Eberspaecher has begun working with Startup Autobahn to expand its future fields and look for innovative, young technology companies. The common goal of the partner companies is to find marketable, production-ready solutions to shape the mobility of tomorrow while fulfilling, today, the future requirements of end customers and legislators.
“We are committed to a strong long-term partnership to find innovative solutions and creative startups on the market,” said Edgar Müller, VP of Next Shed by Eberspaecher.
Next Shed bundles the activities of the Esslingen-based automotive supplier into defined fields of the future and systematically searches the market for new technologies. For Müller, the experience of the innovation platform founded by Daimler, the Plug and Play Tech Center, the University of Stuttgart and ARENA2036 in May 2016 was very important as the basis for this partnership.
“We aren’t a typical startup accelerator, but rather offer a complete ecosystem for successful cooperation,” said Sascha Karimpour, managing director at Plug & Play Germany, who is operationally supporting Startup Autobahn.
Eberspaecher will specifically identify suitable startups through the existing Startup Autobahn network. At the Esslingen headquarters, a team of creative minds named Next Shed advises internal and external venture teams and offers the necessary industrial infrastructure, networks and expertise to the contacts established through Startup Autobahn.
The family-owned company is actively open to creative solutions. The opportunities for cooperation with the young technology companies can range from pilot projects and co-development through to investments.