Last Wednesday, December 6, I pitched Vugo at the Autotech Council's Innovation Review on Infotainment & Apps, hosted by Samsung Semiconductor in San Jose.

The room

The Autotech Council brings together the innovation scouts, strategy teams and partnership leads of carmakers, tier-one suppliers and mobility investors, and every month its members review new technology in one part of the car. This month it was infotainment.

The morning opened with a market overview from TechInsights and a panel with Smartcar, Samsung Semiconductor and Samsung Display on what cars need to deliver great in-car content: the displays, the connectivity, the storage and the interface. Then came the company pitches: five minutes each, followed by questions from members at Hyundai CRADLE, Nissan and Samsung Semiconductor. Vugo pitched for passenger entertainment.

What I pitched

Five minutes is enough for one big idea, so here's ours: the future of infotainment belongs to the passenger.

For a century, the car was designed around the driver. But the screens are multiplying, and more and more of the people in a car aren't driving it: they're riding in rideshare cars, fleets and on-demand services today, and one day in cars that drive themselves. What they do with that time is the next great media opportunity.

Vugo has been building for that passenger since 2015. Our in-vehicle experience gives riders entertainment and information, and gives brands a screen in front of people on their way somewhere. The advertising pays the fleet and the driver.

That's where the bigger goal comes in. Vugo is working toward free transportation. Advertising paid for much of the internet, and the same model can pay for more and more of the ride. Every dollar a passenger experience earns is a dollar the rider doesn't have to pay.

Why it matters to automakers

For carmakers, infotainment has mostly been a cost: a feature to build, update and support. We see it differently. The screens and software going into every new car can become an alternative source of revenue, earned from the experience itself, not just from the sale of the car.

That's a different way to think about the cabin. Build it for the passenger, make it worth their time, and it can help pay for itself.

Thank you, Autotech Council

Thank you to the Autotech Council for including Vugo, to Samsung Semiconductor for hosting, and to the members who asked such sharp questions. If you're working on the next generation of in-car experiences, we'd love to talk.

Read the case for free transportation, see how we showed the passenger experience at the Paris Motor Show, or get in touch.