Sheeva.AI serves to seamlessly connect drivers to the world around them. The startup disrupts fueling, electric vehicle charging, parking, tolling, and other forms of location-based mobility with a connected vehicle solution that scales to power next-generation business models. Founded by Evgeny Klochikhin, the company completed the Techstars Smart Mobility Accelerator in 2020.

Evgeny Klochikhin will never forget the moment that inspired his startup. Late for a hospital appointment with his pregnant wife in the car, Sheeva.AI’s founder and CEO vividly recalls the thoughts running through his mind while en route to pay the meter: “Why can’t I just walk away? Why does this need to be done manually?”

Evgeny used his background in data science and technology management to consider the answer and decided on vehicle location-based services, and Sheeva.AI was born.

The Alexandria, Virginia, startup is a connected vehicle platform that provides location-based driving solutions through automation. With Sheeva.AI’s patented algorithms, drivers no longer need to select the gas pump, parking spot, drive-thru, and toll lane to process payment. Instead, enabled cars know exactly when they arrive at the precise service point to trigger payment without extra user manipulations.

“Instead of changing the driver’s routine, we facilitate it with automation. In fact, we make it more seamless since users do not need to learn anything new,” Evgeny says.

One-Click, In-Car Commerce

The sky is the limit when it comes to vehicle location-based services. Using the startup’s open APIs, service providers can guide drivers to their locations when they most need it and automate payments.

In turn, companies can recognize when customers are low on fuel, looking for parking, thirsty for coffee, or considering a toll road. Sheeva.AI’s API sends trigger alerts to providers when drivers are most in need of their services.

Meanwhile, the solution even offers fraud protection. By using the innovative Vehicle Present approach to secure payments, Sheeva.AI knows exactly when the vehicle arrives at the point-of-sale, be it a commercial truck using fuel card applications or a rented car with the driver trying to dispute payments.

Now, following five years of operation, Sheeva.AI is scaling and testing its platform in the real world, two goals furthered by the Techstars Smart Mobility Accelerator.

‘The Real Magic of Turin’

Smart mobility and smart city solutions are targets of the accelerator, Techstars’ first in Italy, which takes full advantage of Turin’s 35 kilometres of roads for autonomous vehicle testing, Artificial Intelligence labs, and energy, automotive, and infrastructure companies. The opportunity to test the startup’s low-cost cross-platform capabilities in a real-world setting was "the real magic of Turin,” says Evgeny. 

“I enjoyed the level of intelligence and experience of the ecosystem,” he says. 

"Among the mentors and partners, I think that Northern Italy has huge potential to become one of the fastest-growing clusters of innovation in the world." 

Following the accelerator, Sheeva.AI expanded automotive and service partnerships in the U.S., India, and Italy, growing their U.S. team and hiring a dedicated sales director for Italy based in Turin.

“We were able to identify and develop relationships with a few major partners who come from both ends of the marketplace, meaning hardware and service providers,” says Evgeny.

“There is a lot of progressive and innovative thinking among corporations in Italy, and a lot of desire to create a startup ecosystem in Turin,” says Evgeny. “For us, having access to this type of ecosystem is our next milestone to validate the whole financial model.”

Sheeva.AI has already received strategic investment from a major automotive Tier 1 and is now starting the process of putting together its Series A with strategic and value-add investors.

Read More