MILAN (Reuters) – Premium brakes maker Brembo said on Wednesday it had set up an internal venture capital unit, called Brembo Ventures, to accelerate the development of technologic solutions to be applied to the automotive industry.

The move of the Italian group mirrors similar initiatives by other companies including Stellantis and CNH Industrial with the common purpose to spur innovation in a fast changing environment as the automotive industry moves towards electrification and autonomous driving.

A spokesman for the group said Brembo Ventures was a unit and not set up as a proper venture capital fund with an initial financial endowment. Investments and funds needed will be assessed as opportunities arise, the spokesman added.

Brembo Ventures will invest in startups globally, focusing on artificial intelligence, big data, sensors, mechatronics, energy efficiency and sustainability, it said in a statement.

With Brembo Ventures, we are even more structured to seize the market opportunities that can contribute to our goal of redefining future of braking systems and mobility,” Brembo’s Chief Business Development Officer Roberto Grazioli said.

Brembo Ventures’ portfolio already includes a recently acquired 6.8% stake in PhotonPath, a company developing integrated photonics-based products, and a 20% stake in integrated photonic systems company Infibra Technologies which the brakes maker bought in 2020.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Agnieszka Flak)