Drivetime
Founded 2002 · 2,248 employees on LinkedIn · 10 known investors
San Francisco company building hands-free, voice-controlled trivia games that drivers play with their voices while commuting.
Also known as Drivetime.fm
Investors · 10
Also in the syndicate · 8
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Drivetime is a San Francisco-based interactive entertainment company that develops voice-controlled games for drivers. Its first product, the Drivetime mobile app, lets users play trivia against friends, family and other commuters using only their voices, and launched on iOS in November 2018 with Android planned to follow. The company positions the car as an environment largely untouched by interactive entertainment, noting that smart-speaker style voice interaction had taken hold in the home but not yet in the vehicle.
The app is designed to be started before a drive (in the manner of a podcast or audiobook) and then run in the background behind a navigation app, with the microphone opening for a set window after each question so the player can answer by saying "A, B or C" or the answer word itself, without a wake word. The company has also marketed the app for hands-free play in the home during tasks such as washing dishes or folding laundry.
Founding story
Drivetime was founded in 2018 by Niko Vuori, Justin Cooper and Cory Johnson, who had previously worked together in social and mobile gaming. Vuori was general manager of Zynga Poker and a co-founder of Rocket Games, which was acquired by Penn National Gaming in 2016; Cooper was VP of User Experience at Zynga and a Rocket Games co-founder; and Johnson was a Principal Software Engineer at Zynga and Director of Engineering at Rocket Games. Vuori has described the company's premise as serving the more than 110 million US commuters who drive to and from work alone each day.
Business model
Drivetime develops and distributes a consumer mobile app offering voice-interactive trivia content, available through mobile app stores (iOS at launch, with Android announced as forthcoming).
Traction
The Drivetime app was launched on Product Hunt in 2018, where it recorded a #14 day rank and 94 points.
Latest developments
In April 2019, CEO Niko Vuori discussed the app and the future of voice-controlled technology in an interview with ABC7 San Francisco.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Describes itself as the first interactive entertainment company developing voice games for drivers; sits alongside other voice and audio trivia games such as Song Quiz and QuizUp in the social-audio gaming category.
Focus on the in-car context and hands-free, voice-only interaction, in contrast to screen-based mobile games.
Technology
Voice-driven interactive audio gameplay: the app asks trivia questions aloud and activates the microphone for a fixed period after each question so spoken answers are captured without a wake word, allowing the game to run in the background behind a mapping application. The company has said it was exploring fully hands-free game navigation and controls.
Go-to-market
Solo commuters and other drivers, plus people seeking hands-free audio entertainment at home while doing household tasks.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an initial focus on US commuters.
History
The company was founded in 2018 and headquartered in San Francisco. On 7 November 2018 it publicly launched the Drivetime iOS app and simultaneously announced $4 million in seed funding from a syndicate of Silicon Valley, New York and Los Angeles technology and media investors. In April 2019, CEO Niko Vuori appeared on ABC7 San Francisco to discuss the app, driving safety and the outlook for voice-control technology.
Risks & controversies
The product's launch drew public criticism over distracted driving, with commenters arguing that any in-car app interaction, including hands-free play, increases driver distraction and that the animated screen would draw drivers' eyes from the road. The company responded that safety is its primary concern, citing existing research on alertness-maintaining tasks (including trivia) and its own studies with a university research partner, arguing that mildly interactive hands-free trivia maintains driver alertness and displaces more dangerous phone interactions.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsDrivetime announced $4 million in seed funding from a syndicate of technology and media investors across Silicon Valley, New York City and Los Angeles, plus angel investors.
$4M source ↗
Drivetime launched its first product, a voice-controlled trivia app for drivers, available on iOS with Android announced as coming soon.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- Drivetime Product Information and Latest Updates (2025)producthunt.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Drivetime do?
- San Francisco company building hands-free, voice-controlled trivia games that drivers play with their voices while commuting.
- Who are Drivetime's investors?
- Drivetime's investors include Canaan Partners, The Chernin Group (TCG Crypto).