, Iommi couldn’t help but pause and smile as he revealed, “we’re happy to say that we’re right now profitable.”
TTAC Creator Ed Garsten hosts ” Tales from the Beat,” a podcast about the automotive and media worlds. A veteran reporter and public relations operative, Garsten worked for CNN, The Associated Press, The Detroit News, Chrysler’s PR department and Franco Public Relations. He is currently a senior contributor for Forbes.
The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.
Republished with permission
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