Meet the new VC firm secretly backed by Volkswagen

A new initiative is known as the firm Latmotif There has been a quiet blitz for the past 16 months, about 20 startups concentrate on decoringization extensively. Its portfolio includes EV companies, places and battery plays and four nuclear fusion startups. However, the firm simply said that its funds are from “European industry interests”.

Now, Leightmotif told TechCrunch where the money came from: Volkswagen Group.

The German automotive giant has committed $ 300 million for the first fund of Latemotif and its only limited partner; Leightmotif has so far deployed about a third.

And according to Leatmootif, Young Farm’s Managing Partners Matt Travithic and Jens Wes, the Volkswagen wants to spin the more European industry. (A spokesman for the Volkswagen Group has refused to comment on the blackout period of communication before his annual meeting today.)

This is an ambitious attempt. Protecting financing for hardware startups, especially with a serious manufacturing ingredients, was tough for the past few years. However, travthic believes that the right time to invest in such organizations.

He told TechCrunch, “Technology is always the driver of human progress and I think that the United States of America is going to supercharge it.” “I think the next several years are about to create a number of technical powers in the United States that will be surprised in other parts of the world.”

Leightmotif is also creating translatant funds when the Trump administration is pressing the geographical environment by the administration.

Despite this turmoil, WISH – who was the M&A of the Volkswagen Group, the Advice of the Investment and the Partnership Department was the head of the Leightmotif – saying that the new farm’s overwhelm is “Establishment of European industry and building a bridge between US innovative ecosystem.”

Priority one: Make money

Travithic and Wis said that Volkswagen had a top priority if he agreed to invest in the fund: Make money.

“First and foremost, this is about setting up a successful initiative agency,” said Wis.

Although the Volkswagen Group is within a few hundred billion dollars in the revenue every year, Wis said that the money is still important in some parts because it is “how the industry keeps the score.”

Subsequently, the VC Farm says that according to Wiz, “Sections in the fields of interest are defined by companies” are planning to invest and can detect the “new pockets of innovation” that can benefit the Volkswagen group.

Wis said that over a quarter of the portfolio of Leightmotif over time, about a quarter of the Volkswagen and its countless brands would be conversed.

EV Truck Startup is an instance of Herbinger. Laitomotif co-leading Herbinger $ 100 million Series B in JanuaryAnd Wis said that the startup was discussed with the trucking department of Volkswagen.

Geographically, the Latemotif’s investment strategy has been structured so that about 70% of its capital will be deployed in the United States, the other 30% of the EU is investing in the farm will maintain office in both Palo Alto and Munich.

Travthic said that in this first fund, 70% of the global investment in Leightmotif would be done in startups, “solving today’s familiar problems” and “Billion dollars in the market with customers ready to buy innovation.”

The other 30% of this fund will be concentrated on the “revolutionary innovation” which will create “the market of billions of dollars in the 2030s and beyond.”

So far, this strategy has led the battery recycling company Redwood Materarals, re -usable rocket company Stoke Space and even notifications to invest in Polyester Startup Cyer. Leightmotif has publicly supported 13 startups today, though there is more in its portfolio that has not been announced.

There will be other funds until the end of the leitmootif; Travithic and Wis said they were particularly focusing on robotics and AI. If Volkswagen chooses it, they will have the right to invest, then Leightmotif is distinct and focus on ending its first fund.

All things in time

In the latest memory of 2023, the worst time for startups for startups was the worst time to lock the rounds, especially to focus on hardware or “Deep Tech”, thanks for high interest rates.

Travithic said that it gave great time to start leitemootif.

“When strong companies are separated from the weak, it is reduced to market. In a bubble, everyone is meaningful, “he said.

Travithic said that other companies had already taken less risk beyond the startups that other companies had already invested in the funding.

“The good companies there were available for less new dollars to fund, because everyone got myopic about their own portfolio,” he said. “I think that’s why we got a lot of internal interest in taking part in the round that, at the time of the bubble, we probably didn’t have access.”

This interest came to a large part for the background of Wis and Travithic.

Wis spent about 8 years in the Volkswagen group, where he was attaching, acquiring and investing for German Automaker. During the move in Volkswag, he called WISS “Deep Network in both Europe and the United States”, which was included in the battery manufacturer quantamscape, where Wis was a member of the board until the board 2024.

Meanwhile, Travithic had been part of the venue for a decade. There, he focused on investing in Green Energy during the original Clean Tech Boom in the early 20’s, his highest-profile battery manufacturer Atiiva first became a lucid motor.

Travthic says companies through the next Clean Tech Book said that the guards were valuable to navigate the industry to invest in investment, suggestion and guiding companies, travthic.

Although many corporate “net zero” goals are heded or directly abandoned, travthic said that the clean -tech industry “is starting in a better position.”

Also, travthic said that he believed that unpredictable would present more opportunities for companies like Leitmootif – and it backs the startups.

“I think we can all agree that this is just a very unstable environment. Which should be incomplete, startups and capitalists in the initiative, “he said.

“We feel very confident about our portfolio,” the Wis added. “Yes, [decarbonization] Our excessive theme. At the same time, we invest in companies where we are sure that they have business cases, regardless of their business, is to be successful, let’s say, the theme of the day. “