Porsche AG plans to invest as much as €250 million ($272 million) into emerging startups and its existing venture capital portfolio.
The German car manufacturer has had an involvement in the startup scene since 2016 and already has a direct interest in roughly 60 young companies and a number of established venture capital funds. As it ups its investments, it will convert its venture capital unit, Porsche Ventures, into an independent subsidiary called Porsche Investments Management S.A. that will be based on Luxembourg.
“We are very pleased with developments thus far and are now vigorously shifting into high gear with Porsche Ventures 2.0,” said deputy chairman of the executive board and member of the executive board for Finance and IT at Porsche AG, Lutz Meschke. “The location in Luxembourg, in the heart of Europe, underscores the international orientation of our venture capital activities. Porsche Investments Management S.A. will have greater agility in its decision-making to ensure that we are even more efficiently structured and can move quickly on investment opportunities.”
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In addition to handling the venture-capital investments for Porsche AG, the newly-established Porsche Investments Management will control strategic investments such as Porsche e-Bike Performance GmbH.
Porsche says its investment arm in Luxembourg City will work with offices in Berlin, Palo Alto, Tel Aviv, and Shanghai to seek out promising startups from around the world.
“Our activities are paying off not only in strategic terms, but also from a financial perspective,” added Meschke. “They are generating important innovation and investment opportunities, and are already making a growing contribution to the value of the company.”
