If you’ve ever lived near a golf
course or in a golf cart com-
munity, you know just how
often these motorized carts
are stolen for joyrides.
GOLF
CAR
NEWS
Electric Vehicle
Solution XiQ Pivots
From Hardware to
IoT
Atlanta-based startup XiQ
started out as a solution to
this problem. Its smart de-
vice, the Stinger, replaces the
conventional ignition on a golf
cart with a pin code to halt
would-be thieves. The “a-ha!”
moment came from co-found-
er and CTO, Florian Meier,
who noticed golf carts were
frequently stolen around his
community in Peachtree City.
“We started with this because
we discovered most of these
light vehicles, like golf carts,
UTVs, forklifts, you name it—
they use a very rudimentary
ignition with a key that can
be easily copied, purchased
anywhere or they all had the
same key,” co-founder and
CEO Karlos Walkes told Atlan-
ta Inno. “We saw the security
issue and started there by
introducing the smart device
that now replaces the key and
introduces a pin code to acti-
vate the vehicle. It also talks
to a mobile app that allows
one-click user control to their
vehicle or machine.”
But after solving the theft
problem, Walkes said their
customers began asking if XiQ
could collect data, provide as-
set management and identify
the driver of a vehicle.
“We had the opportunity to
evolve into a company that
now makes technology that
enables security, fleet IOT
capabilities for vehicles and
enabling mobility sharing for
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electric vehicles,” he said.
2019 has been a breakthrough year for
XiQ, which started four years ago, Walkes
said. After discovering roadblocks with sell-
ing to dealers in 2018, XiQ pivoted this year
to sign an exclusive distributer deal with
Nivel, a global golf cart parts and accessory
distributer.
“That was where we started to understand
that, ‘Oh, the world is kind of catching up
with our vision,’” he said.
Walkes said his company was awarded a
patent for their hardware, their product
was featured on The Home Depot’s web-
site and the company started a partner-
ship with Polaris. XiQ is also beta testing its
fleet IoT platform with a heavy equipment
distributor in Conyers.
“We are working with (Polaris) to show
them how our hardware can enable their
vehicles to create mobility sharing oppor-
tunities for communities everywhere,”
he said. “In short, imagine Lime or Bird,
but instead of scooters, people are using
multi-passenger electric vehicles that have
cargo doors and windows for inclement
weather and have a range of up to 80
miles because they’re using a 72-volt lithi-
um battery.”
Walkes said even though XiQ is classified
as a tech company, the team’s drive is fo-
cused on engagement
“What we found is people in this electric
vehicle market … these markets have been
ignored or just underserved by technolo-
gy,” he said. “We see a lot of opportunity
there for a company like us. We feel not
only did we find an empty room, we found
an empty building. So what we’re trying to
do is create a great product that is about
engagement.”
Contact:
Team XiQ
www.teamxiq.com
[email protected]