The Alliance (Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi) has officially inaugurated a new joint innovation facility in Tel Aviv, Israel, with the aim of accelerating self-driving technologies and forming a strong partnership with the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA).
Known as the Alliance Innovation Lab Tel Aviv, the facility focuses on the development of new technologies for smart mobility, including sensors for autonomous driving, cybersecurity programs and leveraging big data.
The innovation lab is already helping to develop more than 10 joint prototyping projects, working with startups including Apollo Power, Argus, AutoTalks, BrightWay Vision, Electreon, Enigmatos, IRP systems, Karamba, Moodify, Saferide and Upstream.
The lab’s location in Atidim Park enables proof of concepts (POCs) to be developed in ideal conditions and prototypes to be tested in Tel Aviv’s smart city experiment zone.
With a surface area of 1,600m² (17,200ft²), the lab provides enough space to use real vehicles in a live ecosystem.
“This new lab is a natural next step for us and will allow the Alliance to leverage the strengths of Israel’s startup ecosystem,” said Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Alliance EVP, engineering.
“Through collaborations with promising local startups with cutting-edge technologies, we aim to develop a variety of key technologies, which will be essential for the future of mobility.”
Being a selected operator of the IIA’s ‘Technological Innovation Labs’ program, the facility offers advantageous funding for POCs carried out by Israeli startups focusing on smart mobility.
The lab also works in close cooperation with Alliance Ventures, a venture capital fund that plans to invest up to US$1bn in startups over five years and has already invested in the Maniv Mobility fund in Israel.
