A1 Group acquires Invenium

Invenium, an Austria-based mobility data insights platform spun out of Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) has been acquired by telecoms firm A1 Telekom Austria for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 2016, Invenium Data Insights has built a software platform, A1 Mobility Insights, that evaluates human mobility patterns – including public transit and footfall in tourist locations – by applying algorithmic models to big datasets.
A1 Mobility Insights was created with support from A1 Telekom’s Start-Up Campus, which added Invenium to its portfolio the year after it was founded.
The software absorbs geolocational data from partners including A1 Telekom – which offers anonymised mobile phone tracking from consenting customers – in addition to highway modelling supplied by TU Graz-based Institute for Roads and Transportation.
Organisations can then apply the information to estimate mobility patterns in a number of private and public-sector locations, helping to inform new procedures that improve efficiency.
The foundational research was undertaken by a team reporting to Martin Fellendorf, a professor of transport planning and traffic engineering at TU Graz.
A1 now owns a 51% majority stake in Invenium, having first become a shareholder when the spinout joined its accelerator, however further funding details could not be ascertained.
Michael Cik, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Invenium, said: “The entry of the A1 Telekom Austria Group in 2017, as well as the increase in the shareholding are proof that we recognised a ‘need’ early on with the analysis of movement data and have been on the right track over the last few years.
“Moving the two companies even closer together gives us the opportunity to think even bigger and to carry out technological as well as organisational company developments even more effectively and efficiently, also internationally.”