Simplifai Systems

What Simplifai Systems does

Simplifai Systems Limited is a UK-based, privately-held software company founded in 2017 and headquartered at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre in Huddersfield, with additional offices in Manchester and Newcastle. It builds a single core product — an AI-powered, goal-centred traffic management software that ingests real-time data on congestion, signal timings, bus movements, incidents and air quality and outputs city-scale signal-timing strategies to achieve objectives such as reducing congestion, prioritising public transport, or improving air quality. The underlying AI derives from autonomous-vehicle planning research and is protected by granted UK (GB2598661, 2024) and Chinese (ZL202080021001.8, 2026) patents, with a US application pending.

The company sells and pilots its software exclusively with UK local and regional transport authorities — Glasgow City Council, Kirklees Council, Hull City Council, Blackpool Council, Sheffield City Council (upcoming) and Transport for Greater Manchester — typically through direct enterprise engagements, demonstration projects and grant-funded pilots (Innovate UK, Scottish Government Bus Infrastructure Fund, UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship). Commercial deployments are presently in Blackpool and Glasgow, with Sheffield signed up as a forthcoming site and China identified as the primary international expansion market following the 2026 patent grant. The operating model is enterprise field sales with multi-year software licensing, supplemented by academic collaboration with the University of Huddersfield's AI4UTMC research team. Total disclosed outside capital is approximately £250,000 (November 2021 co-investment with E2E Capital Ventures and GC Angels) and headcount is in the 1–10 range.

Name

Simplifai Systems

Legal name

Simplifai Systems Limited

Website

https://simplifaisystems.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Simplifai Systems builds AI-powered, goal-centred traffic management software for UK local transport authorities, using novel planning AI to optimise urban traffic signals in real time. It holds granted UK and Chinese patents and is deployed with councils including Glasgow, Kirklees, Hull and Blackpool.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intelligent Transportation Systems

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Centralized Traffic Management Platforms (ATMS/TMC Software) (TLAJACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Traffic Analytics, Prediction & Decision Support (AI/Optimization) (TLAJACAE), Autonomous Driving & ADAS Perception (HDAAAEAI)

Keywords

• AI traffic management
• Intelligent transport systems
• Urban traffic optimization
• Smart city software
• Traffic signal control

Headquarters

HQ city

Huddersfield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. AI Traffic Management Software Licences: Simplifai generates revenue by licensing its AI traffic management software to local transport authorities and city councils. The software is installed in a customer's control centre, connected to data sources and traffic control devices, and configured to solve specific traffic management objectives. Revenue is derived from software licences, likely as recurring subscription contracts for ongoing access, updates, and support services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Simplifai Systems develops and licenses AI-powered traffic management software that generates real-time traffic control strategies for urban environments. The software uses artificial intelligence to manipulate traffic signal timings and road occupancy across a city to achieve specified goals such as reducing congestion, improving air quality, prioritising buses, and managing major events. It operates alongside existing traffic management infrastructure, sensors, and smart city technologies, and is licensed to local transport authorities and city councils on multi-year enterprise contracts.

