Motive Technologies, Inc. is an American software company headquartered in San Francisco. Its platform connects vehicles, drivers and operations teams through applications and onboard devices. Available online at gomotive.com, it serves transportation companies as well as construction, logistics and service businesses that need to coordinate activities across multiple field locations.
From KeepTruckin to Motive
Founded in 2013 by Shoaib Makani, Ryan Johns and Obaid Khan, the company first became known as KeepTruckin. Its initial offering made it easier for truck drivers to keep driving logs on their smartphones. It subsequently supported the digitization of American road transportation, particularly through electronic logging devices, known as ELDs, which record driving hours.
In 2022, KeepTruckin became Motive. This name change reflected a broader positioning: beyond transportation companies’ regulatory obligations, the company aims to bring together several tools for managing physical operations. Vehicle tracking is now one component of a broader offering that also encompasses safety, equipment and expenses.
A platform combining telematics and video analytics
The core offering relies on collecting and using data from vehicles and connected equipment. Fleet managers can view locations, monitor asset utilization and access information useful for maintenance. Compliance features notably enable them to manage drivers’ hours of service within the relevant regulatory frameworks.
Safety plays an important role in the product range. Motive sells dashcams paired with artificial intelligence features designed to detect certain risky behaviors or situations. Alerts and video footage can then be used to analyze an incident or provide guidance to drivers. These tools aim to make interventions more targeted without removing the need for human assessment of the context.
The company also offers tracking for trailers and other equipment, along with expense management tools, notably through Motive Card. The value of this integrated approach lies in linking transactions with operational data. The model thus combines online software, connected hardware and related services, with integrations with other business applications.
What comes next?
Motive’s trajectory will depend in particular on its ability to turn collected data into useful decisions: better anticipation of maintenance needs, tighter expense control and accident prevention. In a competitive telematics market, platform coherence and integration with existing tools are important considerations.
The use of cameras and algorithms also raises questions about privacy, employee acceptance and the reliability of alerts. For client companies, deployment must therefore be accompanied by clear rules on data access, retention and use in evaluating work performance.