What makes CampX by Volvo Group truly unique is the ability to support your startup at every stage of your company journey, providing resources and guidance needed to thrive in our open innovation model. From nurturing ideas in the Incubator to collaborating on proof of value projects through the Venture Client, and even building new businesses with the Venture Builder, we offer a comprehensive ecosystem that fosters innovation and growth. CampX is global and have hubs in Sweden, India, France and US.
We are looking for early phase startups developing solutions in the sustainable mobility area,
with focus on hardware and complex software solutions. Validate your ideas as quickly as
possible and co-design the future of sustainable mobility. Join our corporate incubator and co-
locate to one of our R&D buildings on site in Gothenburg, Sweden.
We help deep-tech entrepreneurs to capture their uniqueness, to offer instant customer validation and to open up to the corporate network. The goal of the incubator is to validate solutions as quickly as possible, to give you the necessary support in this process and to create sustainable solutions that will change the mobility industry.
For the Volvo Group incubator, we are looking for early-stage startups: a team of full-time founders with a majority share, a freedom to operate, and a reasonable runway.
You need to develop a solution in the sustainable mobility industry focusing on hardware and/or complex software solutions as we in the Volvo Group believe that is where we can add the most value.
We will not interfere with your customers, your IP or your (potential) investors, and taking equity is not part of our incubator offer.
We strongly believe in an open approach and a collaborative mindset and that by keeping our hands off we will create the most value together.
If we select your startup for our incubator, you will get to work right beside the R&D teams of Volvo Group in the CampX innovation hub. You will receive mentoring from our (chief) engineers, senior managers, and former Volvo-employees-turned entrepreneurs.
We value your time as much as you do, and we add value where we believe is will be most beneficial. Therefore, there are no additional programs and no obligatory workshops and a hands-off approach in our incubator. We believe you should spend your time on your company instead. We aim to build a strong peer-to-peer community of founders, geared toward changing the world of sustainable mobility. As we would like to work side by side with your startup, we ask you to move your company to our R&D innovation hub in Gothenburg.
Roman lustin CEO - Fyrqom
Fyrqoms technology automates calibration of the tire pressure monitoring system which reduces time consuming manual handling in factories and workshops.
The CampX venture client has more than 100 Proof of Value projects with different startups in the portfolio.
Are your startup working within the sustainable mobility area developing a product or prototype you can apply to the Volvo Group Startup venture client. With the lean framework we have in place, a proof of value project will be set up as fast as possible. The projects are always connected to an immediate challenge in our departments, and you will gain direct access to our engineers and managers.
Volvo Group will be your customer during the process. You will develop solutions addressing problems and challenges in the sustainable mobility area. With Volvo Group as your customer, we will help you create the best version of your solution(s) to incorporate in our products and solutions
The goal is to create a shared pilot project as fast as possible. If we select your startup for our venture client, we will design a Proof of Value project together with the operational department(s). We walk you through the necessary steps to give you the opportunity to highlight your product and its unique features. Proof of Value projects typically are within the 3-6 months range, fast and simple!
You will have access to the Volvo Group rights experts within your domain that can share their competence and industry perspective. You will have a close collaboration with some of the greatest minds in the industry.The experts will help and give input to your product to secure a good product market fit.
In our startup venture client, we launch and run co-creation projects with startups within the sustainable mobility area. Together we will design a proof of value project with the operational department(s). You will gain Volvo Group as a customer, where we together develop your solutions and ideas to incorporate in our offering. By joining our startup venture client, you will cooperate with the R&D teams of Volvo Group in our CampX innovation hub. You will be able to pick the brains of our engineers, senior managers, as well as former Volvo-Group-employees-turned entrepreneurs. You will also have access to our trucks, facilities, and data if required.
The CampX startup venture client program is your gateway into the future of sustainable mobility. When working with us, you will gain the support of a world-leading enterprise within the transport industry, empowering and helping your business grow and develop your solution(s).
Upon joining our startup venture client program, you will be assigned one contact person from Volvo Group. This individual will be responsible for all communication between your startup and us. That one person will be responsible for sourcing the answers to questions, fulfilling your requests, guiding you through the process, etc.
MobilityXlab is a collaboration hub that was founded in 2017 byVolvo Group as well as other global companies to create and develop new innovations within future mobility – with each other and with startups.
