ComfortDelGro invests $136.6m in three tech startups

These startups are SWAT, Haulio and Israel-based Foretellix.

ComfortDelGro, through its six-month-old $136.6m (US$100m) corporate venture capital fund ComfortDelGro Ventures, made three strategic investments in transport-related technology start-ups in the areas of on-demand bus technology, fleet management and autonomous vehicle safety testing, an announcement revealed.

Its first investment is in SWAT, a shared mobility technology firm that routes vehicles optimally to offer the highest utilisation rates and service levels. It recently launched its services in Sydney through ComfortDelGro’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia.

The second investment is in Haulio, a container trucking tech company incubated by PSA International’s corporate venture capital arm, PSA unboXed.

Lastly, the third investment is in an Israel-based autonomous vehicle safety testing and compliance tech company Foretellix. ComfortDelGro’s investment is being held by the group’s testing services subsidiary, VICOM, which is working closely with Foretellix to explore the feasibility of introducing such a service in Singapore and other Asian markets.

Other technology start-up investments are currently being assessed include opportunities that impact ComfortDelGro’s core land transport business such as vehicle fleet electrification,
automotive engineering technologies and autonomous vehicle fleet management systems, the release said.

In addition to start-up investments, the firm will be involved in innovation sourcing initiatives and incubating new mobility business concepts and technologies with promising entrepreneurs.