Local Motors Launches Software-as-a-Service Division

Local Motors (Phoenix, Arizona) has launched a new division, Forth by LM. Forth is a crowd-powered, Software as a Service (SaaS) platform plus related services intended to enable companies to transform and digitize their product development process using co-creation and micro-manufacturing. Forth is an online co-creation community with more than 60,000 active, international members. This network is already being leveraged by GE and Airbus Group.

Co-creation has been vital to the development and launch of all of the products in Local Motors’ vehicle portfolio, including the Rally Fighter, the first co-created vehicle; the Strati, the first 3D-printed car; and most recently, Olli, the first cognitive, autonomous vehicle with IBM Watson technology.

“The launch of Forth is a proud moment for me as it demonstrates to the world that co-creation and micro-manufacturing of vehicles is leading the way for rapid product development and commercialization across many other industries,” says Local Motors Cofounder and CEO John B. Rogers Jr. “The last century of manufacturing is not fit for the products of the next century, and Forth is showing the world that if we can change the vehicle industry to incorporate a digital future in its process and products, then we can do the same in every industry across the world.

Elle Shelley, executive vice president of Forth and Local Motors CMO, says, “The goal of Forth is to empower as many ideas and people as possible—inside and outside of corporate America and around the world. Together we are building a community and the tools that can unleash the power of collaborative innovation, rapid prototyping and small-batch manufacturing. The result of this is the ability to bring to market the products desired by a digital generation.”