Read more: MobilityXlab
Our scouting partner DRIVE is a leading innoation center for smart mobility technologies. At DRIVE startups gain meaningful market opportunities while Volvo Group are provided with early insights into the start-ups’ cutting edge technology.
Read more: Drive
Link Innovations is an innovation platform connecting corporates, startups, and investors to drive meaningful partnerships and CampX India is working with Link to match current challenges and opportunities with startup technologies.
Read more: Link Innovations
Through the CampX framework and Venture Builder process the Volvo Group product and business owners get support to validate and bring forward cases with high business potential. If market value is proven high a new venture is created, either inside Volvo or externally as spin out. Key to get speed is the cross functional established CampX network with Legal, IP strategy and Group Finance as well as Purchasing.
An idea/innovation can come from a Volvo Group Engineer/ Intrapreneur or IP portfolio. The Intrapreneur and Venture Builder core team will then validate the idea/innovation by testing the business case, technical feasibility, customer demand and much more. After the validation phase the team will start the work to turn the validated concept into a real product in the market.
The next step is to take the decision to go for spin out or fast track. Here the Venture Builder can support the company or hand over to line organization.
What makes CampX by Volvo Group truly unique is the ability to support your startup at every stage of your company journey, providing resources and guidance needed to thrive. From nurturing ideas in the Incubator to collaborating on proof of value projects through the Venture Client, and even building new businesses with the Venture Builder, we offer a comprehensive ecosystem that fosters innovation and growth.
One-minute video about the Innovation Model
Read the full CampX Innovation Model here
Deep dive into the Innovation model
In this series of articles you get a deep dive into the different parts of CampX Innovation Model.
Why the CampX Innovation Model
The CampX Venture Client Program
The CampX Incubator Program
Sponsor-driven innovation: a people-centric approach
Find all CampX related articles here.
The aim of the project was to assess the environmental, technical and economic feasibility of electric retrofitting for heavy goods vehicles. The project was enabled through collaboration with Novumtech, a startup with expertise in battery design and production, and with financial support from the ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition
The next milestone for this project is certification of the converted truck in order to validate compliance with current regulations. Once this approval has been obtained, Renault Trucks will begin a phase of tests under real operating conditions in partnership with Clovis Grand Paris in France.
Read more here.
Volvo Roof Light (VRL) is an innovative solution that includes specially designed roof lights with sensors. VRL supports Volvo Group’s safety value and provides drivers with additional comfort when driving in dark zones. VRL automatically turns off the vehicle's extra lights to prevent drivers of oncoming traffic from being dazzled. VRL was developed by Volvo Group in collaboration with partners, using an existing patent and exploring ways to validate the technology. The process of bringing the product to market took less than 12 months, which is faster than usual. VRL is currently available in the Nordics through the Volvo dealer network. This was made possible by close collaboration with several stakeholders, and the decision process was accelerated by the CampX by Volvo Group’s Venture Builder. With VRL, Volvo Trucks customers can enjoy better safety, visibility, and an enhanced driving experience.
After a successful Proof of Value Group Project in the CampX venture client, where the Foretelix portfolio and its potential value in confined areas was evaluated, Volvo Autonomous Solutions initiated an extended cooperation together with Foretelix. “Volvo Autonomous Solutions believes in a collaborative verification concept, one that uses open standards,” says Magnus Liljeqvist, Global Technology Manager Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “The partnership with Foretellix gives us access to the state-of-the-art verification tools and accelerating our time to market.
“We are very proud to partner with Volvo Group. This partnership is a significant milestone for the industry as it is the first time that large scale Coverage Driven Verification will be used for verification of ADS in confined areas. Our partnership will combine the expertise of the two companies and set a new standard in the verification of automated driving systems, boosting both safety and productivity,” says Ziv Binyamini, CEO and co-founder of Foretellix.
With a tire pressure monitoring system, the driver is informed if one of the tires loses the pressure but today rather few heavy-duty vehicles are equipped with such a system. Roman Iustin, a Volvo Group engineer, had an idea on how to make this process more efficient with an automated calibration system. Through campX, the Volvo Group’s global innovation arena for technology and business transformation, Roman Iustin got support to validate the solution and business potential. The validation showed a high customer value and with the solution being slightly outside current Volvo Group’s business, the decision was to make a “spin out” and build a new venture. This was done with speed using the CampX concept with support from many areas within the Volvo Group, like Legal, IP strategy, Finance, Tax, HR and Purchasing.
