OTIV
OTIV is a Belgian developer of AI-based assistance, remote-control, and autonomous driving systems for rail vehicles, headquartered in Ghent.
OTIV was founded in Ghent in 2020 by Sam De Smet and Niels Van Damme. The company employs between 11 and 50 people according to its LinkedIn profile, and maintains an office in Cologne.
Its technology applies computer vision, sensor fusion, and motion planning to rail vehicles — a direct application of AI and machine learning applications to the driving task itself, within the wider stack of digital systems and software in rail.
Products
OTIV’s platform is structured as a staged path from assisted to autonomous operation. OTIV.ONE is a camera system for shunting operations; OTIV.TWO is an advanced driver assistance system for complex environments; OTIV.THREE covers remote supervision and tele-operation; OTIV.FOUR is the company’s full self-driving technology for rail vehicles.
The systems target three market segments: industrial rail (steel works and chemical sites), urban transit (tram networks), and mainline freight and passenger operations.
Market position
OTIV works with railway undertakings, infrastructure managers, industrial operators, and rolling stock manufacturers, with collaborations including DB Cargo, SNCF, CAF, ArcelorMittal, Green Cargo, ProRail, and NS.
Pilot deployments include driver assistance testing with De Lijn and CAF on the Belgian Coastal Tram, and collision avoidance validation with RET on tram operations in Rotterdam.
Current activity
In December 2025, OTIV announced a EUR 9 million growth investment co-led by Miles Ahead with existing investors SHIFT Invest and Finindus, earmarked for commercial deployment and development of fully autonomous trains.
The company was named Belgium’s fastest-growing tech scale-up in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 in 2025.
