Porsche to work with UP.Labs to create 6 mobility startups

MANILA: Porsche will collaborate with UP.Labs to establish six companies from 2023 to 2025 with new business models in various areas of mobility.

The Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer and the US company will set up startups that  will revolve around Porsche's core activities. For example, these could involve predictive maintenance, supply chain transparency, or digital retail. Porsche said it is investing a sum in the double-digit millions for this purpose.

The startups will be minority-owned by Porsche, and the carmaker will have the option to purchase them entirely after three years. Development is already underway for the first two startups, slated to be founded before the end of 2022.

"We want to strengthen our existing, broad-based startup ecosystem with an external growth engine," said Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT.

"Through UP.Labs, Porsche secures access to international talents and their know-how. The aim is to further enhance Porsche’s position in the current transformation phase of the automotive industry in the long term. Above all, we strive for new sources of innovation." Porsche has been active since 2016 in identifying and taking stakes in around 40 startups with new business models and new technologies.

Through the collaboration, UP.Labs will work directly with Porsche to develop startups tailored to the Porsche business. Porsche then has the option to integrate them into the organization. "The concept combines the advantages of free startup development on the market — for example, through the participation of all employees in the company's success — with the direct involvement of our employees and a close link to Porsche," Meschke explained.

Los Angeles-based UP.Labs has designed a new type of venturing platform, underpinned by what co-founder and CEO John Kuolt described as "a new model and incentives structure." The US team consists of proven entrepreneurs, product leaders ,and technologists with a record of co-developing numerous successful ventures in collaboration with corporate partners.

"As one of the pioneers of sustainable mobility, Porsche is actively searching for new solutions with courage and drive," CFO Meschke emphasizes. "UP.Labs' approach combines Porsche's capabilities with external market incentives to build exciting business models for the benefit of the company."

Photos from Porsche

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