South Korea-headquartered diversified conglomerate SK Group and China-based carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group have formed a $300m mobility investment fund, Reuters reported yesterday.
The corporates are each putting up $30m for the vehicle and intend to source the rest from external investors, with European banks and Asian pension funds expected to contribute, according to a statement by SK Holdings cited by Reuters.
The as yet unnamed fund will target developers of technology in areas such as autonomous driving, vehicle electrification and connectivity-focused products.
SK Group has also formed a partnership with Geely that will involve promoting cooperation with next-generation mobility companies in areas like hydrogen fuel, advanced battery materials, chips and driverless vehicle technology.
Geely’s existing portfolio companies include Volocopter, the urban aircraft developer that raised $240m earlier this month, and smart in-car electronics developer ECarX, which was valued at $2bn as of its most recent funding, in February this year.
Companies that have received funding from SK Group meanwhile include Megvii, the computer vision technology producer set to raise more than $920m in a forthcoming initial public offering, as well as artificial intelligence chipmaker Horizon Robotics, which has secured $900m in funding this year.
