German technology giant Siemens is planning to acquire the Spanish transportation software developer Aimsun SL, which will be managed as a legally independent company as part of the Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) business sector within the Siemens Mobility Division.
The growing volume of individual traffic, especially in rapidly expanding metropolitan areas, as well as new requirements driven by technological developments, such as shared and autonomous mobility, force traffic planners, and operators to take a new perspective on future mobility systems and networks. Data-driven solutions are also considered to be key in addressing resource constraints and environmental protection considerations, such as urban air quality issues. Siemens is keen to create a digitized mobility ecosystem that will be increasingly dependent on data-driven solutions. The acquisition is expected to be completed in April, when Aimsun will become a separate legal entity and wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens’ Mobility Division, complementing the company’s existing ITS portfolio. The two parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the deal.
Founded in 1997 by researchers at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), which developed a microsimulator named AIMSUN2 (Advanced Interactive Microscopic Simulator for Urban and Non-Urban Networks), the company was originally known as TSS-Transport Simulation Systems. Since then, Aimsun has developed the Next transportation modeling software suite that simulates future traffic flows in the planning phase of construction projects.
Based on data, it supports its users to make more efficient decisions for the realization of their projects. In the field of daily traffic management, Aimsun has also developed the Live software platform that uses real-time data to help to optimize traffic flows and predict, as well as prevent, congestion before it occurs. Aimsun’s predictive software systems are currently being used by more than 4,600 customers in 79 countries, including some of the world’s largest cities.
“We are aiming to becoming a fully integrated provider of intermodal door-to-door travel solutions,” explained Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens’ Mobility Division. “Therefore, we have taken several steps in the recent past to strengthen our portfolio and competence in the growing area of digitized, data-driven mobility solutions. We are expanding our strong position in road automation technology.”
Jaime L Ferrer, CEO of Aimsun, commented, “Our partnership with Siemens will further fuel our recent explosive growth, and strengthen considerably our presence in the ITS vertical, namely in decision-support systems for integrated corridor management and simulation for signaling optimization. The combination of our companies will also provide a platform for our software to be used throughout Central Europe and in emergent markets.”
