171: How CMT Drives Consumer Safety with Breakthrough Telematics

In this episode of Innovation Storytellers Show, I’m joined by two pioneers in telematics—Hari Balakrishnan, Co-Founder and CTO, and Bill Powers, Co-Founder and CEO of Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT). Together, they’ve built the world’s largest telematics service provider, measuring and protecting over 40 million drivers globally. Throughout our conversation, Hari and Bill take us inside the early days of CMT, where intuition and belief were at the core of their efforts, long before they had data to rely on. They describe how their approach to telematics evolved, blending visionary thinking with real-time data to enhance driver safety, lower insurance costs, and provide critical insights into driving behavior. From crash detection to influencing insurance premiums, CMT’s work is driving major transformations in how we approach road safety. We also explore the human side of building an innovative company. Bill emphasizes the importance of listening to feedback, even when it comes as a "no," and Hari reflects on how learning from negative feedback was crucial in identifying the right partners. They share how their partnership with SoftBank helped fuel CMT’s growth, with investors who believed in their long-term vision for safer roads through technology. Whether you’re fascinated by the future of telematics, or curious about the journey of a startup that achieved unicorn status, this episode offers insights into how CMT is using technology to create a safer, more connected world. Tune in to hear their inspiring story of resilience, adaptability, and groundbreaking innovation.  

Om Podcasten

Did you ever wonder how an innovation got to its finish line? How innovators saw the future, made a product, and created change – in our world and in their companies? I did. Innovation Storytellers invites changemakers to describe how they created their innovation and just as important – THE STORIES – that made us fall in love with them. Come learn how great innovations need great stories to make them move around the world and how to become a better storyteller in the process. I’m Susan Lindner, the Innovation Storyteller. But I wasn’t always. I’ve been a wannabe revolutionary, an epidemiologist at the CDC and an AIDS educator in the brothels of Thailand helping to turn former sex workers into entrepreneurs. Trained as an anthropologist and the Founder of Emerging Media, I’ve spent the last twenty years working with innovators from 60+ countries. Ranging from cutting edge startups to Fortune 100 companies like GE, Corning, Citi, Olayan, and nine foreign governments, helping their leaders to tell their stories and teaching them how to become incredible advocates for their innovations. Great innovation stories make change possible. They let us step into a future we can’t see yet. I started this podcast to shine a light on our generation of great innovators, to learn how they brought their innovation to life and the stories they told to bring them to the world.