BMW Startup Garage secures early access to pioneering innovations.

Munich. The BMW Startup Garage – part of the
company’s Research, New Technologies and Innovations unit – has been
tracking down the most innovative startups in the business for four
years now, allowing the BMW Group to tap into their potential quickly
and directly. So far, more than 50 up-and-coming technology companies
have completed its startup programme. “Startups help us to gain an
even better understanding of what personal, connected and sustainable
mobility will look like in tomorrow’s world, to come up with the
necessary solutions and so continue to lead the way in innovation and
technology going forward,” says Bernhard Schambeck, Head of the BMW
Startup Garage. The BMW Startup Garage talks with over 1,500 startups
from all over the world every year. If first impressions indicate that
a particular startup innovation is of potential interest for the BMW
Group, it is examined in greater detail. Between 600 and 800 startups
are assessed every year and a decision taken on their suitability for
inclusion in the BMW Startup Garage’s programme. 

“We strive to bring the world’s best startups into our programme,”
explained Melanie Rösler, responsible for the BMW Startup Garage
programme. “We look for startup innovations that will be of
substantial benefit for our products, services, systems or processes.”
Instead of pursuing a venture capital approach, the BMW Startup Garage
settled on a ‘venture client’ model. In their early days, many
startups still don’t have a marketable product. It is precisely during
this very high-risk phase that the fledgling companies are
commissioned by the BMW Startup Garage, hence the term ‘venture
client’. The programme’s core aim is to develop a working prototype as
part of a pilot project. The BMW Group reaps the benefits of early
access to the innovations and the opportunity to customise the
technology before it is launch-ready. The startups, meanwhile, gain
valuable insights into automotive processes, are able to build up a
network of contacts within the company and are given advice on how to
refine their business plan to help them gain a foothold in the
automotive industry.

 

The worldwide search for startups: thinking outside the box

The BMW Group’s technology scouting network has a global reach. The
BMW Startup Garage runs small, agile teams stationed at international
technology hotspots. It now has representatives working at the BMW
Group Technology Offices in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo.
And these will be joined by a presence in Tel Aviv in the third
quarter of 2019.

Whereas the BMW Startup Garage initially focused primarily on
innovations for the BMW Group’s products and services, since 2018 its
programme has been extended to startup innovations for all business
units. “The sheer range of topics we deal with makes our job in the
Garage a very exciting and challenging one,” enthused Alexandra
Renner, Startup Lead for Research and Development. “A normal working
day can quite easily mean creating the interior of the future with
startups in the morning, before turning our attention to innovations
for autonomous driving in the afternoon.” A total of 26 startups
completed the BMW Startup Garage programme in 2018.

 

Long-term benefits for both startups and the BMW Group

The support given to the startups over the course of the programme is
underpinned by four pillars: Build, Sell, Learn and Network. Build and
Sell involve executing the pilot project and devising a business plan.
One of the elements of the Network and Learn pillars is the Deep Drive
Days event, where workshops and keynote speeches give startups the
opportunity to share ideas and network with employees from various BMW
Group departments at length. All four of the programme’s pillars are
designed to help cement long-lasting business relations with the BMW Group.

“Our venture client approach really pays off, as we can see from
former startups who continue to contribute their cutting-edge
technologies to subsequent projects as BMW Group suppliers,” summed up
Bernhard Schambeck. Lunewave and QC Ware are just two of the many
startups who have worked on further projects as BMW Group partners
following their participation in the programme.

In its pilot project initiated as part of the BMW Startup Garage 2018
programme, Lunewave stood out with its revolutionary new sensor
technology. Engineers at the Autonomous Driving Campus are now working
together with Lunewave on a pre-development project to further improve
the pioneering sensor concept.

Quantum computers can be used to work out the type of complex
problems that today’s supercomputers would need years to tackle. The
BMW Group was quick to recognise the potential of this
technology.
The BMW Startup Garage teamed up with QC Ware to
conduct various feasibility studies focusing on the application of
quantum computing for specific problems, such as optimising the jobs
performed by robots on the production line. Follow-up projects are
already in the pipeline for 2019.

“Many of the startup innovations in our pilot projects are so
exciting and visionary that it’s a tough task for us not to talk about
them more. We are looking forward to the innovations that will find
their way into series production and our processes in the coming
years,” added Schambeck.

 

Red Dot Award for inventive interior design

Agile collaboration with startups requires innovative and
inspirational working environments. Careful consideration was given to
this aspect from the outset in the design of the BMW Startup Garage’s
premises at the BMW Group Research and Technology House in Garching,
near Munich. And now its excellent use of space has earned it the
coveted Red Dot Award: Product Design 2019 in the interior
architecture and interior design category. The BMW Startup Garage
features an elevated room-in-room concept with a spacious atrium that
doubles as a presentation area, plus additional co-working spaces for
brainstorming and a large meeting area. The workspaces are located at
different levels within the rooms, enabling employees and visitors to
enjoy visual and acoustic privacy in an open-plan space.

 

BMW Startup Garage @ Bits Pretzels 2019

The Bits Pretzels Conference is one of the foremost platforms
for business founders, investors and innovators from all over the
world. This year, the BMW Startup Garage will once again be holding
its own event in Munich as part of the Bits Pretzels Startup
Night. The aim of the event is to encourage networking between the
participants on the one hand and with the BMW Startup Garage team and
experts from various BMW Group departments on the other. Last year,
there were nearly 300 attendees, including around 100 startups.
Information on how to register will be posted on the BMW Startup
Garage website in due course.

 

Links:

Website: www.bmwstartupgarage.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bmw-startup-garage

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMWStartupGarage

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMWStartups

BMW Group News: www.bmwgroup.com/startupgarage