BMW i Ventures: BMW’s Newest Model Isn’t A Car

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When BMW unveiled their newest sub-brand and the first two plug-in hybrid vehicles under the BMW i, BMW also made another important announcement: the launch of  BMW i Ventures. This is a USD100,000,000 venture capital fund to develop a range of mobility-related services.

BMW i Ventures will offer services even for people who don’t own vehicles. It offers a wide range of services from parking space information, to ground transportation guidance or planing of a route using various forms of public transportation. The fund is meant for innovation of overall mobility and travel.

The fund’s first investment is MyCityWay, a company that develops location-aware apps for urban navigation. With BMW’s funding, MyCityWay will expand to another 40 cities worldwide, including BMW’s hometown Munich.In a short interview for Forbes, Tom Kowaleski, BMWNA vice president of Communications said “it isn’t all about putting people in a BMW or a Mini.” By offering mobility services, BMW sees a potential new source of long-term revenue. This is in its infancy. The vision behind this, as we go particularly into urban markets, is that mobility has means which have nothing to do with an automobile.”

Source: BMW Blog