From tyres to flying cars – Nexen Tire fund invests in ANRA Technologies

Next Century Ventures (NCV), the corporate venture capital fund established by Nexen Tire and holding company Nexen Corp in March 2021, has selected Urban Air Mobility (UAM) as the first target for taking Nexen’s mobility ambitions beyond tyres. Its initial investment in ANRA Technologies is a deal that should hearten those patiently awaiting the arrival of flying cars.

NCV considers ANRA Technologies the forerunner of air traffic control and commercial solutions in the UAM industry and thus views this investment as one that furthers its goal of “spearheading the mobility revolution.” UAM technology aims to improve the efficiency of urban and suburban transportation by using highly automated and sustainable modes of transportation to move passengers and cargo at low altitudes. UAM offers a technological solution to road traffic congestion in crowded cities by getting road traffic airborne.

US-based ANRA Technologies is a leading international provider of uncrewed aircraft system traffic management (UTM) solutions for commercial drone operators and airspace managers. ANRA Technologies offers intelligent and modular traffic management software capabilities for UTM and UAM operations. The technology underlying UTM is the key enabler for the future of UAM; in that such technology in effect functions as an air traffic control tower, allowing aircrafts to move safely and efficiently.

Important partnerships

ANRA Technologies has worked on numerous UTM projects for NASA and the FAA and is the only company in the world to support both NASA and the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) as a provider of UAM airspace services. ANRA Technologies has also partnered with Swiggy, India’s largest online food delivery platform, achieving a 100-flight hour milestone while carrying out BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) delivery operations in India.

“We strive to disrupt the status quo of the mobility industry by investing in exceptional entrepreneurs with transformative ideas and technologies,” said Jin Man Lee, chief executive officer of Next Century Ventures. “At the same time, we are compelled by a calling to discover futuristic technologies that have the potential to connect individuals more safely and with ease and comfort, bringing joy to everyone’s daily lives; and we are continuously on the lookout for such innovative opportunities.”