FARNBOROUGH, United Kingdom, July 20,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] has
committed a $50 million investment in
AEI HorizonX, a partnership the company established with private
equity firm AE Industrial Partners to invest in transformative
aerospace technologies. The new funding will anchor AEI HorizonX's
second venture fund (Fund II), which plans to raise $250 million to support promising start-ups in
future mobility, space, sustainability, digital enterprise
applications, networks and security.
"The future of aerospace is digital, sustainable and
autonomous," said Marc Allen,
Boeing's chief strategy officer. "This new Fund II builds on the
foundation we have with Fund I and positions us to significantly
expand our strategic access to disruptive technologies critical to
shaping and realizing that future."
Since its inception in 2021, the AEI HorizonX portfolio has
achieved five IPOs (initial public offerings) and exits. The
venture capital group's current portfolio features 51 global
investments, including companies that are driving innovations in
artificial intelligence and machine learning, developing solutions
to reduce aerospace's climate impact, and optimizing data insights
across factories, products and services. The diverse portfolio
features startups from across the U.S., Europe, Asia
and Australia.
Aside from providing capital, AEI HorizonX has helped its
portfolio companies accelerate their progress by connecting them
with Boeing's broad capabilities and global market reach. AEI
HorizonX also partners with Boeing on the company's global
accelerator – Aerospace Xelerated – a program that supports
seed-stage innovation across the aerospace industry.
"The power of the AEI HorizonX venture platform is the ability
to bring the joint capabilities from Boeing and the extended AE
Industrial team to make quality investment decisions while bringing
a differentiated value-add to drive upside to startups across their
lifecycle," said Brian Schettler,
partner at AE Industrial and head of AEI HorizonX. "As we did with
Fund I, by expanding into Fund II, we're able to admit additional
limited partners from around the world into our exclusive
partnership with Boeing, bringing expanded capital to advance these
new technologies through their early development."
Many of AEI HorizonX's portfolio companies have made significant
progress in scaling innovative solutions across the industry. For
example:
- EP Systems, a battery system manufacturer and energy services
provider, is on the forefront of accelerating the industry's
adoption of zero-carbon propulsion systems.
- Immfly, a leader in on-board e-commerce, payments and
entertainment, is improving the passenger experience while enabling
greater savings and ancillary revenues for airlines.
- Shift5, an embedded systems cybersecurity firm, is delivering
increased safety and security to commercial aircraft and defense
systems.
"The AEI HorizonX platform has provided a key enabler for Boeing
to partner with early-stage companies and accelerate the
development and adoption of their technology," said Greg Hyslop, chief engineer at Boeing. "It's all
about the technology transitions – how we can partner with
entrepreneurs to turn great ideas into deployed solutions across
our products and services to better support our customers."
As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops,
manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products
and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a
top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global
supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and
community impact. Boeing's diverse team is committed to innovating
for the future, leading with sustainability, and cultivating a
culture based on the company's core values of safety, quality and
integrity. Join our team and find your purpose at
boeing.com/careers. To learn more about Boeing's sustainability
efforts, view our Sustainability Report.
About AEI HorizonX
AEI HorizonX was formed as Boeing's corporate venture capital
arm in 2017 and is now managed by AE Industrial Partners, a private
equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense & government
services, space, power & utility services, and specialty
industrial markets, with $5 billion
of assets under management.
AEI HorizonX is an active participant in venture capital within
its core strategic areas of focus, investing in more than 50
startups globally and building numerous relationships and
partnerships across the aerospace, technology, and investing
ecosystem. AE Industrial Partners invests in market-leading
companies that can benefit from its deep industry knowledge,
operating experience, and relationships throughout its target
markets. AE Industrial Partners is a signatory to the United
Nations Principles for Responsible Investment and the ILPA
Diversity in Action initiative. Learn more
at www.aeroequity.com/.
Media Relations
media@boeing.com
Jennifer Hurson (AEI
HorizonX)
845-507-0571
jhurson@lambert.com
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boeing-and-ae-industrial-partners-launch-second-venture-fund-to-invest-in-innovative-aerospace-and-defense-startups-301589680.html
SOURCE Boeing