The Road to 100k Connected Cars: How DIMO Is Revolutionizing the Auto Industry

Cars are smarter than ever. But vehicle owners get left out of the loop when it comes to far too many aspects of owning and driving a car. The status quo is at odds with the spirit of freedom that cars have always embodied. 

The data generated by vehicles — data that could improve our driving experience, reduce our costs, and even reward drivers — is locked away by manufacturers. Drivers are thus shut out of the value in an industry that is expected to hit at least $300 billion by 2030. General Motors was recently sued by the state of Texas, allegedly using technology to “collect, record, analyze, and transmit highly detailed driving data about each time a driver used their vehicle” and then sell to other companies.

This disconnect between car owners and manufacturers is at the heart of a growing problem in the automotive world.

Vehicles are ever more like computers on wheels, yet we have less control over them than ever before. And the spirit of independence that cars once represented is quickly eroding. Automakers should embrace the idea that they are creating a connection–a relationship–with car and driver that goes beyond mere transactions. 

But what if drivers could reclaim that sense of freedom and self-expression with their cars? 

That’s where DIMO comes in — a platform that aims to change how we interact with our cars and bring back the fun and freedom in cars again. And last month, DIMO celebrated a huge milestone of 100,000 connected cars on the network.

This isn’t just a statistic; it’s a sign that car owners are ready for a change. They want more from their vehicles. And they’re finding it with DIMO. 

DIMO’s Founding Story: From Garage to the Open Road

Digital Infrastructure Inc. was founded in 2020 by Andrew Chatham, Robert Solomon, Alex Rawitz, and Yevgeny Khessin, leading to the formation of the DIMO team–which, like many startups, began in a garage. Before the DIMO you see today, the team was investigating a range of problems in the auto/mobility space that could be solved with more open data and connectivity.

How would you architect a parking garage so that sensors and vehicles were completely interoperable? How could you provide users with better battery analytics to avoid EV fires? In the future, if a Toyota AV and a Ford AV crash, how do you determine who’s at fault? 

Their research into these problems led them to develop DIMO, an open data verification layer that increases trust in vehicle connectivity by creating common standards. On DIMO, any automotive service or use case that requires vehicle data and connectivity can be built by any developer from core components that are built and maintained by a community.

One core belief of the team then and now is that the owner of a particular vehicle (vehicles are the most expensive devices most people own) should own the data that goes with it. With the aim to build a credibly neutral infrastructure layer that even large enterprises would buy into, the team had to start somewhere–and that meant connecting drivers to the DIMO app. 

In order to make the app useful, the team began by creating the DIMO Macaron and the DIMO AutoPi devices that you can plug into your car to track your car’s health while earning rewards just for driving.

What Exactly is DIMO?

DIMO is a connected car network that puts drivers back in control of their car data. Today, car manufacturers make millions by selling user data to third parties. DIMO flips this exploitative dynamic on its head and allows users to access that valuable data and earn weekly rewards. 

At its core, DIMO gives cars a digital identity and puts you in control of your vehicle’s data. This opens up a world of new services, experiences, and even economic opportunities. For example, you could share error codes with a shop before you go in, or provide a history of your vehicle to an AI agent for personalized customer support.

DIMO is redefining car ownership by making every car smart, programmable, and connected in a way that actually benefits the owners. It’s giving power back to the driver and, frankly, making driving fun again.

Where DIMO Stands Today

DIMO officially launched on the Polygon network in December 2022. Since then, Polygon has been a critical factor in the first 100k cars connecting to a blockchain network with DIMO. Thanks to the Polygon blockchain and the community’s resources, all vehicles connected to DIMO are part of an open and secure platform where a vehicle’s data works for its owner. 

One of the key reasons drivers are connecting to DIMO is straightforward: rewards. Your car is already producing insane amounts of data that’s useful to someone, and you should be rewarded for that. On DIMO, car owners can earn rewards every month, in the form of $DIMO tokens, simply for being connected.

On top of the weekly rewards, you can think of the $DIMO tokens as credit card rewards for your car. Now you can get alerts when your brakes are wiped, be directed to a local shop to get them done for you on the same day, and you get rewards for what you spent on the repair. Your car becomes more than just transportation; it becomes a co-pilot along every step of your journey. 

Besides connecting your car, DIMO is empowering developers to build innovative car solutions with the first truly open mobility development ecosystem, the DIMO Developer Platform. The platform enables countless applications to be built with access to vehicle data once granted approval by vehicle owners.

Ultimately, DIMO serves as the car-make-agnostic infrastructure that connects every car and makes it possible to build universal apps for every car. The developer platform gives you a blank slate to create anything you’ve ever wanted for your car, like tracking your car’s fuel level and odometer, or estimating your car’s worth. The entire space is now ripe for any builder to plug in and build apps or hardware devices that could change the way we drive. 

Just like our smart phones always have “an app for that,” our cars will eventually work in a similar way. DIMO is giving developers the platform to begin building that future.

The Vision: What’s Next for DIMO

Hitting 100,000 connected cars is a big milestone, but DIMO is just getting started. The next phase is about scaling up towards 1 million cars with access to more apps built by more developers using the DIMO network. 

DIMO’s long-term vision includes seamless transactions for services like insurance, registration, and maintenance–all managed with the click of a button. No more waiting at the DMV or struggling with outdated systems. Just a smooth experience where your car takes care of the details. The open connected vehicle network that DIMO is building is the path toward that seamless car future.

Cars will only produce more data over time, and the opportunities for owners unlocked by that data will only increase. Even car manufacturers like Toyota are already seeing the benefits of an interconnected mobility network on the blockchain.

As DIMO continues to grow, the future of car ownership looks bright. Whether you’re a car owner, a developer, or just someone interested in the future of transportation, now is the time to get involved. 

DIMO has big projects coming up that build toward this vision. Sign up now to experience the future of a connected car network.

See you at 1 million connected cars. 🚗

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