Hong Kong's Gly Capital launches $300m mobility tech fund
Gly Capital, a Hong Kong-based investor controlled by Chinese auto giant Geely, has launched a $300 million mobility tech fund.
Geely and Korea’s SK Holdings have anchored the fund with a combined commitment of $60 million. The balance is expected to be raised by year-end.
They will both provide strategic support in areas such as evaluating and commercializing portfolio companies. This includes a formal agreement to define and facilitate partnerships in renewable and hydrogen fuel, batteries, materials, semiconductors, and autonomous driving technology.
“The surge in new technologies and changes within the mobility sector are making getting around increasingly cleaner, smarter, and more connected,” Hrvoje Krkalo, co-CEO of Gly, said in a statement. “Within the New Mobility Fund, we will support and follow the success of those companies enabling such change.”
According to Krkalo’s LinkedIn profile, he helped co-found Gly in 2017 following stints with Swiss financial services provider Leonteq Securities and ANZ, where he served as head of equity sales for Asia. His team will include Jaime Chou, formerly of SPDB International Investment Management, in the role of CIO.
Traditional auto players launching innovation funds is a discrete theme in corporate venture capital. Notable precedent includes Renault, Nissan Motor, and Mitsubishi Motors jointly launching a $1 billion VC fund in 2018 under the name Alliance Ventures with bases in China, Japan, and France.
Later that same year, Toyota Group confirmed it would establish a Japan-based program with around $2.8 billion for autonomous driving investment and development. This was in partnership with local parts suppliers Aisin Seiki and Denso.
Meanwhile, SAIC Capital, a manager controlled by China’s SAIC Motor, raised around $145 million in 2019 for a fund targeting the new energy vehicle industry supply chain. Yesterday, Nexen Tire America set up a unit called Next Century Ventures, specifying that it would target mobility start-ups in China and Korea.
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