SK Holdings and Geely will each invest $30 million for the proposed fund, and draw the rest from global investors
SK Holdings Co., the holding firm of the South Korean energy-to-telecom conglomerate, said Thursday it will team up with China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. to launch a US$300 million fund that invests in future mobility technology firms.
SK Holdings and Geely will each invest $30 million for the proposed fund, and draw the rest to be financed from global investors, including European banks and Asian pension funds.
SK said the mobility fund will invest in companies with automated, connected and electric vehicle technologies, the future of mobility.
The two Asian companies will also collaborate in hydrogen, battery supply chain, semiconductor and self-driving technologies to explore new business opportunities in the future mobility technologies, the Korean firm said.
Their partnership is expected to create synergy by combining SK’s batteries, mobility service and telecommunication with Geely’s vehicle production and global network.
SK Group has a portfolio ranging from semiconductors and batteries to energy and telecommunications.
Geely is China’s largest automotive group with Swedish carmaker Volvo, British premium brand Lotus Cars and EV unit Polestar under its wing.
Hangzhou-based Geely, which owns Volvo Cars and a 9.7% stake in Daimler AG, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SK affiliates include the world’s second-largest memory chip maker SK Hynix Inc and electric vehicle battery manufacturer SK Innovation Co Ltd.
The plan follows a flurry of tie-ups by Geely earlier this year as the automaker looks to turn itself into a leading EV contract manufacturer and engineering service provider, in a bid to take on EV leader Tesla Inc.