A Maltese artificial intelligence expert has walked away with €1.3 million in funding for his AI-powered traffic management system after appearing on TVM’s Shark Tank.

University of Malta professor and former Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli secured the funds for his Digital Traffic Brain from energy and healthcare entrepreneur Mark Bajada.

Telling the artificial intelligence (AI) expert, “You’re like the Steve Jobs of Malta,” Bajada offered Dingli €1.3 million for half of his business. Dingli had entered the show asking for €1 million in exchange for 40 per cent equity. 

Dingli says his Digital Traffic Brain idea could radically improve Malta's traffic problem by leveraging AI to direct motorists to optimal routes, evening out traffic flows. 

The European Commission has estimated that traffic congestion and pollution cost Malta €400 million each year, and Dingli argued that the average person in Malta spends around five years of their life stuck in traffic. 

Dingli believes his proposed system could integrate with Malta’s existing road camera network to capture and analyse traffic data across the country and do a better - and faster - job of acting on that information than humans. 

He said he had already spoken to Transport Malta about the system, and their feedback had been "very positive." 

“The current solutions are made up of feeds of cameras and sensors probably going to a control room... [with] a bunch of people trying to make sense of that... When there are hundreds of cameras and sensors, this doesn’t really make sense,” he said.

But Dingli said the Digital Traffic Brain would go one step further and use that data to better manage the flow of vehicles across the island by controlling traffic lights and lane closures, something he also said could help prevent emergency services from being stuck in traffic jams.

“Most of these interventions are done manually today, so we would be taking over that part,” said Dingli.

University of Malta professor and AI expert Alexei Dingli. Photo: YouTube/Shark Tank Malta.

He said the system could also suggest routes for motorists by integrating into existing solutions like Google Maps or with a standalone app. 

When asked what advantages his system offered over apps such as Google Maps and Waze, which use user data to analyse congestion and suggest alternative routes, the professor explained its strength was its holistic approach.

While existing apps suggest an alternative route to benefit only that user, the Digital Traffic Brain aims to balance traffic flow across the entire network, leading to an estimated 15 per cent improvement, Dingli said.

Only China has adopted a similar solution, he added.

Dingli said the business is forecast to make profits of €500,000 in its first year, an amount he expects to double year-on-year, figures which impressed the Shark Tank bosses. 

Speaking to Times of Malta on Friday, he said he felt “honoured” Bajada had decided to invest in the project which he said he had been thinking about for several years.

“We are going to make a difference together – traffic isn’t just a problem in Malta,” he said.

Clean energy entrepreneur Mark Bajada offered Dingli €1.3 million for half of his business. Photo: YouTube/Shark Tank Malta.

During his pitch, Dingli explained he wanted to roll the system out abroad with cities around Europe eyed as potential locations for further expansion. He noted that traffic congestion was estimated to cost European countries around €270 billion each year.

In November, motorists were held up in traffic jams stretching back two kilometres after major roadworks got underway as part of the Pembroke Junction project. One driver said he had spent "the whole day in traffic; it’s shameful.”

That same month saw Parliament forced to start late after Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli and Shadow Minister Graziella Galea were both delayed due to traffic after gridlock hit the island, with many blaming the gaming industry SiGMA Europe conference that was taking place at the time.