START@SystemX is a multi-partner open innovation initiative designed to give startups the opportunity to take part in the IRT SystemX’s innovation dynamic by joining its main partners and technology suppliers in building tomorrow’s new services. Nextérité, the winner of Season 1 – Mobility, shares what was gained from working with SystemX.
Season 1 of START@SystemX was dedicated to new urban mobility services. SystemX was looking for startups developing data analysis or mobility sensing technologies, to join the R&D project Mobility Solutions Modelling (MSM) alongside RATP and Alstom.
The innovative young company Nextérité was one of two startups selected. Its philosophy is to combine new approaches to mathematics, statistics and computing with text mining and semantic analysis modules to design ad hoc solutions to meet the needs of its customers (mobility, communication, patent monitoring, etc.).
Promoting visibility among large companies
Nextérité’s President Edith Nuss says that participating in START@SystemX played a big part in boosting their visibility and helping them to understand the challenges facing large companies: “Before START@SystemX, we had never managed to work with any large companies’ R&D departments. In the course of the programme, we worked on common technical issues, tested new datasets to develop our service, and learned to set longer timescales for our projects than previously. We also benefited from technical and scientific supervision which enabled us among other things to validate our strategic direction. Six months is a good period of time for this programme. We gained a lot from it in terms of know-how and best practice, and understanding how complex programmes are structured”.
The work carried out as part of this project naturally led Nextérité to develop its NextAlert service, adding functionalities some of which are now operational.
Now, the semantic analysis solution NextAlert analyses the Twittersphere in real time to pinpoint disruptions in the public transport system. “With its technology, Nexterité offers 40% more information than is provided by the big operators, making it available 20 minutes earlier on average”, says Edith Nuss.
START@SystemX has “boosted Nextérité’s visibility among large companies”. “The fact that we have worked with manufacturers is a badge of credibility and shows that we are a serious company. Our visibility has significantly increased as a result of the IRT’s communications initiatives”, remarks Edith Nuss.
Service available on the SNCF app
In spring 2017, the French rail operator SNCF got wind of the research Nexterité was doing with the IRT SystemX and was keen to collaborate with the startup. Since the end of 2017, the SNCF app (8 million downloads, 30 million logins per month) has offered real-time traffic information based on passengers’ messages picked up and qualified on Twitter using the NextAlert service, which has been adapted to the transport operator’s requirements. This information service by passengers for passengers is currently available in the Paris area to supplement the travel information provided by SNCF itself.
