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Magna International To Showcase Innovation At UK’s CWIC On July 4

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Automotive leader Magna International is not only platinum sponsor of the Cambridge Wireless International Conference (CWIC) on July 4 but also delivers a keynote addressing the future of mobility.

At this year’s Cambridge Wireless International Conference, Ian R. Simmons, VP Business Development Corporate Engineering and R&D at Magna International, will take the stage to detail how the automotive giant aims to transform the automotive industry globally.

The company with a turnover of $38.95 billion, has made it clear in the past that it is committed to foster and advance innovative technologies with the aim to make full autonomy a reality. Just last year, Magna hosted the Startup Challenge “Driving the Future of Mobility” in partnership with the innovation scouting company StartUs Insights, resulting in four winning teams from Europe.

CWIC As A Meeting Point For Innovation

Simmons, who has been in his current role since 2012, stresses the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration as the key to innovation. For Magna, which employs approximately 168,000 employees in 321 manufacturing operations, the conference presents an opportunity to not only showcase their advancements in the automotive industry but also to exchange with fellow industry leaders as well as younger companies.

The technology networking event CWIC is one of the most prestigious events in the Cambridge calendar and brings together innovators to think beyond the hype and investigate where the opportunities for business growth lie – now and in the future. “Our open for business mentality helps us stay at the forefront of emerging technologies and potentially validate them for automotive applications,” adds Ian Simmons. “We see great opportunity to form mutually beneficial relationships when inventors, investors, and corporations bring their ideas and resources together.”

Magna To Extend Startup Partnerships

Simmons says: “The coming disruption in mobility and in automotive space is driving the most significant technology development demands in its history, with 1,700 new companies who have entered the industry. The advent of a sharing economy is having an impact and creating the opportunity for services to displace vehicle ownership as well as the potential to disrupt the overall industry business model. The demands for innovation to support this potential revolution requires technology application from other verticals, in-house development, and partnership with innovative third parties.”

In the past 20 months, Magna has scanned over 1.100 startups, further investigated 291 and engaged with 101 of them. In the last 12-15 months, the industry leader has entered into partnerships with more than 15 companies and invested over $90 million in the process so far. Magna is expected to uphold this open for business approach and even put a focus on European entrepreneurs and startups.

In anticipation of his keynote at the CWIC, Ian Simmons gives a foretaste of what is to come: “The future mobility ecosystem with autonomous technology for ride sharing, local mass transit, delivery services and new modes of mobility will present opportunities through connectivity for a wide array of innovation applied to mapping, real-time localization, advanced sensors and efficient computing.”

Besides Magna International, sponsors of the CW International Conference include Cambridge-based technology innovators such as Arm, Darktrace, GeoSpock, Samsung, Huawei, TTP and Cambridge Consultants and other global players such as Immarsat, Iridium and BP Ventures.

To learn more about Magna’s efforts in innovation in the automotive industry, get your tickets for the CW International Conference via the website. Additionally, the sessions will be recorded and made available shortly after the event on July 4.

Additionally, Magna keeps all communication channels open to encourage promising startups to reach out. Via the “Leading Mobility” Startup Program, Magna, in partnership with StartUs Insights, looks for innovative companies interested in partnering with Magna in the areas of Electrification, Autonomous Driving, Connectivity, and New Mobility.

 

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