Singapore-based land transportation services provider ComfortDelGro has launched a $100m corporate venture capital fund called ComfortDelGro Capital Partners (CCP) to invest in technology startups that complement its activities.
Formed in 2003 through the merger of Comfort Group and DelGro Corporation, ComfortDelGro offers land transportation services including bus, taxi, rail, car rental and leasing as well as automotive engineering, driving centres, non-emergency patient transportation, insurance brokerage and advertising.
The firm claims to have more than 43,000 buses, taxis and rental vehicles in its fleet and operates in China, the UK, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
CPP will invest in developers of mobility technologies and services at seed, series A and series B stage. ComfortDelGro will use the fund to develop and acquire mobility technology companies with the aim of branching out into new areas.
Yang Ban Seng, ComfortDelGro’s managing director and CEO, said: “The strategic rationale for setting up the fund is to help increase our leverage in partnerships with technology startup companies, by giving us a pathway to eventually acquire or monetise them.”
ComfortDelGro recently expanded its bus operations in Australia by buying Buslink for approximately $138m, taking its total investments in the year-to-date to more than $450m according to chairman Lim Jit Poh.