Allison Transmission’s venture arm makes $10M investment in mobility fund
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Allison Ventures, the venture capital arm of Indianapolis-based Allison Transmission Inc., has committed to a $10 million investment in Pennsylvania-based investment firm EnerTech Capital.
Allison Ventures will be one of 10 corporate investors in EnerTech’s latest fund, called the Global Strategic Mobility Fund.
As part of its investment, Allison will gain access to EnerTech’s network of companies working on automotive technologies in the areas of electrification, connectivity, autonomy and digitization.
“The partnership between Allison Transmission and our firm will provide actionable insights into emerging technologies that help complement their internal innovation strategy,” EnerTech Managing Partner Wally Hunter said in a prepared statement released Thursday afternoon.
Allison, which has about 3,000 Indiana employees and 3,700 employees total, makes propulsion systems and medium- and heavy-duty automatic transmissions. Over the last several years, the company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help prepare it for the shift toward electric vehicles.
The company launched Allison Ventures in January, and EnerTech represents its second investment.
In February, Allison Ventures announced an investment in Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics. Niron has developed a magnet made of iron and nitrogen, which eliminates the need to use rare-earth materials. The magnets are used in various applications including electric motors. Allison was among numerous investors in Niron’s $25 million funding round, but Allison did not disclose how much it invested.
Founded in 1996, EnerTech focuses its investments in three key areas: mobility, which can include things like electrification, autonomous vehicles and connectivity; industry 4.0, or advanced manufacturing technologies; and energy, including things like smart buildings, solar energy and energy efficiency.