£59m Nokia Connected Cars Fund Seeks To Boost HERE Maps

Nokia is launching a $100 million (£59m) fund to identify and invest in companies whose technology can boost the newly-streamlined Finnish manufacturer’s plans to provide location services through its HERE maps division for connected cars.

HERE maps, along with its networking and advanced technology divisions, is one of three businesses retained by the company following the sale of its handset unit to Microsoft last month, and Nokia is confident the anticipated growth of smart vehicles can give it a bright future.

The fund will be managed on behalf of Nokia by Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), which has managed four funds worth $700 million in total for the company over the past decade. NGP will work closely with the HERE team to identify technologies that can boost the mapping service.

Nokia Connected Cars

“NGP has been consistently performing well bringing in both new innovation and financial return to Nokia,” says Rajeev Suri, who was appointed the new Nokia CEO last week. “Our new $100m venture fund launched today further underlines our belief that the connected car is a significant growth opportunity where NGP is poised to make great investments.”

“NGP’s Connected Car fund underscores that connectivity is rapidly reshaping what is possible in the car environment,” adds Michael Halbherr, CEO of HERE. “We believe that connected cars equipped with precise location awareness and sensor data can become powerful devices capable of helping drivers make sense of the world around them.

“With more than 25 years of experience in creating automotive grade maps for the automobile industry, we look forward to working with promising companies in NGP’s new fund to create a whole new class of services that keep drivers safe and connected.”

Nokia’s future plans revolve around creating services for the billions of devices it expects will need connecting over the next decade. This includes providing networking equipment to operators through its Networks division and creating new technologies, such as inventions in the fields of sensors and radio interoperability – areas that would also boost its connected cars effort.

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