Nokia’s Million Dollar Connected Car Fund
Vishal Khan
Jun 11, 2014
Nokia, the Finnish communications and information technology Multinational Corporation has recently publicized plans to strengthen its focus on in-car technology. This will be done with the help of a $100 million Connected Car Fund.
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(NGP) will manage the fund and thereby increase the investments of the company in countries like the United States, China, India and all over Europe.
Mobile Tech In Vehicles
According to a statement by Paul Asel, managing partner for NGP, vehicles are the new and blooming platform for adoption of mobile technology. Owing to its experience in the phone industry, Nokia makes for a great platform for its implementation.
The Fund
Designed to substantially boost developer activity around Nokia’s in-car system called HERE, the Connected Car Fund will be immensely beneficial to the company. Previously known as Nokia Maps, HERE is a dashboard mapping and location system so far used by the likes of Toyota, BMW and others.
The System
Capable of delivering information in 52 diverse languages, the system is one of five different in-car navigation systems in the U.S. and Europe. Providing voice-guided navigation in 96 countries, HERE was in at least 10 million of the new cars sold in 2013.
Connected Cars
Connected Cars can lead to an integration of technology across the entire auto ecosystem. Nokia’s collaboration with HERE will be significantly deepened with the fund and help in investing in companies that currently drive the future of auto ecosystems, as well as personal mobility and local services.
Reinventing Nokia
After the last Nokia mobile phone was sold to Microsoft, this technology may be the best way for Nokia to reinvent itself and come out as the ultimate mobile solution. The Connected Car fund will be the fourth fund that NGP has managed on behalf of Nokia over the past decade, and will bring Nokia’s commitments managed by NGP to USD 700 million.
