Automotive manufacturing group Stellantis set up its $330m corporate venture arm, Stellantis Ventures, in 2022 under Adam Bazih, but it was not formally unveiled until the middle of 2023, together with a dozen initial investments.
Stellantis is the fourth largest carmaker worldwide, overseeing 16 brands including Fiat, Citroën, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler and Jeep. Its CVC arm is no less diverse, with its portfolio featuring holographic display developer Envisics, off-road information provider Trails Offroad and AI battery management startup Electra.
“Having diversity and different corporate cultures alongside regional and cultural diversity is a core Stellantis strength,” says Bazih. “It has given different takes and perspectives on deal flow or just the different regions and areas.”
“Having diversity and different corporate cultures alongside regional and cultural diversity is a core Stellantis strength”
The unit’s portfolio has since expanded to include Niron Magnetics, which is working on rare earth-free permanent magnets, and Lyten, which raised $200m in a Stellantis Venturesbacked round to support the development of its 3D graphene supermaterials.
Stellantis Ventures’ team has grown from four to seven in the past year and spreads across the US, where Bazih is based, as well as Italy, France and Germany. Bazih’s background takes in deep tech startups and investing, but having started out in medical technology, he believes there are similarities between that sector and the automotive industry.
“What we see happening in mobility and transformation, as things are moving towards electrification or new types of propulsion systems, is similar to what has happened in the medical space, as technology has permeated into devices or pharmaceuticals. How drugs are discovered, how drugs are manufactured, even how they get distributed,” he says.
“They touch every human, and mobility does as well – from micromobility or simply walking and getting to places, all the way to vehicles, aircraft and spaceships.”
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