New Orleans is in for a treat. On Wednesday, November 19, the first local meetup will kick off the emerging space known as #ConnectedCar. The meetup is sponsored by Vinli, a connected car platform that enables developers to create applications and services for consumers, and the local coworking space and entrepreneurial hub Launch Pad.
As organizers explained: “Google, Apple and all major auto manufacturers are frothing at the opportunity to enable your car to extend the smart phone and to enable a new ecosystem of apps for info-tainment, safety, security and efficiency. Things are just heating up, so we’re inviting all developers and entrepreneurs to join the dialog to ensure some great innovation comes you, the NOLA startup community.”
The organizers are welcoming developers, entrepreneurs and the rest of the community for the event to be held at Launch Pad from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.
Blake Burris, Chief Hacktivist and VP of Developer Relations for Vinli will be in town following his keynote in Baton Rouge at BRAC’s Big Think conference to host the meetup.
It didn’t take much for Burris, a Louisiana native, to get back to New Orleans after talking to Chris Schultz, a Launch Pad founder, about hosting a Connected Car meetup. “It seemed like a good idea,” Burris explained.
Burris will be joined by Vinli wingman, Chris George, and a panel of local experts. The duo has hosted similar events in Houston, Dallas, Moscow and Amsterdam.
“We don’t suspect our competition will be on the Third Coast anytime soon, but we are perfectly happy helping our startup friends in the region get a head start on this multi-billion dollar opportunity to build apps for the 700 million cars on the road today,” says Burris. He said he is looking forward to meeting the developer community. He also hopes to find some entrepreneurial types who will build the “next big hit.”
Check out the Vinli developer portal for details on the API and beta access. For more info on the space, search the twitter hash #connectedcar.