Sep 11, 2013

Alumni Start-Up is a Fast Company “Innovation By Design” Award Finalist

Automatic, a “smart driving assistant” start-up co-founded by a pair of School of Information alumni, was named a finalist for this year’s Fast Company “Innovation By Design” Awards.

Automatic includes an iPhone app and a tiny piece of hardware that connects your iPhone to your car’s onboard computer when you drive. Automatic helps you save gas, drive more safely, and understand what's happening under the hood. It also remembers where you parked and can automatically call for help in a crash.

The company was co-founded by I School alumni Thejo Kote (MIMS 2011) and Ljuba Miljkovic (MIMS 2010), along with fellow UC Berkeley alumnus Jerry Jariyasunant.

The “Innovation by Design” Awards honor design which “reaches beyond aesthetics to encompass science, intuition, and emotion. It often asks us to stretch our imagination, to re-imagine what design means and can do.” Fast Company today announced this year’s 54 finalists in eight categories, selected from over 1,200 submissions.

The winners will be announced October 2 at the Innovation By Design Conference in New York City.

The Automatic Link seamlessly connects to the iPhone app via Bluetooth wireless whenever you drive.
The Automatic Link seamlessly connects to the iPhone app via Bluetooth wireless whenever you drive.
Ljuba Miljkovic (MIMS 2010)
Ljuba Miljkovic (MIMS 2010)
Thejo Kote (MIMS 2011)
Thejo Kote (MIMS 2011)

Last updated:

October 4, 2016