From Prague’s Rudolfinum to collaborating with start-ups in Tel Aviv

› Memorandum for the founding of ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel Ltd signed in Prague’s Rudolfinum
› Joint venture with Champion Motors allows for optimal use of synergies
› ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel Ltd now collaborates with as many as 13 start-ups
› At the Digital Event on 7 December, journalists will discover the strategic direction
of ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel

Mladá Boleslav, 7 December 2018 – Around one year ago, ŠKODA AUTO founded a spin-off
of its Prague-based think tank, ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab, in the IT hotspot of Israel. As declared
in December 2017, the aim was to connect with the local start-up scene and to invest
in high-tech start-ups as well as joint projects together with joint venture partner and importer,
Champion Motors. ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel Ltd now works with 13 start-ups on numerous
projects in the areas of artificial intelligence, big data, cybersecurity and vehicle sensor
technology.
Looking back to 15 December, 2017, in Rudolfinum, Prague: In the prestigious concert and gallery
building, the most important classical orchestra in Prague, the Czech Philharmonic, is giving a charity
concert in aid of rebuilding the organ of Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral. Bernhard Maier, CEO of ŠKODA
AUTO, and Erez Vigodman, Member of the Administrative Board of the ŠKODA General Importer
Champion Motors Israel, are also among the guests. On this evening, the two top managers set the
course for strengthening the automotive company’s innovation and development expertise. They sign
a letter of intent to found ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel Ltd. The joint venture would become the first
spin-off of the ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab in Prague, founded in 2015.
January 2018, Tel Aviv. Employees at ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel Ltd start their work, looking
for innovative idea generators who want to actively shape the mobility of the future and develop new
mobility concepts together with ŠKODA. Hosting more than 6,000 start-ups, around 300 research
and development facilities of multinational companies and hundreds of high-tech companies, Israel
is one of the world’s largest IT hubs. In total, there are more than 500 start-ups working on the
development of technologies for smart mobility and the automotive industry – six times as many as
in 2013. The ideal infrastructure for the Czech car manufacturer’s ambitions.
Andre Wehner, Chief Digital Officer at ŠKODA AUTO and the person responsible for company
development and digitalisation, noted, “Israel - and in particular Tel Aviv - is crucially important for our
successful transformation from being purely a car manufacturer into a provider of integral mobility
services. ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel offers us the ideal conditions to use creative potential there
and to find the best answers to key questions regarding the mobility of the future.”
May 2018, Tel Aviv. ŠKODA AUTO opens EcoMotion as a co-host. Israel’s largest exhibition for smart
mobility is a hub for innovations in the areas of sensor technology, simulation, connectivity, smart
navigation, cybersecurity, e-mobility and big data. The team at ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel uses
the industry event for further networking with the Israeli start-up ecosystem. The presence of
the Minister for Economic Affairs, Eli Cohen, emphasises how important the IT scene is for this small,
yet highly advanced country.

