Connected vehicle firm wejo has opened a state-of-the-art office in Manchester.
The Cheshire-based firm’s fourth global office, situated in the city’s expanding technology and enterprise zone, will see 100 jobs created in the next 12 months.
The new 10,000 square foot office covering two floors in Manchester’s Enterprise City will accommodate 70 of wejo’s nearly 200 employees and include a showroom with a digital data observatory.
The firm said that it opened the base as Manchester has become a focal point for European entrepreneurial talent and boasts the largest number of digital experts in the UK outside of London.
Founded by Richard Barlow in 2014, wejo provides information to a variety of end-users including insurers, local authorities and breakdown recovery services by tracking seven million connected cars.
Its software tracks traffic and uses machine learning to improve traffic and safety management operations.
“This new office is a hugely exciting milestone and it highlights the growth and impact we have created over the last five years,” said Barlow.
“Being my home town, Manchester is particularly dear to me, and I’m especially proud to be part of its growing recognition as a centre of excellence for technology.
“We are committed to the North West and wejo is making it a global leader in connected vehicle technology.”
The digital observatory will include a wall-to-wall display showing interactive real-time maps of traffic flows based on samples from over 9 million vehicles across the US.
The map will allow visitors to zoom in and highlight specific areas and data points via a control centre, pinpointing city traffic flows, incident hotspots, parking availability and much more.
Wejo says its new products – Hotspot Intelligence, Live Traffic and Traffic Intelligence – will be utilised to make this one of the most dynamic and interactive traffic intelligence portals available in the UK.
In September wejo announced that it is to expand its tech around the United States.
To date it has curated over 140 billion miles of data, providing insights on traffic and driving trends. It expects to have 17 million cars on its platform by the end of the year.
In February US automotive giant General Motors took a 35 per cent stake in the business.