About Sheeva.AI and Our Technology

What is Sheeva.AI?

Sheeva.AI is a US-based mobility startup that wants to change the driver/consumer customer experience for car-related transactions via precise location, API-to-API communications and an embedded digital wallet. 

Current use cases include fueling, EV charging, parking, tolling, curbside pickup, car washes, and fast food services. It automates the process by running payments through the vehicle instead of mobile phones or other point-of-sale devices, so you can activate the service and pay for it with one touch of the car’s infotainment (or IVI) screen.

This delivers real-time location-based services to drivers and passengers while protecting them from fraud. The link from the car to the driver to the service provider is seamless with little latency. We are currently in production with one global automaker and are looking to add more.

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What is v-commerce or VLBS? 

We define Vehicle Location-Based Services (VLBS) or v-commerce as services for "car-centric" transactions, like fueling, EV charging, parking, tolling, car washes and vehicle-focused retail (like curbside pickup and QSR drive-thrus), that are enabled and paid for using the vehicle’s precise location and the context built around that location. 

Location accuracy is critical for this, especially in urban canyons where GPS/GNSS signals may bounce off buildings. Who hasn’t had their mobile phone suddenly think they are on the wrong street or inside a building when driving by? 

The more granular the service, the more precise location needs to be, but for the majority of these transactions, especially for in-vehicle commerce, a sub-2 meter accuracy (about 4x more accurate than smartphones alone) enables developers to utilize location up to a parking spot, drive-thru lane, toll or express lane, and charging stations/fueling pump to automate payment and streamline consumption of vehicle-related services.

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‍Why do I need this? Can’t I use my smartphone?

It matters because the smartphone alone is not enough to securely trigger events and automate payments based on the location of the vehicle.

For example, knowing a vehicle is low on fuel and at pump #4 of a gas station means in-vehicle commerce technologies like SheevaConnect platform can be used to automatically activate pump #4 and automatically pay for the transaction once it's complete so the driver simply gets out, fuels, and drives away.

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How does your technology work?‍

At its core, we use the vehicle’s location to trigger events and services. 

For example, many fast-food restaurants can identify their users when they arrive on-premise thanks to beacons and other physical infrastructure. Similarly, tolling systems frequently use RFID chips and license plate reader cameras to facilitate tolls based on the vehicle’s location. Some fueling stations and parking meters use QR codes to launch an app.

However, combining location with identity, network presences and the ability to notify users and providers through ubiquitous channels creates a rich vehicle context for these transactions, enabling automation of fueling, EV charging, tolls, parking, and much more.

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What is the role of the mobile provider in the ecosystem?

They understand the need to innovate and create a better and more seamless experience for their users. What they can achieve with v-commerce is to integrate their services with the technology to get new features and functionalities with their apps. They will streamline the transaction process with vehicles and the service by bringing the location and mobile app into the vehicle. It will not only save time but money as well for both consumers and service providers. 

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Do you have specific connectivity partners or do you use what the OEM uses to remain connected? 

There is a dead reckoning issue around GPS, which can put location off. We’re using our location algorithm to fill in the gaps on GPS so we can more accurately show where you are at the moment. 

If you have a cell phone signal at all you should have connectivity in your car. The overall connectivity capabilities of the car are handled by the automaker.

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Do you have other ways to deploy if you’re not integrated into the vehicle’s OS or in cases of “blended fleets” in terms of older model years than 2018 or different brands of vehicle?

We can provide hardware-based solutions, but it’s unlikely to be an issue until we have significant fleet deployments. 

There may also be certain geographic markets where the phone is the interface due to network reasons. We are ultimately agnostic to the interface, but our goal is one touch of the infotainment screen for an activation/payment.

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Is your tech only for EVs? What about ICE or other alternative fueled cars? 

We are agnostic to the drivetrain; if there’s a piece of hardware you need to turn on to get whatever fuel you need and we can activate it via API-to-API communication, we can enable it.

Our biggest need is connectivity and that depends on the automaker and the model year, but in general, any car from the 2019 model year or newer, we can enable.

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How does your in-vehicle v-commerce platform evolve into a marketplace?‍

Commerce cannot happen without a unified process for identity and context.

Non-digital means consumers and cashiers are present and conduct the transaction. In a digital world, commerce (e-commerce, mobile commerce, and, now, v-commerce) needs a unified process for location, identity, presence, and omnichannel notifications to build the right context for commerce to accelerate. Mobile commerce provides this with location as a ubiquitous component of all smartphones which is then paired with identity, network presence, and multiple notification channels.

V-commerce goes a step further, including the vehicle’s location and context as core to any automation and streamlining of services.

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‍What does the v-commerce ecosystem look like?

The v-commerce market consists of cloud, edge compute, connectivity, TCU, enterprise, mobile/IVI, and OEM layers. Each of these layers breaks down even further to include major automotive OEMs, retailers like fueling/charging, quick service retail, chipset makers, communications/5G networks, and insurance and fleet/asset managers. 

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What’s the growth trajectory and timing of the VLBS market?

It’s already begun. We are experiencing this market move currently, as in-vehicle transactions capabilities grow alongside demand. We see VLBS and V-commerce as the next big growth market, the natural evolution of the “e-commerce to m-commerce to v-commerce” marketplace. Every decade going back to the birth of the dot-com era saw a fundamental change in how we transact for goods and services. Market-dominating incumbents adapt or disappear quickly to new concepts. But what’s key in the transitions is ease and trust of each transaction; saves your customer time and money.

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