Airbiquity, a Seattle-based company that develops tech solutions for vehicles, today announced a partnership with China Unicom to provide connected vehicle services for the Chinese auto market.
The two plan to work together, leveraging Airbiquity’s technology with China Unicom’s telecom infrastructure. They plan to offer services including infotainment and smartphone integration, commercial vehicle fleet services, CRM, and other traditional telematics services.
“With GSM and WCDMA business in 31 provinces and regions, as well as broadband and ICT infrastructure throughout the country, China Unicom is a leader in connectivity solutions,” Kamyar Moinzadeh, president and CEO of Airbiquity, said in a press release. “Bringing that industry-leading level of service into the car, across China, is an intelligent next step in a rapidly expanding market.”
China Unicom is the third-largest carrier in the world, while China is set to pass the U.S. as the world’s largest smartphone market later this month.
Last November, Airbiquity was selected by Sprint to provide its “Choreo” cloud platform for connected vehicles as part of the new Sprint Velocity system. That same platform will be used in the partnership with China Unicom.
Airbiquity is led by Moinzadeh, a longtime veteran of the company who previously worked at Netro Corporation, AT&T Wireless Services and Motorola. Yusuf Nahmiyas was named executive vice president of corporate development last month, responsible for strategic growth of the company’s business. He most recently worked as an investment banker.
Airbiquity’s existing customers include Shell, Bosch, BMW, Ford, Motorola and others. Financial terms of Airbiquity’s deal with China Unicom weren’t disclosed, but services are set to launch in 2013 with two customers already under agreement.
China Unicom made headlines around here when they announced a partnership with Microsoft last December to help sales and innovation of Windows Phone devices in China.
Previously on GeekWire: Sprint taps Airbiquity to bring the cloud into cars
