Netherlands-headquartered automotive manufacturer Stellantis has launched a €300m ($331m) corporate venture capital vehicle to invest in technology that could be applied to the automotive and mobility sectors.
Stellantis Ventures will invest in early and later-stage companies specialising in a wide range of technologies related to automotive technology.
Target areas for the fund include autonomous driving, electronics, sustainability, energy, connectivity and advanced materials, software or manufacturing as well as financial technology, sales tools, the supply chain, virtual reality and even non-fungible tokens.
Stellantis said the fund will operate as a strategic investor in a way that allows for new technologies to be integrated into the company within compressed timeframes – in months as opposed to years.
The corporate had co-led a $200m series D round for electric vehicle battery developer Factorial Energy with fellow carmaker Mercedes-Benz in January this year. It also became a limited partner in private equity firm Eurazeo’s Smart City II Venture fund in February 2021.
The new vehicle forms part of the Dare Forward 2030 long-term strategic plan announced by Stellantis earlier this month. The initiative outlines objectives including cutting its carbon emissions in half by 2030, by which time it also wants 100% of its sales in Europe and 50% in the US to be electric vehicles.
Formed in January 2021 as a 50-50 merger between the US-headquartered Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the France-based PSA Group, Stellantis oversees car producers Chrysler, Dodge, Peugeot, Citroen, Maserati, Fiat, Lancia and Opel.
Stellantis chief technology officer Ned Curic said: “We are moving fast in our transformation to a mobility tech company while reimagining the future of mobility for generations to come.
“The market is changing, the technology is changing and the way we relate to our customers is changing. Stellantis Ventures will accelerate our transformation as we adopt new technologies developed by innovative startups while fostering their growth potential.”
Image courtesy of Stellantis NV.
