Press Coverage: “This Company's Machine Learning Programs Are Making Driving in Houston Safer — and Cheaper”

Two thousand years ago, in ancient Rome, the primary mode of transportation was an intelligent one: the horse. The Latin word “currus” was the inspiration for Alex Colosivschi when it came to naming his business, Currux.

“We chose this name because we believe in a future where cars — and actually most modes of transportation — will be intelligent, like horses,” he told InnovationMap. The change from an “s” to an “x” at the end of the word let him trademark it.

Colosivschi, whose career had been in energy finance until he started the company in 2017, came up with the idea while walking through his Rice Village neighborhood — choked, despite the greenery, by the smell of engine exhaust. “I started with thinking about the future of energy and how the industry will adapt to a world of electric, autonomous and shared mobility, and the need to reduce CO2 emissions,” he said.

The resulting product, at the time, was a smartphone-based driver-assistance app using computer vision to monitor driving behavior and coach safer habits. “Just by slowing down and driving in a less aggressive manner, we can significantly reduce fuel consumption and, more importantly, prevent accidents from happening,” Colosivschi said, describing technology that tracked vehicle handling and issued accident warnings using only a phone mounted on the dash.