Porsche to invest in 6 startups

In the innovation race, automakers are looking for a variety of advantages, including investing in start-ups and in-house incubation solutions.According to foreign media reports, Porsche has found a new way to compete for itself, and will cooperate with a Los Angeles-based startup accelerator program to develop next-generation technologies and business models.

Porsche will partner with UP.Labs to provide seed funding to six mobility startups by 2025.In a statement issued on June 7, the company said the invested companies will focus on areas important to Porsche, such as digital retailing,predictivemaintenance and supply chain transparency.

"We want to strengthen our existing, broad-based start-up ecosystem with external growth engines," said Lutz Meschke, CFO and head of IT at Porsche Cars.

Meschke said that through UP.Labs, Porsche has access to talent and their expertise from around the world to improve Porsche's position in "the current phase of long-term transformation in the automotive industry."As part of the deal, Porsche will take minority stakes in the startups, with the option to acquire them after three years.

A business like UP.Labs gives established companies access to the culture of start-ups, while giving fledgling companies access to some of the product development, marketing and financial resources of larger companies.

Led by founder and CEO John Kuolt and president Katelyn Foley, UP.Labs launched alongside UP.Partners, which launched its first venture capital fund last October with $250 million under management.The venture fund will fund startups created by UP.Labs.