At the top from the very start: view over the vibrant metropolis of Tel Aviv
ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab’s subsidiary enjoys a significant head start in Israel: in conjunction with its
parent company, Allied Group, the successful importer of ŠKODA vehicles and models from other
VW Group brands, joint venture partner Champion Motors, has top-level expertise and experience
in promoting emerging high-tech companies. Champion Motors and Allied Group have extremely good
connections to both the IT start-up scene and local venture capital funds. The company has been
investing in newly established, innovative enterprises for years, which are now to establish links
with ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel Ltd.
Champion Motors lifts ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel right to the top from the very start. The team is
based in the 42-storey Champion Tower in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak. From a height of up to
160 m, the view stretches over the adjacent Ganei Yehoshua Park, the Ayalon Mall shopping paradise
and the river Yarkon. When Tal Brin, CEO of the creativity workshop in Tel Aviv, welcomes a group
of technology journalists from all over the world to Tel Aviv in May 2018, the guests quite literally
experience the far-sightedness of ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel as the digital experts present
technological perspectives in the eleventh-tallest building in Israel. Brin describes how the newly
established collaborations produce the best mobility solutions for the future and continue to impress
the specialist journalists: just four months after its launch, ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel is working
with as many as 10 start-ups and is even in a concrete phase of project development with four
of them. They include Guardian, who have developed an all-in-one vehicle sensor, mobility data
analysts Otonomo, cybersecurity experts XM Cyber specialising in IT security, and Anagog, who
analyse mobility patterns to develop customer-friendly mobility services using this data.
Jarmila Plachá, Head of ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab in Prague, positively noted, “ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab
Israel Ltd has continuously enhanced the promotion of start-up projects. We began with four start-ups.
Today, 13 start-ups are under contract, supported by ŠKODA in the development of their projects.
The main focus is on topics such as cybersecurity, big-data processes and other concepts based
on artificial intelligence.”
Working with Anagog: spotlight on artificial intelligence
July 2018, Tel Aviv. Anagog enjoys a unique position among ŠKODA’s collaboration partners. Firstly,
the company that was founded in 2010 has become one of the more experienced in the vibrant
start-up scene. Secondly, the partnership now goes far beyond collaboration as ŠKODA gets on board
by becoming a minority shareholder. This gives ŠKODA even more direct access to technologies
from the high-tech start-up. Together, ŠKODA AUTO CEO Bernhard Maier and Anagog CEO
Ofer Tziperman seal the deal on their joint future.
ŠKODA AUTO would like to use Anagog’s data analyses to further expand its offering of digital
mobility services. Anagog’s key sources of data are smartphones and their installed apps. AI
(artificial intelligence) software analyses them in real time, enabling it to predict mobility patterns.
This is just as useful for predicting available parking spaces as it is for developing personalised car
insurance offered by ŠKODA.
ŠKODA AUTO University collaborates with Coller School of Management Tel Aviv
Innovation and science go hand in hand. Consequently, in addition to the start-up scene
ŠKODA AUTO also seeks close links to the Israeli higher education landscape. Therefore, in July 2018, CEO Bernhard Maier and rector Pavel Mertlík sign a memorandum of understanding
with the Coller School of Management. This institute is part of Tel Aviv University, is seen as Israel’s
leading business university and is highly regarded all over the world. The purpose of the agreement
is for the Coller School of Management to collaborate with the company’s own ŠKODA AUTO
University in Mladá Boleslav in future – with a main focus on innovations.
The hotspot of Tel Aviv: world premiere of the ŠKODA SCALA followed by the Digital Event
6 December 2018. A future-oriented location, a think tank and an important market – Israel is of
particular importance to ŠKODA. The Czech brand has been firmly established in Israel since
the 1990s. In the meantime, ŠKODA has become the strongest European car manufacturer in Israel.
Reason enough to choose the country as the setting for a very special event: ŠKODA is celebrating
the world premiere of the groundbreaking SCALA compact model today at the Terminal event centre.
With its newcomer, ŠKODA is completely redefining the brand’s offering in the compact car segment.
The five-door hatchback combines an emotive design with a high degree of functionality and
state-of-the-art connectivity.
7 December 2018. Immediately after the ŠKODA SCALA’s world premiere, ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab
Israel is taking centre stage. At the Digital Event, journalists from all over the world can find out more
about DigiLab Israel’s strategy and projects. Two start-ups, who are new to ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab
Israel Ltd’s circle of collaboration partners, present their technologies live at the event. Guardian
develops sensors based on microwave technology. Mounted on the car’s roof, they detect the smallest
of vibrations and movements in the car. This data is processed in real time. In doing so, the system
is able to identify, for example, whether a child seat has not been secured properly or whether
a passenger is sitting in a way that puts them at higher risk of injury when an airbag is deployed.
If and how occupants respond to these notifications so far remains up to them.
The collaboration between ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab Israel Ltd and UVEye could also offer drivers
tangible advantages in the future. The start-up’s innovative technology scans the car’s bodywork,
underbody and tyres. From the data it collects, the software creates a clear and detailed 3D image
in a matter of seconds, allowing it to detect any damage to the car. This solution, which is particularly
interesting for dealerships and rental companies when vehicles are returned, is soon to be trialled
in the Czech Republic.