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 Venture Access 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.
Are your startup working within the sustainable mobility area developing a product or prototype?
Apply to the Volvo Group Venture Client to co-develop and validate your solution. The projects are always connected to an immediate need or opportunity in our departments, and you will gain direct access to our engineers and managers. Thanks to the lean framework, a proof of value project will be set up as fast as possible. The CampX Venture Client has more than 170 Proof of Value projects with different startups in the portfolio, will you be the next?
Participating in the CampX program gave HAAS Alert access to key stakeholders and decision makers across Volvo Group significantly faster and in a more coordinated fashion.
CampX by Volvo Group helped us define real-life use cases and specify the appropriate features to perfectly match the needs of the automotive industry.
We co-develop and validate solutions with startups tackling real-world challenges in sustainable mobility. Each project starts from a specific need in our business. You’ll work directly with Volvo Group teams – engineers, managers, and domain experts. We keep things fast and lean: proof of value projects are built to launch quickly and show impact within months.
We’re looking for scalable startups with a functional product or prototype. You should be solving a clear problem in sustainable mobility – whether that’s zero emission vehicles, electrification, intelligent processes and vehicles, or services. You’ll need a team committed full-time, freedom to operate, and readiness to build with us.
To ensure strong collaboration, the Volvo Group tech startup accelerator looks for companies ready to hit the ground running. Our Venture Client model is built for startups that can quickly engage in proof-of-value projects and deliver real solutions to real challenges. Applications are reviewed with the following criteria in mind:
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.
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.
2024
Special award for Interconnected Innovation Model.
2023
Top 100 Corporate Stars
2023
Best Accelerator/Venture Access program
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 Venture Access 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.
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 Venture Access Program
Sponsor-driven innovation: a people-centric approach
Our corporate Venture Access is a way to work side by side with startups with relevant technologies and solutions. Being close to each other will help to develop solutions, products, or services and to grow as a company, both for startups as for Volvo Group. Through the corporate Venture Access, the startups are provided mentorship, connections with peers and the mobility ecosystem, facilities, and quick customer validation.
A corporate Venture Client is a collaborative program running co-creation projects together with startups. The primary purpose for the corporate is to access and test cutting-edge technologies and solutions and be able to incorporate into operations rather than investing in the startup company. For the startup, it is to develop and scale their technology and potentially gain the corporate as a customer.
Our Venture Access is there for the long(er) run. In the Venture Access, we focus on early-stage startups and help them quickly validate their solution directions. Our Venture Client “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 as well as a steady team and secured funding to support product development.
The role of a corporate Venture Access is to open the corporate social network that startups might otherwise not been able to access. Corporates are often active in only one specific industry and know all the key players and opening that network and working side by side is a priceless experience for startups. In this way we are different from university-based Venture Access/Incubators as they tend to be more technology and industry agnostic, making it more difficult to support customer validation.
We will not interfere with your customers, your IP or your (potential) investors, and taking equity is not part of our Venture Access offer. We strongly believe in an open approach and a collaborative mindset and by keeping our hands off we will create the most value together. 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 fee for using our services, comparable with renting an office in any inner city or science park. Our business model revolves around this fee as well as grants from governments and funding from Volvo Group. The Venture Access program does not take equity.
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. It is also possible to apply for research and development grants.
No, however we have seen great advantages of the Venture Access (Incubator) companies being on site being close to our engineers and to the business.
CampX is a global innovation hub based in Sweden, France, India and North America however the Venture Access is for the time being based in Sweden. We are located in the Lundby campus in Gothenburg where R&D engineers working within the areas of Electromobility, Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Hydrogen are co-located. In Gothenburg, some of the world’s largest mobility industries are just a short bike ride away from each other — creating unique opportunities for collaboration.
The CampX Venture Client is important for Volvo Group because it enables us to accelerate innovation by collaborating with startups and other external partners. While innovation is part of our DNA, we recognize that transformation cannot happen in isolation—we need to team up with others who bring new perspectives, speed, and cutting-edge technologies. CampX provides capabilities to co-create with startups and other external partners, helping us address real challenges faster and more effectively and supporting the startup to test their technology or solution on a real-life customer.
