Next Century Ventures (NCV), the corporate venture capital fund of Nexen Tire, has made its first investment since starting in March.
NCV has invested in US-based ANRA Technologies, an air traffic control system for urban air mobility (UAM) devices, such as drones.
Launched as a joint investment between South Korea-based Nexen, the holding company of US-based subsidiary Nexen Tire, NCV targets mobility technologies beyond tires, such as mobility-as-a-service (MaaS), artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and self-driving technologies.
ANRA Technologies has partnered with Swiggy, India’s largest online food delivery platform, achieving a 100-flight hour milestone while carrying out BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) drone delivery operations.
Jin Man Lee, CEO of NCV, said: “We are compelled by a calling to discover futuristic technologies that have the potential to connect individuals more safely and with ease and comfort, bringing joy to everyone’s daily lives.”
NCV effectively restarts Nexen’s corporate venturing initiative in-house. Back in 2014, Nexen had formed a KRW 300bn ($292m) investment fund in partnership with alternative investment firm CLSA Capital Partners.
