Region
Second Wave - Michigan
Capital Gains - Lansing
Catalyst Midland
Concentrate - Ann Arbor/Ypsi
Epicenter - Mount Pleasant
Route Bay City
Rural Innovation Exchange
Southwest Michigan
UPword - UP
The Keel - Port Huron
The Lakeshore
Metromode - Metro Detroit
Flintside - Flint
Model D - Detroit
Rapid Growth - Grand Rapids
Focus Areas
Arts and Culture
Community Development
Diversity
Economic Development
Entrepreneurship
Healthy Communities
Kids and Education
Sustainability
Technology and Innovation
Transportation
Cities
Ann Arbor
Berkley
Birmingham
Dearborn
Detroit
Ecorse
Farmington
Ferndale
Grosse Pointe
Hamtramck
Hazel Park
Mt. Clemens
Northville
Oak Park
Plymouth
Pontiac
Port Huron
Rochester
Roseville
Royal Oak
Sterling Heights
Village of Franklin
Wyandotte
Ypsilanti
Series
Metromode
Block by Block
City Dive
Community Redistricting
COVID19
Culture of Health
Detroit Driven
Dining Destinations
Early Education Matters
Equity in our Parks
Ethnic Markets
Exploring Economic Equity
Girl Scouts SE Michigan Team Up
Inside our Outdoors
Invasive Species
Live, Work, Play in Macomb!
Macomb Parks & Trails
On The Ground
One Detroit
Sterling Heights Innovation District
Voices
Statewide
Areas of Concern
Block by Block
Bridging the Talent Gap
COVID19
Cyber Security
Disability Inclusion
Early Education Matters
Forestry
Girl Scouts SE Michigan Team Up
Good Food
Greater Lakes
Inside our Outdoors
Invasive Species
MI Mental Health
Michigan Nightlight
Michigan's Agricultural Future
Michigan's State of Health Podcast
Nonprofit Journal Project
Preserving Michigan
State of Health
Stories of Change
Voices of Youth
Toggle navigation
Focus Areas
Arts and Culture
Community Development
Diversity
Economic Development
Entrepreneurship
Healthy Communities
Kids and Education
Sustainability
Technology and Innovation
Transportation
Cities
Ann Arbor
Berkley
Birmingham
Dearborn
Detroit
Ecorse
Farmington
Ferndale
Grosse Pointe
Hamtramck
Hazel Park
Mt. Clemens
Northville
Oak Park
Plymouth
Pontiac
Port Huron
Rochester
Roseville
Royal Oak
Sterling Heights
Village of Franklin
Wyandotte
Ypsilanti
Series
Metromode
Block by Block
City Dive
Community Redistricting
COVID19
Culture of Health
Detroit Driven
Dining Destinations
Early Education Matters
Equity in our Parks
Ethnic Markets
Exploring Economic Equity
Girl Scouts SE Michigan Team Up
Inside our Outdoors
Invasive Species
Live, Work, Play in Macomb!
Macomb Parks & Trails
On The Ground
One Detroit
Sterling Heights Innovation District
Voices
Statewide
Areas of Concern
Block by Block
Bridging the Talent Gap
COVID19
Cyber Security
Disability Inclusion
Early Education Matters
Forestry
Girl Scouts SE Michigan Team Up
Good Food
Greater Lakes
Inside our Outdoors
Invasive Species
MI Mental Health
Michigan Nightlight
Michigan's Agricultural Future
Michigan's State of Health Podcast
Nonprofit Journal Project
Preserving Michigan
State of Health
Stories of Change
Voices of Youth
About
Contact
Israel-based InPhoDrive sets up shop in Metro Detroit
Thursday, February 10, 2011
| Source:
Metromode
Share
Metro Detroit's ties to Israel's burgeoning entrepreneurial culture recently grew a little stronger now that Israeli-based software firm InPhoDrive is sinking roots in southeast Michigan.
InPhoDrive
is creating a combination of smartphone applications and software as a service program called Synphony that allows drivers to consume Web content without taking their eyes off the road or their hands off the steering wheel. The app will allow people to operate their smartphones through voice-control software. The app will route itself through the car's speakers to perform a number of tasks, such as read emails or send tweets.
"It basically solves the enormous problem of driving your car and accessing the Internet," says
Howard Brown, a serial entrepreneur from Franklin
who is heading up InPhoDrive's North American operations. He says he was connected to the start-up through the
Michigan Israel Business Bridge
program, which works to connect businesses and entrepreneurs from the Great Lakes State to Israel, which is the country that produces the second largest number of start-ups behind the U.S.
InPhoDrive has been developing Synphony since 2007 and has created an English-language version of the technology that is set to launch this spring. The company plans to offer the app for free first to iPhone and in the near future Android users along with a 30-day free trial service followed by a monthly subscription fee through its own website. "This isn't a 99-cent game," Brown says. "This is a service."
InPhoDrive currently employs about half a dozen staffers in Israel and one person in Metro Detroit. Brown expects the Metro Detroit staff to grow to half a dozen this year, before the company is acquired in the next 24-36 months.
Source: Howard Brown, head of InPhoDrive's North American operations
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at
SEMichiganStartup.com
.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up
for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.
Share
Related Tags
Automotive
,
Oakland County
,
Oakland County
,
Software Design
Recommended Content
Across Our Network
The shoe design that revolutionized Nike Air may have been seeded by an 18-year-old Covington kid
Source: Soapbox
Pontiac schools to replace all diesel buses with electric buses for 2024-25 school year
Source: Metromode
Local leaders look ahead at what Brightline expansion can mean for Tampa, Ybor
Source: 83Degrees
Consumers Energy brings new Workforce Development Program to Flint and Jackson
Source: Flintside