Our goal is to build an ecosystem of corporates, startups and other key players in the innovative ecosystem around sustainable mobility. Therefore, your startups success is our success weather you are part of the Venture Client or the Venture Access/Incubator program. We have numerous technical challenges and opportunities within Volvo Group and working together with startups can help solve them or discover new opportunities together.
Before applying, please make sure your startup meets the following criteria:
If your startup meets all of the above, apply here.
Is your startup developing solutions in the sustainable mobility area with focus on hardware and complex software solutions?
In the CampX Venture Access you get access to Volvo Group experts, real-world industry challenges, and the wider innovation ecosystem – including venture capital firms, investors, academia, and other strategic partners. You will also have the opportunity to work side by side with the R&D teams of Volvo Group in the CampX innovation hub in Gothenburg, Sweden and the possibility to co-create and validate your ideas quickly with real business needs. By joining the Venture Access (Incubator), your company will gain direct access to a Volvo Group expert with the technical and strategic interest in your solution.
Two meetings with engineers at CampX saved us multiple months in gathering industry knowledge and in-depth understanding of the use cases.
The Venture Access program gave access to essential resources and network for early validation
To ensure a strong collaboration, the Volvo Group tech startup incubator seeks companies ready to move fast. As part of the Venture Access program, we welcome early-stage startups developing a solution or prototype that will soon be ready for testing. Applications are reviewed with the following criteria in mind:
Roman lustin CEO - Fyrqom
Meet Roman, founder of one of the startups in the CampX Venture Access.
With a tire pressure monitoring system, the driver is informed if one of the tires loses the pressure. Today rather few heavy-duty vehicles are equipped with such a system. From 2024 though there is a legal demand in Europe that all trucks and trailers should have such a system. Today the tire pressure monitoring system must be calibrated manually on every truck when they are built and when a tire is changed in a workshop. Roman Iustin, a Volvo Group engineer, had an idea on how to make this process more efficient with an automated calibration system.
Read more here: Volvo Group spins out new company Fyrqom AB
2024
Special award for Interconnected Innovation Model.
2023
Top 100 Corporate Stars
2023
Best Accelerator/Venture Access program
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 Venture Access 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.
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 Venture Access Program
Sponsor-driven innovation: a people-centric approach
Our corporate Venture Access is a way to work side by side with startups with relevant technologies and solutions. Being close to each other will help to develop solutions, products, or services and to grow as a company, both for startups as for Volvo Group. Through the corporate Venture Access, the startups are provided mentorship, connections with peers and the mobility ecosystem, facilities, and quick customer validation.
A corporate Venture Client is a collaborative program running co-creation projects together with startups. The primary purpose for the corporate is to access and test cutting-edge technologies and solutions and be able to incorporate into operations rather than investing in the startup company. For the startup, it is to develop and scale their technology and potentially gain the corporate as a customer.
Our Venture Access is there for the long(er) run. In the Venture Access, we focus on early-stage startups and help them quickly validate their solution directions. Our Venture Client “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 as well as a steady team and secured funding to support product development.
The role of a corporate Venture Access is to open the corporate social network that startups might otherwise not been able to access. Corporates are often active in only one specific industry and know all the key players and opening that network and working side by side is a priceless experience for startups. In this way we are different from university-based Venture Access/Incubators as they tend to be more technology and industry agnostic, making it more difficult to support customer validation.
We will not interfere with your customers, your IP or your (potential) investors, and taking equity is not part of our Venture Access offer. We strongly believe in an open approach and a collaborative mindset and by keeping our hands off we will create the most value together. 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 fee for using our services, comparable with renting an office in any inner city or science park. Our business model revolves around this fee as well as grants from governments and funding from Volvo Group. The Venture Access program does not take equity.
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. It is also possible to apply for research and development grants.
No, however we have seen great advantages of the Venture Access (Incubator) companies being on site being close to our engineers and to the business.
CampX is a global innovation hub based in Sweden, France, India and North America however the Venture Access is for the time being based in Sweden. We are located in the Lundby campus in Gothenburg where R&D engineers working within the areas of Electromobility, Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Hydrogen are co-located. In Gothenburg, some of the world’s largest mobility industries are just a short bike ride away from each other — creating unique opportunities for collaboration.
