BMW Investing €500 Million In Startups For Future Tech As Autonomous War Heats Up

BMW will invest €500 Million in startups in the next 10 years as the war to get smarter cars on the road heats up.

Updated: Tuesday, November 29, 2016, 16:45 [IST]

German carmaker BMWwill boost its investments in startups as it tires to stay ahead of new rivals like Tesla Motors with regards to smarter and more efficient cars.

BMW Investing €500 Million In Startups To Accelerate Autonomous Tech Development

In a statement issued on Monday,BMW said that it will invest up to €500 million (Rs. 36.37 billion) over the coming ten years through its iVentures capital fund which it started five years ago in 2011.

Among the new areas of investment for iVentures is in to autonomous technologies along with a significant expansion in Europe and Asia.

iVentures will also relocate its headquarters to Silicon Valley from its current base in New York as BMW looks towards mobility of the future and rapid technological change.

"The mobility of the future and our industry is being defined by the increasingly rapid pace of technological change," BMW's head of development Klaus Froehlich said in the statement. "Anyone who wants to succeed must shape this change and have access to the best ideas."

"These days, more and more innovations come from the startup scene," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the board of management responsible for MINI, BMW Motorrad, Rolls-Royce and After-Sales. "Venturing allows us to tap into this potential at an early stage."