Ford Otosan Connects with Entrepreneurs at 'Drivevent' Event
Foreks - Driventure held its second Drivevent event, bringing together startups working in the fields of vehicle engineering and new production technologies. Ford (IS:FROTO) Otosan leaders and entrepreneurs exchanged information on topics such as new technologies, market changes, and customer expectations.
Driventure, the corporate venture capital company established by Ford Otosan to support initiatives that will shape the future of the automotive industry and mobility world, continues to explore next-generation technologies and applications. Driventure supports innovative ideas that will play a role in the transformation of the automotive sector and gathered startups working in vehicle engineering, total value management engineering, and new production technologies under the Drivevent event.
The event took place on Thursday, October 31, 2024, at the Vehbi Koç Foundation Conference Hall within the Ford Otosan Gölcük Factory, where Ford Otosan leaders and entrepreneurs shared information on new technologies, market changes, and customer expectations.
Driventure General Manager Ilknur İlkyaz Gül stated in her speech at the event, "Since we embarked on this journey in 2019, we have been supporting a wide range of ideas developed, from autonomous and connected vehicles to smart mobility, from robotic technologies to logistics technologies, while simultaneously pushing boundaries to discover the technologies of the future. Driventure adds great value to the entrepreneurship ecosystem and our national economy. Our goal is to lead sustainable and smart mobility, strengthening the transformation in the sector and shaping the future together."
Gül continued by stating that their primary objective is to create a successful community consisting of startups that promote innovation in the automotive and mobility sectors: “With Driventure, we aim for the ventures we invest in not only to grow but also to realize innovative projects alongside us. Driventure brings together competent and creative minds both locally and globally while adding value to the industry and providing a competitive advantage to Ford Otosan.”
Erhan Köseoğlu, Ford Otosan Growth and Smart Mobility Business Area Leader, remarked, “In this era where change and transformation are intensively present in every aspect of life, our ways of doing business are, of course, changing as well. The organic relationship between Ford Otosan and Driventure is also developing efficiently. The opportunities it offers in creating a strategic competitive advantage, along with its contribution to our agility in business development, are highly valuable. Ventures supported by investments from Driventure can also leverage Ford Otosan’s established R&D organization, experience, and engineering competencies while accelerating their growth journeys.”
Köseoğlu emphasized that Driventure invests in initiatives focusing on sustainability, electric vehicles, alternative fuels, and environmentally friendly technologies, explaining that this has accelerated the development and adoption of sustainable solutions in the automotive sector. He stated that through strategic investments and partnerships, they not only promote the growth of innovative solutions but also facilitate the integration of sustainable and digital applications across the automotive value chain.
Founded in 2019 as Turkey's first venture capital company in the automotive main industry, Driventure supports innovative, technology-based ventures at the seed or early stage in key areas such as smart mobility, electrification, connected and autonomous vehicle technologies, Industry 4.0, customer experience in automotive, and sustainability. By closely monitoring the entrepreneurship ecosystem, Driventure has steadily expanded its startup pool, having connected with a total of 2,100 startups since 2021 and invested in 8 startups. Driventure, along with Ford Otosan, strengthens its influence in the entrepreneurship ecosystem as an investor of national and international funds.
Driventure operates with the aim of increasing Ford Otosan's agility in new business development and supporting corporate entrepreneurship. It also seeks to create strategic competitive advantages for Ford Otosan and gain knowledge and insights from the ecosystem. Ventures supported by investments from Driventure can leverage Ford Otosan’s established R&D organization, experience, and engineering competencies while accelerating their growth journeys.