On Wednesday, Trimble, the 43-year-old California-based, publicly-listed industrial technology firm that develops digital solutions for what might casually be termed the “global market of things,” announced that it is launching its own venture capital fund. The $200 million fund, to be called Trimble Ventures, will invest in early and growth-stage companies that align with Trimble’s own transformational technologies in the agriculture, construction, geospatial and transportation industries.
In addition to putting money behind a portfolio of companies that it identifies as having potential for tech-enabled innovation and industrial disruption, Trimble Ventures will also offer access to customers, markets, distribution and industrial expertise. This is no mean promise, as Trimble products are used in over 150 countries globally.
Specifically, the fund will invest in early and growth-stage companies with technologies and solutions related to hardware and software applications; artificial intelligence; augmented, virtual and mixed reality; autonomy and robotics; blockchain; the Internet of Things (IoT) and related analytics; and sustainability.
“We are focused on partnering with companies that are solving important problems in markets that align with our vision of transforming the way the world works,” Trimble President and CEO Rob Painter said.
“Innovation is a cornerstone for Trimble. By providing capital, industry expertise and broader access to markets for early and growth-stage companies, we can help them scale more rapidly. In addition, our partners can help extend Trimble’s platforms to better serve our collective customers. This is an exciting opportunity to accelerate innovation and effectively bring new solutions to our customers and industry,” he added.
In June of this year, Trimble made landmark research gifts to two Scandinavian universities. The company donated to Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology to establish a state-of-the-art Technology Lab (to be called the Trimble Technology Lab) for architecture, engineering and construction, expanding the Swedish university’s leadership in digital fabrication and the sustainable built environment. Trimble also awarded funds to Norway’s 200-year-old Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) to establish a similar lab, developing applications from building information modeling and mixed reality to infrastructure planning and construction.