Product overview

Simplifai Systems offers a single unified AI-powered traffic management software product called Simplifai. The software generates real-time traffic control strategies using novel artificial intelligence to control traffic signals across cities. It works alongside existing systems, sensors, and smart city technologies to improve their effectiveness. The solution allows local authorities to address various traffic problems including relieving congestion, managing major events, reducing air pollution, maintaining traffic flow around roadworks, and emergency evacuations. The company has commercial deployments in Blackpool and Glasgow, with Sheffield upcoming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Simplifai AI-powered traffic management software that generates real-time traffic control strategies to optimise urban traffic flow. The system uses artificial intelligence to control traffic signals across cities by manipulating traffic flow and road occupancy to achieve goals such as reducing congestion, improving air quality, and managing traffic around events or incidents. Claims to be up to 20% more effective than existing approaches and is sold to local transport authorities and city councils.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 20% improvement over existing traffic management approaches
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Huddersfield (AI4UTMC Research Team)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2026Simplifai collaborates closely with the University of Huddersfield's AI4UTMC research team, led by Professor Mauro Vallati and including Dr Rongge Guo, Saumya Bhatnagar-Knox, Dr Sandra Castellanos-Paez, Dr Francesco Percassi, and Dr Megan Robinson. The partnership, which began with a chance meeting between founder Keith McCabe and Prof. Lee McCluskey in 2014, has produced significant IP including granted UK and China patents for the AI traffic management system. Professor Lee McCluskey serves as Simplifai's Chief Research Officer and is a world-leading AI authority. The collaboration has also generated the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project worth up to £1.4m over four years.
• ITS UK (Intelligent Transport Systems UK)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Andy Hamer, Simplifai's Chief Revenue Officer, was elected to the Expert Committee for the Digital Transport Forum at ITS UK. This committee role enables Simplifai to collaborate with fellow committee members to drive the adoption of innovative technology including AI across the UK transport sector, and helps shape the future of transport and improve UK infrastructure through digital transformation.
• Glasgow City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Glasgow City Council partnered with Simplifai for AI traffic signal control trials. An initial small-scale trial on Pollokshaws Road in 2024 delivered up to 50% improvement in bus journey times, leading to a larger one-year pilot of AI-powered traffic signals backed by £490,000 from the Scottish Government's Bus Infrastructure Fund, and subsequently a £1.27 million Scottish Government-funded 12-month pilot covering the full length of Pollokshaws Road.
• Hull City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Hull City Council deployed Simplifai's AI technology during the Drypool Bridge closure to manage traffic congestion. The AI system reduced bus delays from approximately one hour to six minutes. Officials stated they were 'quite pleased' with the results, and the technology has been cited as a success case for AI in local authority traffic management.
• Local Health Services (Manchester)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 November 2021Simplifai planned to develop AI solutions for health services in Manchester, including improving appointment scheduling and reducing healthcare backlogs, as part of its 2021 expansion supported by a £250,000 investment.
• Kirklees CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021In October 2021, Kirklees Council, University of Huddersfield, and Simplifai launched the ASPECT Project — a joint initiative to introduce AI into traffic management in Kirklees. The project included creating a data warehouse, deploying analytical tools, creating user dashboards, and deploying the AI planner tool. The project has delivered measurable results including more than 8% congestion reduction before events and up to 68% reduction in delays after events.
• Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Simplifai won an Innovate UK First of a Kind contract in 2017 to build an AI traffic management prototype, working with Transport for Greater Manchester. This project validated Simplifai's technology and led to the formation of the company as it exists today. TfGM also collaborated on the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship research project.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NoTraffic: Israel/US-based AI traffic management platform that uses AI and computer vision to optimise traffic signals in real time at intersections. Direct competitor serving the same municipal customer base with overlapping AI-driven adaptive signal value proposition.
• Waycare: AI-driven traffic management and predictive analytics platform sold to DOTs and municipalities. Directly comparable use cases (incident prediction, signal optimisation) and municipal customer segment.
• Vivacity Labs: UK-based AI traffic sensors and analytics provider serving UK local authorities and smart city programmes. Closely comparable geographic footprint and customer base, with overlapping AI-driven traffic optimisation capabilities.
• Rapid Flow AI (Surtrac): Spin-out from Carnegie Mellon that provides AI-based adaptive traffic signal control, sold to cities and DOTs. Closely comparable in product approach (AI-based signal timing optimisation) and target customer (municipal traffic authorities).

Broad incumbents

• Yunex Traffic: Global incumbent traffic management platform vendor (formerly Siemens ITS) offering adaptive signal control and UTMC platforms to cities worldwide. Comparable customer base but operates as a broad incumbent rather than an AI-native specialist.
• Kapsch TrafficCom: Large ITS incumbent providing adaptive signal control, tolling, and urban traffic management systems to public authorities globally. Serves overlapping municipal customers but with a much broader portfolio beyond AI optimisation.
• SWARCO: European-headquartered ITS incumbent offering traffic signal controllers, urban traffic management, and adaptive control solutions to cities. Comparable municipal customer base with broader hardware+software portfolio.
• Iteris: US-based smart mobility infrastructure vendor providing traffic management software, sensors, and analytics to agencies. Comparable end market (DOTs/cities) and overlapping analytics capabilities, with a much broader portfolio.
• Cubic Transportation Systems: Major transportation technology vendor serving transit and urban mobility authorities worldwide with ITS and traffic management platforms. Comparable customer base but as a broad incumbent rather than a specialist.

Emerging players

• UrbanLogiq: Smart city data platform that ingests municipal transportation and infrastructure data for analytics and decision support. Comparable municipal customer base and overlapping predictive analytics use cases, but broader data platform rather than traffic-signal specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Simplifai Systems