This week, AE Industrial Partners (AEI), a Florida-based private equity firm that targets aerospace, defense/government services, space, energy generation and niche industrial markets, announced a major investment partnership with Boeing that will see AEI manage and invest directly in Boeing’s corporate VC fund, HorizonX Ventures.
The partnership will focus on early-stage minority equity investments in transformative technologies and business, particularly in the field of sustainable aviation. Dollar size and other deal terms were not made public.
HorizonX’s portfolio, which has been actively investing since 2017 and today includes more than 40 companies globally, will become AEI’s in-house venture platform, operating as AEI HorizonX, and anchored by new capital commitments from Boeing, AEI and others. The fund will initially have a thematic focus on mobility, space, connectivity, industrial technology, and enterprise digital solutions, with emphasis on investments that drive sustainability and reduce the carbon footprint of aerospace and related industries.
Global sustainable aerospace accelerator
AEI HorizonX, which will blend the investment teams of AEI and HorizonX, will partner with Boeing and its Applied Innovation team to give portfolio companies access to Boeing’s technical capabilities and global market reach across commercial, defense, space and services portfolios.
The fund will also partner with Boeing on the company’s global accelerator programs to mentor and mature early-stage startups around the world to support innovation across the aerospace industry.
“As a specialist investment firm with a focus on aerospace and industrial markets, AEI is constantly monitoring technology innovations that will drive transformational change and reimagine the future of our industry,” said David Rowe, managing partner at AEI. “The AEI HorizonX platform will provide us with a foundation to build out a new investing pillar focused on transformative businesses and technologies critical to the evolution of our target markets and their impact on the environment. We are excited to partner with Boeing to invest in a more sustainable future.”
“The HorizonX team is excited to join AEI and expand the firm’s focus on the innovative startup ecosystem that is addressing the future needs and capabilities of aerospace and sustainability,” said Brian Schettler, incoming partner at AEI and head of AEI HorizonX. “This differentiated partnership and structure between AEI and Boeing will bring unique value to our current and future portfolio. Not only will we be able to source, invest, and promote new early-stage companies but we will support the founders with the scaling of their businesses; businesses that are transforming the mobility of people, goods and data, all while enabling a more sustainable industry.”
