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American tech scouting firm Plug and Play Tech Center has teamed up with Volvo Cars and opened a new innovation platform in Gothenburg. The chosen location is The Yard, a new arena for tech companies, situated in the heart of Gothenburg’s mobility cluster at Lindholmen Science Park.
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“We’re very pleased to team up with Volvo Cars and open the doors to this new innovation platform in Gothenburg, with a focus on sustainability and digital mobility,” says Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play Tech Center.
“The location, right at the centre of events and literally packed with tech-savvy companies and automotive heritage, is no coincidence, and we’re confident it will become an innovation powerhouse for startups and corporates.”
Plug and Play was started in California in the 1990s and it helps blue chip companies to connect with strategically selected startups. With over 50 locations globally, the company oversees an ecosystem of more than 50,000 startups and 500 partners, including Mercedez Benz, Bosch, Shell, Wallmart and Airbus. It has an impressive list of alumni, such as Dropbox, Paypal, Trulioo, and Rappi.
Proof of Gothenburg’s strong position
Each year hundreds of entrepreneurs take part in Plug and Plays accelerator programme, which is adapted for different value chains. The aim is to build strong companies within the network. Plug and Play itself invests in many of them.
“Plug and Play’s investment is important for several reasons. It confirms that Gothenburg is a highly interesting tech region, and it gives us the chance to advance our position further. They will attract startups from all over the world to Gothenburg, and at the same time give the region’s startups access to a global innovation platform and the huge network of startups, scaleups and partner companies that Plug and Play has,” says Patrik Andersson, CEO of Business Region Göteborg.
Business Region Göteborg has assisted Plug and Plug in setting up its new innovation platform in Gothenburg, and will, as a strategic partner, continue to support the company with, for example, access to relevant contacts and networks.
Volvo Cars is a founding partner. Via its corporate venture capital arm, the Volvo Cars Tech Fund, the Gothenburg car maker will invest in companies that can shape future mobility, which will be electrified and defined by software. Port of Gothenburg will also invest in the innovation platform.
The partnership will help put Gothenburg on the map as one of the world’s most sustainable cities and a front-runner in sustainable future mobility.
“Few regions in the world have a complete value chain in the automotive and transport industry. Gothenburg is one of them. We are now increasing our strength on the software side, which reinforces our ambition to be a world-leading region in mobility, while we, together with industry, shape the emission-free city of the future here in Gothenburg,” says Patrik Andersson.
A flying start for The Yard
The new venture also provides a flying start for the new tech arena, The Yard. There, facilities suitable for tech companies are being created and developed in Götaverken’s old shipbuilding area at Lindholmen, by Älvstranden Utveckling, Business Region Göteborg and Lindholmen Science Park.
“Having such an influential tenant like Plug and Play will make The Yard more renowned, and the area even more interesting for companies that are considering setting up here,” says Andreas Göthberg, Director of Business Development Services at Business Region Göteborg.
“We are working hard to improve capital availability for our tech companies in Gothenburg. So, we are delighted that an international investor has established operations here, and that Plug and Play chooses Gothenburg for its investment in Sweden.”
The new innovation platform was presented at The Yard on 3 May by Alexander Petrofski, CEO of Volvo Cars Tech Fund; and Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play Tech Center, among others.
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