US-based venture capital firm Autotech Ventures has raised more than $150m for its second fund from limited partners including automotive component manufacturers Lear, Stoneridge and Bridgestone, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Volvo Group Venture Capital, commercial vehicle producer Volvo’s investment unit, has also backed the fund, as have a host of unnamed additional vehicle manufacturers, parts suppliers, repair shop operators, leasing corporations, dealership retailers and trucking firms.
Autotech had been raising capital since at least the end of 2018, when Stoneridge was revealed to have committed $10m, before Volvo Group Venture Capital injected an undisclosed amount in December 2019 and Lear’s Innovation Ventures provided an undisclosed sum a month later.
Autotech launched in 2017 with a $120m fund aimed at early-stage startups. It focuses on the ground transportation and mobility sectors, ranging from connectivity, autonomy and electrification to enterprise software, logistics and junkyard inventory management.
The firm primarily targets US-based companies but will also seek out opportunities globally, with a particular interest in Europe and Israel.
Daniel Hoffer, managing director at Autotech, said: “The corporate LP base is a key part of our strategy as a firm and a key differentiator for us.
“At a high level we provide capital, transportation market intelligence and access to large corporations in the industry, including our LPs.
“Startups really value those connections because we can accelerate their go-to-market and their distribution channels in addition to providing greater access to other forms of business development and even M&A opportunities.”
Autotech’s exits have included Xnor.ai, a US-based artificial intelligence platform developer exploiting research from University of Washington, that was acquired by consumer technology group Apple for some $200m in January 2020.
Another exit was Deepscale, a US-based autonomous driving technology developer, that was picked up by electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla in October 2019.
