Hankook & Company set up investment fund to secure new growth engine

Hankook & Company, the holding company of Hankook Tire & Technology established a fund to increase investment in its new long-term business portfolio ‘S.T.R.E.A.M.’ Mobiltech, a 3D spatial information startup, was chosen for the first investment. Hankook & Company will also consider future collaboration plans for Hankook, as the company looks to establish itself within an autonomous mobility ecosystem.

Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 6th December 2021 – Hankook & Company established a fund with the aim to secure a new growth engine in the future. The first investment destination is Mobiltech, an Artificial Intelligent (AI)-based spatial information and service startup.

Hankook & Company, which launched as an operating holding company in April, announced ‘S.T.R.E.A.M.’, a new long-term business portfolio in line with the celebration of Hankook’s 80th anniversary. Each letter from ‘S.T.R.E.A.M.’ delivers the essential directions on where Hankook is headed in the future. The letter ‘S’ stands for Smart Energy, by using renewable energy and by producing eco-friendly car batteries, ‘T’ represents Tire & Core biz. 'R' stands for 'Rising Tech', which should be adopted to diversify the business portfolio. Rounding out the acronym, ‘E’ represents Electrification and ‘A’ for Automation and efficiency through advanced technology such as robotics, whereas ‘M’ stands for Mobility as the entire industry.

Hankook & Company has been seeking to increase innovation through fostering startups, venture capital and cooperating with venture capitalists (VC) to discover future growth engines in the S.T.R.E.A.M. segment. As a result, the company set up ‘S.T.R.E.A.M. Fund’ with We Ventures, a Korean VC that achieved rapid growth over the last two years since being established. The fund aims to preemptively recognize early startups in the S.T.R.E.A.M. fields and aid the growth of these companies. In addition, Fund of Funds operated by Korea Venture Investment Corp. and many other financial institutions also took part. Moreover, Hankook & Company has agreed to fulfill its corporate social responsibility by sharing the infrastructure and best practices of its core affiliate, Hankook Tire, to S.T.R.E.A.M. affiliated startups.

3D spatial information service startup Mobiltech was selected as the first investment destination of the fund. Founded in 2017, Mobiltech offers highly accurate 3D mapping solutions. It developed 3D spatial information related hardware and software with its original technology, and provides three-dimensional precision maps to many customers such as Phantom AI.

Hankook & Company foresees that the global market for high-precision 3D data will grow rapidly with the commercialization of autonomous mobility services. Hankook & Company also considers the possible collaboration opportunities between Hankook and Mobiltech, with the hope of leveraging Mobiltech’s vast business domain and business development capabilities.

About Hankook Tire

Hankook Tire manufactures globally innovative, award-winning radial tyres of proven superior quality for passenger cars, light trucks, SUVs, RVs, trucks, and buses as well as motorsports (circuit racing/street circuits/rallies).

Aspiring to bring consumers the utmost excellence in product quality, technological excellence and driving satisfaction, Hankook Tire continuously invests in research and development maintaining five R&D centres and eight production facilities around the world. Bespoke tyre solutions for the European markets as well as European Original Equipment according to the requirements of leading premium car manufacturers, are developed in the company’s regional Technical Centre in Hanover/Germany. Production for the European region is taking place in the state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Rácalmás/Hungary which was inaugurated in June 2007 and is continuously being expanded.

Hankook Tire’s European headquarters are located in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The manufacturer operates further branches in several European countries and sells its products through regional distributors in other local markets. Hankook Tire employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide and sells products in over 160 countries. The company has been the technical partner and exclusive tyre supplier of the Generation 3 for the FIA ABB Formula E World Championship since 2023. Internationally leading car manufacturers rely on tyres made by Hankook for their original equipment. Approximately 38 percent of the company's global sales are generated within the European region.

For more information please visit www.hankooktire-mediacenter.com or www.hankooktire.com

Hankook Tire Europe GmbH | Marketing Communications Europe | Siemensstr. 14, 63263 Neu-Isenburg | Germany