Airbus Group SE, Europe's largest aerospace company, is
establishing a venture capital arm in Silicon Valley along with a
business innovation center headed by an ex-Google Inc. executive as
it tries to maintain a technology edge in the face of a new breed
of potential rivals.
The Toulouse-based company will spend an initial $150 million on
its Airbus Group Ventures business to be led by Tim Dombrowski, a
former partner of technology venture capital powerhouse Andreessen
Horowitz. The unit's mandate is to "invest in promising, disruptive
and innovative business opportunities generated around the globe,"
Airbus said on Friday.
Paul Eremenko, who was director of engineering at Google's
secretive Advanced Technology and Projects organization and also
worked for the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
technology incubator, will be chief executive of Airbus Group
Silicon Valley technology and business innovation center, the
company said.
"Silicon Valley serves as a unique hub for technology
breakthroughs and we see huge opportunities to learn from, and
partner with the many players based there," Airbus Chief Executive
Tom Enders said in a statement.
Mr. Enders has become concerned that newcomers to the industry
may turn into formidable rivals to the European aerospace giant
along with more traditional competitors such as Boeing Co. That's
already happening in space where entrepreneur Elon Musk's space
company, Space Exploration Technology Corp., or SpaceX, has made
inroads into the commercial satellite launch market. The U.S. Air
Force this week also cleared SpaceX for military launches.
"With this approach, we will accelerate our transformation into
an international leader in aerospace technology innovation," Mr.
Enders said. The two new executives will report directly to Mr.
Enders.
Other European aerospace companies also are trying to become
more proactive in reaching out to technology startups. Safran SA,
the French engine and aircraft partners maker, this month said it
has set up a venture capital unit with an initial €50
million ($55 million) investment over a three-year period.
Investments will initially target Europe and the U.S., though
eventually the company plans to look farther afield.
Airbus's commercial jetliner unit, the company's largest source
of sales and profit, this year also set up the first in a series of
BizLabs in Toulouse to work with start-ups and others. The
organization is staffed by Airbus employees that will work with
selected partners to apply technologies from outside the aerospace
area to the company's jetliners and services offering, said Fabrice
Bregier, head of the plane-making business.
Airbus this month issued its first call for project entries for
the business innovation center with submissions due June 11. The
plane maker plans to set up similar business accelerator
organizations in Hamburg and Bangalore, India.
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