Tyre maker Pirelli has agreed to acquire a 24.99% equity stake in RIDEsense, with the option to increase its holding to full ownership of the company.
RIDEsense – established in 2023 – is a start-up spun out of the University of Naples Federico II’s Department of Industrial Engineering and the MegaRide Group.
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RIDEsense’s underlying technology relies on physics-based algorithms that model the behaviour of vehicles and tyres.
It is made available both as software for standard production-vehicle electronic control units (ECUs) and as hardware via the company’s Kymes platform, which is targeted at the testing and motorsport sectors.
Under the agreement, Pirelli also secures a licence to use RIDEsense’s virtual sensor technology, with defined safeguards governing the extension of rights to third parties.
The two firms plan to jointly develop software solutions for integration into the Pirelli Cyber Tyre ecosystem, bringing together physical tyre sensors with RIDEsense’s virtual sensors – algorithms that draw on data from sensors already fitted in vehicles.
Pirelli CTO Piero Misani said: “Our agreement with RIDEsense will further expand the potential of this ecosystem by strengthening its software component, which lies at the very heart of Cyber Tyre.”
The combined technology is aimed at reinforcing existing capabilities such as “aquaplaning detection, while enabling the development of new capabilities related to tyre diagnostics and, more broadly, vehicle diagnostics”.
It is also expected to broaden Cyber Tyre’s application within ADAS and autonomous driving systems.
Cyber Tyre is currently supplied as original equipment on certain vehicle models available in the market.
The system pairs hardware and software to gather data from tyre-embedded sensors, which is then processed through Pirelli’s proprietary algorithms and relayed in real time to a vehicle’s electronic systems, including braking, stability and traction control.
Separately, pilot schemes applying the technology to assess road infrastructure conditions are already being run in partnership with public authorities.
RIDEsense co-CEOs Flavio Farroni and Aleksandr Sakhnevych added: “As mobility becomes increasingly connected, technologies capable of delivering greater safety, efficiency and driving quality are essential. This is the objective we share with Pirelli.”
