Member Profile – Potential

What does your company do? What services or products do you provide?  

Potential is an automotive technology company designing the future of advanced driver-assistance systems for extreme environments.

The company’s core platform – Terrain Intelligence – combines computer vision and AI models to enable vehicles to see, interpret, and proactively prepare for complex terrain and changing surface conditions ahead.

Potential’s modular control system, known as Off-Road OS, uses insights from Terrain Intelligence to autonomously adjust suspension, driveline, and engine settings before encountering obstacles, changes in incline, and different surface types.

With Potential’s software, drivers can safely go further and faster.

The company is headquartered in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, where it has invested CAD$7m in its laboratory and a purpose-built off-road proving ground.

Potential was founded in 2018. Backers include Marcel Lebrun and Chris Newton (both formerly of Radian6) and Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures. Customers include global brands in the automotive, mining, powersports and defense industries.

Why did you join COVESA and how long has your company been a member?

COVESA has been a great supporter, cheering us on from the sidelines before we joined as an official member in October of 2024. It is a clear forum for companies across industries to connect and share value on topics related to the future of connected vehicles. For us as a company working on ADAS for the software-defined vehicle, it grants us insights into where the industry is moving and the opportunity to contribute.

What benefits does your participation in COVESA bring to your company and business? 

Our journey into the COVESA membership started with a simple goal – to bring our software to the vehicles of the future. We found ourselves rubbing shoulders with the stalwarts of the industry, the ones who have been on the frontline, building the vehicles that we dream our software to inhabit.

As much as we were soaking up knowledge from these veterans, they were equally interested in learning from us. After all, our unique perspective as a tech company brings a whole new dimension to the table. The combination of their hard-earned practical knowledge and our innovative tech-driven approach has sparked some remarkable conversations and collaborations.

So, what’s the major benefit of our COVESA membership? It’s not just a seat at the table. It’s the chance to contribute to the exciting narrative of connected vehicles, learn from the best in the business, and share our unique insights.

Which COVESA collaborative project(s) or Birds of a Feather (BoF) is your company engaged in, and why is that beneficial to your business?

As we are a new member of COVESA we are currently benefiting primarily from the COVESA-hosted events. In these we get to discuss with organizations from different industries working towards a shared vision for vehicles of the future.