Japan-headquartered automotive manufacturer Nissan is considering pulling out of Alliance Ventures, the Netherlands-based corporate venture capital partnership it formed with peers Renault and Mitsubishi, Reuters has reported.
The vehicle was launched by the carmakers in early 2018 with plans to invest $200m in the first year rising to $1bn over five years.
However, Mitsubishi informed the other partners at a meeting earlier this month that it does not intend to provide more capital for the fund, a source told Reuters, adding that the partners had never actually reached the $200m commitment in any of the years Alliance had operated.
The source was one of two that told Reuters a decision will be made by the end of this month, the other saying: “Of course we are out. The house is on fire.”
Alliance Ventures has built an 11-strong portfolio that includes Upstream Security, a developer of in-car cybersecurity technology, and autonomous driving software developer WeRide.
The first source told Reuters: “It was not established by Ghosn as a way to make money. It was for those learning opportunities we get from investing in smart startups. But given the tough financial situation we are facing, we are looking at investment return.”
