B&C has acquired a 9% stake in TTTech for an undisclosed sum, guaranteeing that the TU Wien spinout will continue to be majority-owned by Austrian shareholders.

Industrial holding group B&C has bought a 9% stake in TTTech, an Austria-based networked safety control systems developer spun out from TU Wien. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. B&C acquired the stake through its investment arm B&C Innovation Investments. TTTech was spun out from TU Wien, which then operated under the international brand of Vienna University of Technology, in 1998. The spinout has developed networked safety control systems to make industrial and transport electronics systems safer and more reliable. The company established a new subsidiary called TTTech Auto earlier this month that will focus on the continued development of its autonomous driving software. TTTech Auto has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with carmaker BMW, but it is unclear if the corporate invested as part of the deal. The establishment of TTTech followed an $89m investment from Samsung Automotive Innovation Fund, the connected and autonomous car-focused vehicle of electronics producer Samsung, in September 2017. TTTech previously secured $55m of funding from car manufacturer Audi, chipmaker Infineon Technologies and conglomerate General Electric in 2015. Audi had first become a minority shareholder in 2006, the same year that private equity fund Aeris Capital injected $25m. Private equity firm Athena Wien Beteiligungen subsequently provided $5.3m in 2007. Georg Kopetz, co-founder and member of the executive board of TTTech, said: “With B&C, we have found a new partner that is particularly important to us in our current growth phase, which recently attracted several international renowned corporations. “B&C Innovation Investments’ commitment ensures that TTTech will continue to be majority-owned by its founders and Austrian shareholders.” [translated from German by Global University Venturing]

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