The only private company selected among three teams in USDOT’s $17M initiative, Derq will test its technology across Texas and Virginia.

Derq, an AI-powered intelligent transportation company that helps agencies improve road safety and optimize traffic flow, has been awarded a federal contract by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) under Phase 1 of its Intersection Safety Systems (ISS) initiative. Following a highly competitive evaluation, Derq was selected as one of only three teams to demonstrate systems that identify, predict, and mitigate dangerous situations involving vehicles and pedestrians at intersections in real time. Derq will deploy these technologies alongside transportation agencies and industry and research partners in Texas and Virginia.

Traffic crashes remain a major national safety challenge, accounting for an estimated 36,640 U.S. fatalities in 2025, with intersections representing about 18% of all pedestrian fatalities. This new initiative builds on the USDOT’s Intersection Safety Challenge from 2023-2025, where Derq earned recognition as a Tier 1 winner in Stage 1B, which assessed real-time ISS concepts that leveraged sensor fusion and AI.

“Most systems today tell you what happened. Ours also predicts what’s about to happen and acts on it,” said Dr. Georges Aoude, co-founder and CEO of Derq. “As the only private company selected for this USDOT program, with technology already running at intersections across the country, Derq is ready to prove that real-time crash prevention can become part of everyday traffic operations and protect communities at scale.”

Derq’s system fuses real-time camera footage with other sensor feeds, traffic signal information, and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) messages. By processing these inputs at the roadside, the system anticipates situations and conflicts—such as a driver running a red light or a pedestrian entering the road—and then issues a warning, activates a roadside sign, or adjusts a traffic signal in real time. The system is built on Derq’s portfolio of 23 patents spanning sensor fusion, road-user intent prediction, V2X-based warnings, and real-time conflict mitigation.

Derq will test its system at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s Virginia Smart Roads and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s RELLIS Proving Grounds. Its public-sector partners include the Texas Department of Transportation, the City of Houston, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church, Virginia. Additional industry partners include WSP USA, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, and AT&T.

To support this work, the USDOT has awarded $5.5 million across the three selected teams for Phase 1, covering prototype development and testing. The USDOT anticipates an additional $11.5 million for Phase 2 to refine and assess the prototypes at real-world intersections.

About Derq

Derq is an AI-powered intelligent transportation company helping agencies improve safety and optimize traffic flow for all road users. An MIT spinoff founded in 2016, Derq's award-winning technology is deployed across the U.S., Canada, and the GCC region, with 23 patents and global recognition from leaders in AI and mobility. Learn more at https://www.derq.com.

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"As the only private company selected for this USDOT program, with technology already running at intersections across the country, Derq is ready to prove that real-time crash prevention can become part of everyday traffic operations," said Aoude.