The business school hopes the partnership will strengthen the ecosystem, leveraging its faculty, program participants and alumni network for the initiative.
Insead and venture capital firm Luxury Tech Fund inked a strategic partnership yesterday that made the business school the vehicle’s academic venture partner.
The initiative will leverage Insead’s faculty, students and alumni network, aiming to boost entrepreneurship at the institution and drive further research into luxury technologies – high-end consumer products such as carbon fibre suitcases or high-fidelity wireless speakers.
Luxury Tech fund is a VC firm leveraging the investment platform of Auriga Partners. It focuses on providing a significant amount of mentoring to portfolio businesses, having attracted more than 40 industry experts and mentors to its network.
The firm targets areas such as big data, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, robotics, internet of things, digital supply chain, smart logistics, nanotechnologies, biotech, blockchain and payment technologies, and wearables.
Céline Lippi, co-founder and managing partner of Luxury Tech Fund, said: “The luxury industry has been struggling to evolve with the advent of digitalisation and technology. Global economy uncertainties have led to a need for new business models reinvention as a lever for growth and sustainability.
“A new wave of visionary founders driven by innovation, creativity, excellence, a will of creating a lasting impact for the next generation of consumers to lay dawn the foundations of an increasingly strong start-up ecosystem that will shape the industry.
“Our partnership with Insead will reinforce those foundations for future international outreach around the luxury tech directly linked to the luxury industry.”
