Samsung has made an $89m investment in TU Wien spinout TTTech, committing the cash through its newly established Samsung Automotive Innovation Fund.
TTTech, an Austria-based networked safety control systems developer spun out from TU Wien, raised €75m ($89m) from electronics producer Samsung today.
Samsung made the investment through its newly established $300m connected and autonomous car-focused vehicle, Samsung Automotive Innovation Fund. It marks the fund’s inaugural investment in a startup.
TTTech was spun out from TU Wien, which then operated under the international brand of Vienna University of Technology, in 1998. The spinout is working on networked safety control systems that help make industrial and transport electronics systems safer and more reliable.
The spinout will use the money to accelerate the growth of its safety technology for autonomous driving and operations.
It has a long-standing relationship with one of its investors, automotive manufacturer Audi, and has created automated driving systems for another carmaker, Volkswagen, which have been successfully piloted. It has also developed systems for planes and spacecraft.
The spinout previously received $55m of funding from Audi, semiconductor producer Infineon Technologies and industrial and power equipment manufacturer General Electric in early 2015.
Audi first purchased a minority stake in TTTech in 2006, the same year as private equity fund Aeris Capital invested €20m. Private equity firm Athena Wien Beteiligungen supplied a further €4m in 2007.
Young Sohn, Samsung’s chief strategy officer, and Ricky Hudi, founder and managing director of Future Mobility Technologies, have joined TTTech Auto division’s new supervisory board alongside several other, unnamed industry experts.
Young Sohn, Samsung’s chief strategy officer and chairman of Harman, said: “Automotive advances like autonomous controls and advanced driver assistance systems will have a profound impact on society – from transforming urban spaces to bringing mobility to aging populations.
“At Samsung, we see it as our responsibility to invest in the technologies that will revolutionize the way we live, work and connect with one another. TTTech has demonstrated a remarkable ability to innovate and build world-class technologies and platforms.
“This is a seminal moment for Samsung and our Automotive Innovation Fund, and we look forward to working with leading [original equipment manufacturers] like Audi and the entire TTTech team to set a new standard for automotive-safety technology.”
– This article is based on a story that first appeared on our sister site Global Corporate Venturing and that was written by news editor Robert Lavine.
