You look at it every time you’re behind the wheel, but did you realize a Colorado Springs company is likely responsible for the software behind your car’s dashboard display?
When co-founder Mike Juran left Hewlett-Packard in 1991 to launch Altia, he saw a need for tools to design and develop better graphical user interfaces.
Altia began prototyping user interfaces for a variety of industries, from airplane cockpits to medical devices - and even automobiles.
Altia grew slowly, Juran said, operating as a boutique software company developing products so manufacturers could get a feel for GUI.
In 2007, as the iPhone rose to power and touchscreen displays became the primary user interface for products, Juran saw an opportunity for Altia to expand. The company began selling its UI software as a solution, instead of a prototype.
“We moved from being a boutique simulation company to a software tools company used in production,” he said. “That change and shift in our business model enabled us to grow a lot faster and have a much more entrenched position in the auto industry.”
The decision proved correct for Altia, as Juran estimates the company’s software is featured in 29 million vehicles on the road right now, and is designed into another 100 million being rolled out in the next three to five years.
Altia’s software is also used in wearable medical devices like insulin pumps, fitness equipment and consumer electronics, like Whirlpool appliances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGmtYPxbxJQ
The company has about 70 employees in a series of offices around the globe, with nearly half working out of the Colorado Springs headquarters.
Although the company recently moved into a new space in downtown Colorado Springs, Altia’s leadership had previously wavered on its commitment to staying in the city.
“We considered many times moving the company to Denver, Boulder or even the Bay Area, but we always held off [by] waiting and seeing,” Juran said. “Then, Colorado Springs got very serious about growing the infrastructure and attracting a younger and more sustainable growth business climate and we committed.”
When the company made this decision four years ago, Juran said part of it may have been luck, as they never could’ve predicted the growth coming to Colorado Springs.
A 2018 report by the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program named Colorado Springs the nation’s fastest-growing city for millennials. Colorado Springs saw a 14.7 percent millennial growth rate from 2010 to 2015, leading all other cities in the nation.
Although they once hid the fact they were based in Colorado Springs, Juran and Altia now openly praise the city.
“The young people that are graduating that used to go somewhere else now look locally and want to stay here,” he said.
As Altia continues growing, Juran said the company will look to expand its sales and marketing team in an effort to be considered for more big deals. The company hasn’t had much outside investment to this point and Juran said they’ll look for partnership, rather than VC funding in the future.
“There is a time coming soon where we’ll bring on a partner to scale, but we’re looking for one that understands the market,” he said.
As we move closer to autonomous vehicles, Altia’s displays will carry a greater importance, Juran said. The company recently showcased a multiscreen dashboard display at CES that Juran thinks will be key for autonomous vehicles.
“The combo of those three displays are going to make or break whether this autonomous car future actually works and whether it’s safe or not safe,” he said.
The displays will be relied on to alert drivers when they’re required to take over control of the vehicles. Juran said Altia’s software will be ready for that reality.
“We’re going to enable car companies to get more aggressive on the transition to autonomous vehicles,” he said.
