{"id":342262,"date":"2017-05-30T21:00:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1496948"},"modified":"2017-05-30T21:00:24","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T13:00:24","slug":"partnering-with-urban-us-bmws-urban-x-reboots-its-urban-tech-incubator-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/partnering-with-urban-us-bmws-urban-x-reboots-its-urban-tech-incubator-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Partnering with Urban Us, BMW\u2019s Urban-X reboots its urban tech incubator program"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the year since Urban-X launched as a partnership between BMW\u2019s \u201cMini\u201d brand and the hardware accelerator HAX,\u00a0<\/a>the incubator has backed 17 new startups and learned several lessons, according to Micah Kotch, the\u00a0managing director of the incubator for Mini.<\/p>\n

One of those lessons involved switching partners, because the firm is now working with Urban Us \u2014 the early stage investment fund which is also backing companies in the urban technology space.<\/p>\n

In many ways, Urban Us is a natural fit for the Urban-X incubator program that Mini launched in January 2016. Both the firm and the incubator have taken a broad view on what it means to back technology for city living. Both also have a focus on climate and mitigating climate change risks. Finally, both have definitive plans to expand the scope of their work.<\/p>\n

The Hax hardware accelerator<\/a> with its emphasis on \u2026 well\u2026. hardware\u2026 worked well as partner, according to Kotch, but the alignment with Urban is much more clear.<\/p>\n

Mini\u2019s history as an innovator around sustainable cities and sustainable growth dates back to the company\u2019s inception, according to Kotch.<\/p>\n

It began as an independent car company trying to solve a problem for English drivers in the 1950s in the wake of that country\u2019s first oil crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had these gas guzzling land yachts cruising around London,\u201d said Kotch. \u201cThat was the genesis of the transverse engine and use of space that led to the creation of the first Mini.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mini<\/p>\n

Mini Cooper in ReachNow kit<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mini is more than just switching partners now that Urban Us is on board. The car company will also be making larger commitments with the possibility of taking a greater equity stake. Initially, the plan was to invest $60,000 alongside Hax in graduates from the incubator.<\/p>\n

With Urban Us, that number is $100,000 and the equity stake that Urban-X will take will vary depending on the startup, according to Kotch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really learned from the first two for an upgraded program,\u201d said Kotch. \u201cPreviously when we ran the program there was a fixed amount of capital for a fixed amount of equity\u2026 now we can invest up to $100,000 for a variable amount of equity as long as valuation doesn\u2019t exceed $5 million.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program is also longer. With Hax, the Urban-X program was three months long, the new accelerator program lasts five months, and has a way to help with more funding down the line.<\/p>\n

Finally, partnering with Urban Us also gives Mini flexibility for follow-on financing in concert with Urban Us to track the company through its growth, said Kotch.<\/p>\n

For its part, Urban Us gets to pursue its investment thesis with a fellow traveler, according to the firm\u2019s co-founder Stonly Baptiste (who first presented the tie up onstage at our Disrupt conference in New York).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Stonly Baptiste (Urban Us) at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2017<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe already have a lot of confidence and a great relationship with Micah,\u201d Baptiste said. \u201cThe history was with Urban-X goes back to its inception\u2026 we heard rumblings.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Urban-X focused on one geography, Urban Us created a distributed network of interested investors and entrepreneurs. \u201cWe opted to focus on investing in a more geographically dispersed network and building an online community to take the time to understand what an urban technology ecosystem might look like globally,\u201d Baptiste said.<\/p>\n

The two men envision an investment platform where the incubator can make small pre-seed and seed commitments on which the Urban Us fund will follow. Then if it\u2019s warranted, BMW\u2019s own iVentures platform could eventually be involved in financing some of the companies.<\/p>\n

That said, Urban-X has a broader mandate than its later stage corporate counterpart. While BMW\u2019s investments are focused on mobility, Urban X can look at connected living, or energy, or food waste as potential theses that it can invest in.<\/p>\n

Other large investors are getting into the urban tech space. General Catalyst made an investment in HubHaus a shared, co-living company that shared the stage with Baptiste at TechCrunch\u2019s Disrupt New York event.<\/p>\n

Mini\u2019s partnership with Urban Us on the Urban X initiative is happening despite an increasingly harsh view of the current White House toward notions of climate change \u2014 and the tax benefits that would promote companies look to ameliorate the impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever winds the national or international political thoughts are moving in\u2026 with good engineering and design you can solve real problems that are urgent and pressing,\u201d says Kotch.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: DrAfter123\/Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" In the year since Urban-X launched as a partnership between BMW’s “Mini” brand and the hardware accelerator HAX,\u00a0the incubator has backed 17 new startups and learned several lessons, according to Micah Kotch, the\u00a0managing director of the incubator for Mini. One of those lessons involved switching partners, because the firm is now working with Urban Us — the early… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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