Porsche and UP.Labs plan to build tailormade start-ups
Porsche is expanding its venturing network by collaborating with UP.Labs, a new model for fostering innovative start-ups. The Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer has agreed with the US company on a three-year cooperation aimed at establishing six companies from 2023 to 2025 with new business models in various areas of mobility.
What sets this new collaboration apart is that UP.Labs will work directly with Porsche to develop startups tailored to the Porsche business. Porsche then has the option to integrate them into the organisation. “The concept combines the advantages of free startup development on the market – for example, through the participation of all employees in the company’s success – with the direct involvement of our employees and a close link to Porsche,” explains Lutz Meschke.
New type of venturing platform
Los Angeles-based UP.Labs has designed a new type of venturing platform. This is underpinned by what co-founder and CEO John Kuolt describes as “a new model and incentives structure for capturing all of the agility and innovation of startups alongside the scale and resources of an enterprise.” The US team consists of proven entrepreneurs, product leaders and technologists with a record of co-developing numerous successful ventures in collaboration with corporate partners. As of their official launch on June 7th, the UP.Labs team is now pursuing this concept with Porsche as the first integral partner. UP.Labs is being launched as part of a consortium of companies alongside UP.Partners, all focused on accelerating the future of mobility. The recently announced UP.Partners ecosystem includes a $250 million Venture Capital Fund I that will invest in the companies launched by UP.Labs.