ZF CEO Dr. Stefan Sommer (right) and Torsten Gollewski (left), MD of Zukunft Ventures GmbH, push for rapid innovation. Photo: ZF

Balanced approach
Investing in other companies has been a long-established practice of venture capital companies in this industry. Current investment models include minor investments from a limited capital stock- regardless of the investor's core business- or strategic investments with exclusivity agreements or complete integration.

With Zukunft Ventures GmbH, however, ZF is taking a different path. It intends to follow a balanced, flexible approach that is tailored to the specific investment. This involves, for example, larger investment amounts, providing as much support as possible to the investment partner with a strict focus on the market demands. This allows the technologies to have a maximum impact on the market and ensure rapid innovation for both partners.

That's why ZF's investment company does not have a fixed budget amount. "We can go higher if and when the opportunity arises," adds Torsten Gollewski, managing director of Zukunft Ventures GmbH. 

Since June 2016, Gollewski has headed up Advanced Engineering and Design at ZF Friedrichshafen AG and is responsible for the strategic expansion of ZF areas of expertise, which has been achieved, in part, through investments. Gollewski further says: "While we invest sensibly in line with our strategy, entrepreneurial responsibility remains with the respective companies as we do not want to withdraw them from the market."

(Continued on the next page)