長期以來，汽車行業(yè)漫長的研發(fā)及生產(chǎn)周期，一直是廠商與初創(chuàng)公司開展合作的阻礙。如今，隨著數(shù)字技術(shù)的發(fā)展，這一情況已經(jīng)有所改觀，但很多年輕公司仍然很難與汽車廠商展開合作。
消費(fèi)技術(shù)的客戶需求是促使雙方開展合作的主要?jiǎng)訖C(jī)之一。長期以來，汽車公司在尋求合作伙伴時(shí)，通常都會(huì)回避初創(chuàng)公司，原因主要是擔(dān)心這些年輕公司無法長期堅(jiān)持下去，直至汽車設(shè)計(jì)真正開始產(chǎn)生收益。
從另一方面來講，初創(chuàng)公司常常也不愿和汽車行業(yè)合作，因?yàn)槠噺S商通常很難跟上消費(fèi)電子技術(shù)的變化速度。不過，考慮到客戶對(duì)消費(fèi)技術(shù)的迫切需求，初創(chuàng)公司和汽車廠商可能不得不在彼此差異巨大的研發(fā)周期上做出協(xié)調(diào)，真正開展合作。
“如果汽車廠商希望走在創(chuàng)新的最前沿，那就必須承擔(dān)相應(yīng)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，”Parknav公司商業(yè)發(fā)展副總裁Gerhard Boiciuc表示，“他們必須與創(chuàng)新公司合作，無論這些公司規(guī)模大小。”
總部位于芝加哥的Parknav公司可為用戶提供應(yīng)用程序，幫助司機(jī)尋找街邊車位。Parknav公司選擇直接與一級(jí)和二級(jí)廠商合作，這種模式也在汽車行業(yè)日益流行起來。交通信息提供商Inrix擁有超過10年的歷史和多家汽車客戶。目前，Parknav正在與Inrix公司進(jìn)行緊密合作。
然而，與絕大多數(shù)年輕公司一樣，Parknav也致力于消除所有中間環(huán)節(jié)。一些公司選擇通過聘請(qǐng)顧問，協(xié)調(diào)多家不同需求公司之間的合作。
“我們的客戶范圍很廣，既有歷史超過100年的老牌公司，也有一些年輕的初創(chuàng)公司。”Renz Ventures公司創(chuàng)始人Joe Renz表示，“許多廠商不愿直接與初創(chuàng)公司打交道，因?yàn)檫@些公司可能沒幾年就消失了，因此他們通常選擇將這些公司交給一級(jí)供應(yīng)商處理。這兩類公司在企業(yè)文化上也有差異——在底特律，如果有人敢在生產(chǎn)前10分鐘內(nèi)修改軟件，然后事情又進(jìn)展的不順利，那他肯定要被炒了。”
最近幾年中，隨著汽車廠商開始更多采用消費(fèi)技術(shù)，初創(chuàng)公司也取得了一些成績。一些汽車廠商還與初創(chuàng)公司達(dá)成協(xié)議，為他們提供資金支持，協(xié)助這些公司“熬過”汽車行業(yè)特有的超長開發(fā)周期。
然而，在這種模式下，一家初創(chuàng)公司通常僅能“牽手”一家汽車廠商，而并不是所有初創(chuàng)公司都愿意只與一家公司合作，因此他們正在努力嘗試各種途徑，以“熬過”汽車行業(yè)通常長達(dá)數(shù)年的漫長研發(fā)周期。
PolySync是一家專注自動(dòng)駕駛汽車業(yè)務(wù)的中間供應(yīng)商，“初創(chuàng)公司肯定要經(jīng)受磨煉。”公司CEO Josh Hartung表示，“我們本可以直接拿汽車廠商的資助，然后成為他們的戰(zhàn)略合作伙伴，但最后還是堅(jiān)持選擇了風(fēng)投。我們希望，所有公司都可以用到我們的產(chǎn)品，而不是某一家公司。”
通常來說，新公司的研發(fā)技術(shù)都非常“吸睛”，可以協(xié)助供應(yīng)商“脫穎而出”。隨著全球性競爭的不斷加劇，初創(chuàng)公司與老牌廠商之間的合作需求也日益迫切。
“中國是一個(gè)很大威脅，很多老牌廠商可能輸?shù)暮軕K。”Renz表示，“去年的汽車領(lǐng)域內(nèi)，汽車廠商的日子都過得還不錯(cuò)，但初創(chuàng)公司卻很艱難。通常情況下，公司在重壓之下的變化可能會(huì)更加頻繁。”
初創(chuàng)公司稱，一些廠商也很愿意幫助年輕公司，比如與后者簽訂“技術(shù)合作”合同，而非單純的“技術(shù)供應(yīng)”合同。對(duì)初創(chuàng)公司而言，雖然這種方式可能真的可以帶來利潤，但并非長久之計(jì)。
“事實(shí)上，創(chuàng)業(yè)公司往往最后都在做客服方面的工作，”Hartung說，“這種模式短期內(nèi)沒問題，但很難擴(kuò)大規(guī)模。”
Lengthy development and production cycles in the automotive industry have long prevented automakers and startups from working together. That’s changed a bit as digital technologies gained in importance, but many young companies still find it difficult to work with OEMs.
Customer demand for consumer technologies has prompted the two sides to work to close the gaps that have kept them apart. Automotive companies long eschewed startups because they couldn’t be sure that young companies could wait years before automotive designs began producing revenues.
Entrepreneurs often ignored the industry because automakers struggled to adopt technology that changed rapidly.The push to merge short consumer cycles with longer automotive timetables is breaking down barriers.
