MAN Truck & Bus and TUM Venture Labs have entered into a strategic partnership. This was officially announced at the “Ultimate European Start-up Event” as part of IAA Mobility at Munich’s Marienplatz. The aim of the cooperation is to further expand innovation in the field of mobility through targeted collaboration between the commercial vehicle manufacturer and the Technical University of Munich on the one hand and deep tech start-ups on the other.
The partnership is also intended to help strengthen Munich’s position as a leading location for innovation and technology. The effectiveness of cooperation between industry and research is demonstrated by existing or completed research collaborations involving MAN and TUM – for example, the “ATLAS-L4” project on autonomous trucks or the “NEFTON” charging infrastructure project for heavy commercial vehicles.
This partnership gives MAN Truck & Bus strategic access to Europe’s largest deep tech start-up ecosystem. The company aims to use this to identify technological trends at an early stage and integrate them into its own products and services. The collaboration with start-ups is also intended to drive forward process innovations in the fields of AI and robotics through new impetus and agile working methods, accelerate cultural change within the company and thus maintain MAN’s attractiveness as an employer for young talent in the future. “We have high hopes for this partnership. Networking between industrial companies, start-ups and universities is crucial to remaining competitive in the international innovation arena. We have now set the course and are looking forward to the upcoming joint projects with TUM Venture Labs with great confidence and curiosity,” explains Dr Frederik Zohm, Executive Board Member for Research and Development at MAN Truck & Bus.
Managing Director of TUM Venture Labs, Dr Philipp Gerbert, also emphasised during the event: “As one of Europe’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, MAN is an ideal partner for our start-up teams. They can expand their network and learn from an established and highly successful company.”
