Nokia has been really active and never shied away from sharing its big plans about tapping “connected cars” opportunity. With lots of cash in hand now with sale of “Devices & Services” division closed, Nokia can now invest in growth opportunities. Today Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), Nokia’s venture capital investment arm has announced $100 million connected car opportunities fund. The fund will be used to invest in new opportunities around the automotive mapping and location ecosystem.
This is what Nokia thinks about connected cars opportunity,
“Only in the US, the auto sector accounts for 20 per-cent of U.S. retail and manufacturing with over 250 million cars and trucks on the road. Yet the car is a virtual white space: the average American spends 52 minutes per day in a car, most of it alone with little more than a radio at hand. No wonder texting and driving is such a problem.
”“New advances [will] provide safer, cleaner, more connected, intelligent and affordable means of transportation.
“We believe that vehicles are becoming a new platform for mobile technology adoption akin to our experience in the phone industry.
“As vehicles become connected, technology can be integrated across the auto ecosystem driving related change in multi-modal travel, parking, driver safety and insurance, car and ride sharing platforms, local search, local services and much more.”
HERE‘s CEO Michael Halbherr says,
“With more than 25 years of experience in creating automotive grade maps for the automobile industry, we look forward to working with promising companies in NGP’s new fund to create a whole new class of services that keep drivers safe and connected.”
