Volvo launches CampX Incubator to support early-stage startups

Volvo Group’s CampX has launched CampX Incubator, a program to support early-stage startups in realising their cutting-edge innovations in the transport industry.

Startups participating in CampX work alongside Volvo’s expert teams — including Engineering, Intellectual Property, Legal, Human Resources and Purchasing teams — to help them evaluate their product-market fit.

Working with Volvo’s experts will allow these startups to reduce the time needed to develop products and strategies. They can use Volvo’s laboratories, test vehicles, and other product development facilities, which will lower operational costs

Helping startups with networking, training

Head of CampX Helene Niklasson said the program would encourage participants to interact with one another, allowing them to build global networks.

Volvo chief technology officer Lars Stenqvist added that the initiation of CampX’s new incubator life showcases the automaker’s commitment to speed up transformation within the transport industry in a bid to achieve a sustainable future. Stenqvist explained that speed in innovation was the biggest challenge toward that goal.

CampX already announced the program’s first-batch members — RadChat, Repli5, Kite, Fyrqom and Autonomous Knight. Originating at the Chalmers University of Technology, the startup develops radar tech to determine precise coordinates.

Gothenburg-based Repli5 has created a program to automate 3D environment design for simulation purposes, while Kite offers thermal management solutions for efficient cooling in electric vehicles.

Fyrqom focuses on offering an automated solution to calibrate and manage tire pressures on heavy-duty vehicles. Meanwhile, the Belgian-based Autonomous Knight develops multi-spectral cameras to improve all-weather vision in autonomous transportation.

“Ideas from startups such as these first five can lead to important benefits for the transport industry,” Niklasson said. “We help entrepreneurs to validate their potential breakthrough solutions as quickly as possible, to advance sustainable mobility.”

Founded in Gothenburg in 2019, CampX has helped nurture more than 50 tech startups through three schemes — the Incubator, the Accelerator, and the Venture Builder. CampX has centre in four different cities worldwide — Gothenburg, Lyon (France), Greensboro (U.S.) and Bangalore (India).