Obvio

Obvio is an AI-powered traffic safety company founded in 2021 by Ali Rehan and Dhruv Maheshwari, repeat entrepreneurs who previously worked together at Motive. The company designs and deploys solar-powered smart cameras at intersections and in school zones to detect dangerous driving behaviours - including stop sign violations, speeding, failure to yield, distracted driving and crosswalk violations - and to enable real-time enforcement.

The cameras process footage locally using on-device edge AI, transmitting data only when a violation is detected, a design intended to balance privacy with enforcement. Because the units are solar-powered, they can be installed in under a week without power or utility permissions. Technical work spans computer vision, edge inference, traffic safety analytics and solar-powered IoT hardware.

Early-adopter municipalities have reported up to 50% reductions in violations within months of installation. The founders' earlier AI camera work at Motive covered more than 200,000 trucks and was associated with a 24% reduction in crash rates. Obvio operates on American roadways and is expanding nationally across US cities and municipalities.

The company raised a $22m Series A round in 2025. Its stated mission is to curb reckless driving and save lives on American roadways, with a longer-term ambition to build the intelligence layer for safer streets globally.