“If OEMs want to be at the forefront of innovation, there will be risk,” said Gerhard Boiciuc, Vice President of Business Development at Parknav. “They’ll have to work with innovative companies, regardless of their size.”
Parknav provides an app that helps drivers find on-street parking. It has leveraged a strategy that’s becoming popular, partnering with Tier 1s and 2s. The Chicago-based company works closely with Inrix, a decade-old company that provides traffic information to a number of OEMs.
However, Parknav and many other young companies are keen to eliminate any middlemen. Some of them employ consultants to help companies with disparate needs work together.
“We serve as a layer between 100-year-old companies and startups,” said Joe Renz of Renz Ventures. “Many OEMs do not want to deal with startups that may not be around in a few years, so they often pass them off to the Tier 1s. There’s a cultural gap—if a guy in Detroit accepts software 10 minutes before production and it doesn’t work, he gets fired.”
In recent years, startups earned a few successes as automakers adopted more consumer technologies. Some OEMs have forged arrangements with startups, providing funding to help them survive through long development cycles.
However, that typically ties a startup to one automaker. Not all entrepreneurs want to be limited to a single partner, so they’re struggling to create strategies to survive during multi-year automotive design cycles.
“Startups have to go through hoops,” said Josh Hartung, CEO at PolySync, a middleware supplier focused on autonomous vehicles. “We could have taken money and become a strategic partner to an OEM, but we’ve stuck with venture capital. We want to provide products for all companies, not just one company.”
New companies often create technologies that can help draw consumer attention and differentiate suppliers. Global competition is seen as one of many factors that will force young and established companies work together.
“There’s a big threat coming out of China; the established guys have a lot to lose,” Renz said. “Last year was a good year for OEMs, but a bad year for automotive startups. Generally, changes come more often when companies are stressed.”
Entrepreneurs note that some OEMs try to help young companies by treating them more as contract designers than as companies offering new technology. While that can be profitable, it’s not always the pathway to long-term profitability.
“Startups often end up having to do a lot of custom service work,” Hartung said. “That’s good in the short term, but you can’t scale it.”
Author: Terry Costlow
Source: SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine
PolySync等初創(chuàng)公司希望憑借自動(dòng)駕駛等顛覆性技術(shù)，為公司“敲開”與汽車廠商展開合作的大門。
