Next Century Ventures, the venture capital arm of NEXEN TIRE, announces its inaugural investment in ANRA Technologies, a U.S.-based Urban Air Mobility startup

RICHFIELD, Ohio, Dec. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Next Century Ventures (NCV), the corporate venture capital fund of NEXEN TIRE, announced today that it has invested in ANRA Technologies, the forerunner of air traffic control and commercial solutions in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) industry, to further NCV's goal of spearheading the mobility revolution.

Earlier this March, NCV announced plans to fuel the growth of NEXEN TIRE's corporate vision of improving overall customer mobility beyond tires by targeting mobility technologies such as mobility as a service (MaaS), artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and self-driving technologies; and has selected the UAM sector as its first investment target.

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is a revolutionary technology that aims to improve the efficiency of transportation in urban and suburban areas. UAM uses 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 populated cities by enabling the distribution of road traffic to the airspace, thereby effectively addressing environmental as well as congestion issues.

Headquartered in the U.S., 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.

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.

Launched in March 2021 through a joint investment with NEXEN CORP, the holding company of NEXEN TIRE, NCV endeavors to utilize the capabilities, experience and resources of its limited partners while bringing LPs and startups together to leverage their complementary strength with the aim of co-creating the future of mobility.

"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, CEO 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."

About Next Century Ventures

Next Century Ventures is a venture capital platform launched in March 2021 by NEXEN TIRE. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, the hub of the mobility revolution, the firm's mission is to discover, nurture, and promote new technology that will challenge and transform the status quo of the mobility industry.

For more information, please visit http://www.nextcentury.vc/

About NEXEN TIRE

NEXEN TIRE, established in 1942, is a global tire manufacturer headquartered in South Korea. NEXEN TIRE, one of the world's fastest growing tire manufacturers, currently interacts with approximately 150 countries around the world and owns four manufacturing plants – two in Korea (Yangsan and Changnyeong) and one in Qingdao, China. Another plant in Žatec, Czech Republic has also begun operation in 2019. NEXEN TIRE produces tires for passenger cars, SUVs, and light trucks with advanced technology and excellence in design. NEXEN TIRE supplies OE tires to global carmakers in various countries around the world. In 2014, the company achieved a grand slam of the world's top 4 design awards for the first time amongst the various tire makers in the world.

For more information, please visit https://www.nexentire.com/international/

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Nexen Tire America, Inc.