WingDriver

WingDriver develops AI driver-safety software that turns an ordinary smartphone into a driver monitoring system, avoiding the need for purpose-built in-vehicle cameras or installation. The product is delivered as an Android and iOS app and as an SDK for companies that prefer to embed the capability in their own applications. Using the phone's camera, accelerometer, gyroscope and GPS, it watches the driver and the cabin while the vehicle is moving and detects distraction, fatigue, pre-sleep and sleep states, unsafe phone use, speeding and harsh manoeuvres, issuing audio and visual alerts in the moment rather than in an end-of-shift report. The only vehicle addition required is a phone mount so the camera has a clear view of the driver.

Alongside real-time alerting, the platform provides gamified coaching and personalised feedback and rewards for drivers, a one-press SOS and on-demand in-cabin recording that captures 60-plus seconds of cabin images with GPS for incident and claims evidence, and an analytics dashboard with per-driver risk scores, fleet safety scores, behaviour trends, route detail, alert telemetry and scheduled reports. The app runs in the background alongside navigation, supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and functions offline at reduced capability with no data shared. The company positions the product as complementary to, rather than a replacement for, telematics, road-facing dashcams and hardware ADAS or DMS systems, describing it as the layer that covers the driver and cabin and reaches vehicles that hardware was never fitted to, including subcontracted, leased and gig vehicles.

WingDriver frames data control as a core design principle: drivers and companies choose what is shared, nothing records continuously and no audio is recorded, in-cabin capture happens only when the driver presses the button, drivers can request deletion of their data, and the company states it does not sell data to insurers, advertisers or others.

Founding story

The founders each survived a crash caused by driver fatigue in 2014, before they had met. They spent the following decade working on driver monitoring from different directions and built a first company around AI, computer vision and driver monitoring that sold purpose-built cameras wired into vehicles and was later exited. Concluding that hardware could only ever protect vehicles someone was willing to pay to fit out — leaving subcontractors' vans, leased trucks, gig drivers' own cars and motorcycles unreachable — they started again in 2021 under the constraint that the safety system must run on a device the driver already owns.

Business model

WingDriver sells software rather than hardware, distributing an app for Android and iOS plus an SDK for integration into customers' own applications, together with an analytics dashboard for operations and safety teams. It also works through resellers and distributors, which it positions as adding a recurring, high-margin software line alongside their existing hardware catalogue without cannibalising it.

The company describes its offering to partners as a recurring revenue line added to hardware deals, indicating a subscription-style software model; specific pricing is not disclosed.

Traction

The company reports figures from its pilots and past deployments: up to 72% fewer dangerous driving behaviours over a three-month pilot, 77% of drivers reporting feeling safer, 33% of users saying the product helped them avoid an accident, and around two dangerous events per mile surfaced in the first weeks of deployment. It also cites potential savings of up to 80% on accident-related costs, fleet downtime, driver absence, vehicle repairs and insurance based on top user data, and notes the collection of several million images of distracted and drowsy driving. The company caveats that results vary by fleet, region, vehicle type and usage. A TechCrunch Startup Battlefield profile lists $690,000 raised as of January 1, 2025. Named testimonials come from ride-hailing drivers.

Latest developments

As of the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield profile, the company is listed as open and currently raising, with $690,000 raised as of January 1, 2025. The company continues to expand beyond ride-hailing and fleets into insurance usage-based products and an automotive OEM driver monitoring layer, both described as areas it is exploring.