The CampX Venture Client is important for Volvo Group because it enables us to accelerate innovation by collaborating with startups and other external partners. While innovation is part of our DNA, we recognize that transformation cannot happen in isolation—we need to team up with others who bring new perspectives, speed, and cutting-edge technologies. CampX provides with the capabilities to co-create with startups and other external partners, helping us address real challenges faster and more effectively and supporting the startup to test their technology or solution on a real-life customer.
The CampX Venture Client is important for Volvo Group because it enables us to accelerate innovation by collaborating with startups and other external partners. While innovation is part of our DNA, we recognize that transformation cannot happen in isolation—we need to team up with others who bring new perspectives, speed, and cutting-edge technologies. CampX provides capabilities to co-create with startups and other external partners, helping us address real challenges faster and more effectively and supporting the startup to test their technology or solution on a real-life customer.
Before applying, please make sure your startup meets the following criteria:
If your startup meets all of the above, apply here.
The Venture Builder can leverage insights and solutions from both the Venture Client and Venture Access programs. What sets it apart is that the business opportunities originate internally – from departments within the Volvo Group seeking support from the CampX toolbox to bring their initiatives to market.
This program isn’t for outside startups. It’s for internal ventures – working in business development or having a strategic business initiative. The Venture Builder can leverage from insights and solutions from both the Venture Client and Venture Access programs and can help turning it into market-ready solutions.
With the Venture Builder capabilities, 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 Group 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
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.
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.
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
2024
Special award for Interconnected Innovation Model.
2023
Top 100 Corporate Stars
2023
Best Accelerator/Venture Access program
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 Venture Access 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.
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 Venture Access Program
Sponsor-driven innovation: a people-centric approach
Our corporate Venture Access is a way to work side by side with startups with relevant technologies and solutions. Being close to each other will help to develop solutions, products, or services and to grow as a company, both for startups as for Volvo Group. Through the corporate Venture Access, the startups are provided mentorship, connections with peers and the mobility ecosystem, facilities, and quick customer validation.
A corporate Venture Client is a collaborative program running co-creation projects together with startups. The primary purpose for the corporate is to access and test cutting-edge technologies and solutions and be able to incorporate into operations rather than investing in the startup company. For the startup, it is to develop and scale their technology and potentially gain the corporate as a customer.
Our Venture Access is there for the long(er) run. In the Venture Access, we focus on early-stage startups and help them quickly validate their solution directions. Our Venture Client “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 as well as a steady team and secured funding to support product development.
The role of a corporate Venture Access is to open the corporate social network that startups might otherwise not been able to access. Corporates are often active in only one specific industry and know all the key players and opening that network and working side by side is a priceless experience for startups. In this way we are different from university-based Venture Access/Incubators as they tend to be more technology and industry agnostic, making it more difficult to support customer validation.
We will not interfere with your customers, your IP or your (potential) investors, and taking equity is not part of our Venture Access offer. We strongly believe in an open approach and a collaborative mindset and by keeping our hands off we will create the most value together. 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 fee for using our services, comparable with renting an office in any inner city or science park. Our business model revolves around this fee as well as grants from governments and funding from Volvo Group. The Venture Access program does not take equity.
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. It is also possible to apply for research and development grants.
No, however we have seen great advantages of the Venture Access (Incubator) companies being on site being close to our engineers and to the business.
CampX is a global innovation hub based in Sweden, France, India and North America however the Venture Access is for the time being based in Sweden. We are located in the Lundby campus in Gothenburg where R&D engineers working within the areas of Electromobility, Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Hydrogen are co-located. In Gothenburg, some of the world’s largest mobility industries are just a short bike ride away from each other — creating unique opportunities for collaboration.
The CampX Venture Client is important for Volvo Group because it enables us to accelerate innovation by collaborating with startups and other external partners. While innovation is part of our DNA, we recognize that transformation cannot happen in isolation—we need to team up with others who bring new perspectives, speed, and cutting-edge technologies. CampX provides capabilities to co-create with startups and other external partners, helping us address real challenges faster and more effectively and supporting the startup to test their technology or solution on a real-life customer.
Our goal is to build an ecosystem of corporates, startups and other key players in the innovative ecosystem around sustainable mobility. Therefore, your startups success is our success weather you are part of the Venture Client or the Venture Access/Incubator program. We have numerous technical challenges and opportunities within Volvo Group and working together with startups can help solve them or discover new opportunities together.
Before applying, please make sure your startup meets the following criteria:
If your startup meets all of the above, apply here.