Read more:
Press release
Fyrqom webpage
Pilot tests performed with a Volvo Penta customer showed a significant fuel reduction. The idea was lifted out of Penta to be further evaluated in CampX & it was decided to spin off into a company of its own. The iHelm idea came from within the new technology development team at Penta, led by Ethan Faghani. By initiating cetasol , Penta and Qamcom Group are investing in the start-up of the company which will be led by co-founder Ethan Faghani. When bringing the i-Helm project to CampX it brought speed and focus to finding the right partner and set up the start-up company.
At CampX we work with speed and agility, trying to do things in new ways, all with the ultimate goal to accelerate innovation. Part of our scope is to support great ideas that come from our internal innovators.
2024
Special award for Interconnected Innovation Model.
2023
Top 100 Corporate Stars
2023
Best Accelerator/Incubator program
Our corporate incubator is a way to work side by side with startups in relevant industries. Being close to each other will help to develop ideas, solutions, products, or services and to grow as a company. Both for startups as for Volvo Group.
Through the incubator, the startups are provided mentorship, connections, facilities, and quick customer validation.
Our incubator is there for the long(er) run. In the incubator, we focus on early-stage startups and help them quickly validate their solution directions. We work side by side and we ask you to relocate your office to our campus. Our accelerator “accelerates” the growth of an already established startup with a product or service. Having a product or service ready for use is therefore a necessity for our accelerator. A steady team and some secured funding to support product development is almost always required as well.
The role of a corporate incubator is to open up its corporate social network. Startups might otherwise have not been able to access it. Corporates are often active in only one specific industry and know all the key players. Opening up that network and working side by side is a priceless experience for startups. In this way we are different from university-based incubators: they are often technology and industry agnostic, and it is therefore hard for them to support customer validation.
Very often corporates are willing to help startups but want something in return: a first pilot, a first investment, or securing an exit in some way. We do not believe in this approach. We truly think that by keeping our hands off we will create the most value together. We have no desire to limit you in your startup journey. We will not interfere with your customers, your IP or your (potential) investors, and taking equity is not part of our incubator offer.
Of course, if you want us to, we will happily talk about being your first customer, your strategic investor or your advisory board member!
Yes, we will charge a reasonable fee for using our services, comparable with renting an office in any inner city or science park. Our business model revolves around this fee, grants from governments and funding from Volvo Group. The incubator does not take equity.
Our goal is to build an ecosystem of corporates and startups around sustainable mobility. Therefore, your startup success is our success. We have numerous technical challenges at Volvo and it would be great if incubated startups can help solve them, or discover opportunities together with us in this exciting industry, in the short term or the long term. The more successful you are as a startup, the higher the chance you can contribute to solutions.
First, you need to check a few boxes: are you a founding team working fulltime in the startup with a majority of the shares and have freedom to operate? And are you active in the sustainable mobility industry with a hardware or deep-tech solution? Then you can apply here.
Yes as we really want to be physically close to each other, but we are looking into fully remote and hybrid solution for the future.
No, but we highly recommend it. Being incorporated in Sweden means you are more interesting for local investors and it is easier to work with local actors. There is also possible to apply for research and development grants.
Yes, send us an e-mail, campx@volvo.com or send in an application for either the incubator or the accelerator and we will contact you as soon as we can.
We are located in the CampX building on the Lundby campus in Gothenburg. Here we have co-located R&D engineers working within the areas of, Electromobility, Volvo Autonomous Solutions, Hydrogen Volvo Energy. The whole building has adopted an activity based approach, but a certain area of the building will be allocated to startups where you have “your own space”. Access to our labs, workshops and demo vehicles is part of the offer.
A startup venture client is a collaborative program running co-creation projects with startups to help them grow and develop their ideas and solutions. The primary purpose is to help the companies be able to work independently. This is achieved by providing mentorship, facilities, expertise, connections, and sometimes capital that the startups might not have been able to access otherwise.
A startup venture client empowers promising startups by providing mentorship, facilities, expertise, connections, and sometimes capital that they might not have been able to access otherwise. It increases the odds for a startup to take off and realize their goals.
Our corporate incubator is a way to work side by side with startups in relevant industries. Being close to each other will help to develop ideas, solutions, products, or services and to grow as a company. Both for startups as for Volvo Group.
Through the incubator, the startups are provided mentorship, connections, facilities, and quick customer validation.
