Tag: M and A

Connected car startup wejo raises €91 million in Series B funding led by GM

Based in Chester, UK, wejo is a connected car startup that delivers intelligent insights for car manufacturers, insurers, and service providers through an automotive data exchange platform. The startup currently tracks over 7 million vehicles in over 180 countries (curating over 78 billion miles of data) and anticipates that 28 million cars will be on its platform by 2020.

Founded in 2014, wejo has just received an investment of €91 million in a Series B round led by General Motors, including an in-kind contribution worth more than €60 million, for a 35% stake in the company. This follows on a €13 million Series A round raised in 2018, and the Series B round now puts wejo’s valuation at €244 million.

“This strategic partnership with GM represents a major step forward for wejo and puts us at the forefront of the connected car revolution,” said Richard Barlow, CEO of wejo. “It’s a statement of intent from one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world. Connected car data is of enorm..

Berlin-based startup German Autolabs raises €7 million for Chris, its AI voice assistant for cars

Berlin-based deep tech startup German Autolabs recently created Chris, the world’s first voice AI enabled digital assistant for in-car usage. The startup has now announced a funding round of €7 million, led by new investors nbr Tech Ventures, VC Fonds Technologie Berlin, and coparion, along with existing investor Target Partners.

Chris, which was launched in the European market in late 2018, is a digital co-driver, and has already established the world’s largest fleet of connected and voice AI enabled devices in cars on the streets today. Chris enables drivers to safely operate their Android phones using voice and gestures while driving, including messaging, navigation, calls and music.

“Why is ‘Chris’ so important?”, asked the leading automotive industry analyst Roger C. Lanctot. “Because the A-Team (Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Alibaba) has made it clear to automakers that they won’t be segregating or shielding vehicle-based digital assistant users from broader customer aggregation act..

FAURECIA : ALL FINANCIAL TARGETS ACHIEVED DESPITE HEADWINDS IN H2 ; RECORD SALES, PROFITABILITY AND CASH – STRONG ORDER INTAKE ; PROPOSED DIVIDEND OF 1.25€ PER SHARE

FAURECIA : ALL FINANCIAL TARGETS ACHIEVED DESPITE HEADWINDS IN H2 ; RECORD SALES, PROFITABILITY AND CASH – STRONG ORDER INTAKE ; PROPOSED DIVIDEND OF 1.25€ PER SHARE  Nanterre (France), February 18, 2019 FULL-YEAR 2018 RESULTS ALL FINANCIAL TARGETS ACHIEVED DESPITE HEADWINDS IN H2 RECORD SALES, PROFITABILITY AND CASH – STRONG ORDER INTAKE PROPOSED DIVIDEND OF… Continue reading FAURECIA : ALL FINANCIAL TARGETS ACHIEVED DESPITE HEADWINDS IN H2 ; RECORD SALES, PROFITABILITY AND CASH – STRONG ORDER INTAKE ; PROPOSED DIVIDEND OF 1.25€ PER SHARE

Ford’s New Take on Getting Parcels to Your Door Could Help Speed Deliveries, Ease Congestion and Improve Air Quality

Ford partners with delivery company Gnewt by Menzies Distribution (Gnewt) to trial new digital parcel courier service designed to help reduce congestion and offer faster deliveries Ford’s new cloud-based software identifies optimum places for van drivers to pull over near multiple drop-off points; pedestrian and, one day, cycle couriers perform last leg of delivery Gnewt… Continue reading Ford’s New Take on Getting Parcels to Your Door Could Help Speed Deliveries, Ease Congestion and Improve Air Quality

PSA accelerates in services in China

PSA signs a new operation in China. The French manufacturer announced on Monday to have taken a “significant stake” in FengChe, a specialist in “used vehicle management services in the local market”. The group will remain “minority shareholder”, PSA said the “Echoes” without revealing the amount of investment. of the “Push to Pass” strategic plan,… Continue reading PSA accelerates in services in China

BlackBerry and the Government of Canada partner for a safe and secure connected future

BlackBerry and the Government of Canada announce a partnership to accelerate safety-certified autonomous and connected vehicle technology. The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced an investment of $40 million in BlackBerry QNX, a business unit of BlackBerry Limited, to develop safe and secure software systems for the next generation of connected and autonomous vehicles. BlackBerry will invest… Continue reading BlackBerry and the Government of Canada partner for a safe and secure connected future

Alliance Ventures invests in PowerShare to advance charging solutions and services for electric vehicles

Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, today announced a new investment in PowerShare, an electric vehicle (EV) charging platform startup based in China. PowerShare provides an online platform that connects EV drivers, charge point operators and power suppliers to streamline the charging experience. It offers a cloud-based system, enabling suppliers to monitor… Continue reading Alliance Ventures invests in PowerShare to advance charging solutions and services for electric vehicles

A Brief Look Into EV Smart Charging And Why It Makes Sense

What is EV smart charging? Why do we need it to move electric car adoption forward? My wife and I bought our first electric vehicle six years ago this summer. It was a signature ‘Blue Ocean’ 2013 Nissan LEAF, which my sister-in-law affectionately named LEAF Erickson. We have enjoyed freedom from the pump, smooth and… Continue reading A Brief Look Into EV Smart Charging And Why It Makes Sense

OXIS Energy Lithium-Sulfur Batteries To Be Produced In Brazil

OXIS Energy attracted $60 million investment to build small production facility OXIS Energy is progressing on the way to commercialize its  lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery, which already offers energy density of more than 400 Wh/kg and by the end of 2019 are expected to improve to 500 Wh/kg. The company signed contract with CODEMGE PARTICIPACOES SA,… Continue reading OXIS Energy Lithium-Sulfur Batteries To Be Produced In Brazil