MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Venture capital firm Autotech Ventures today announced that former US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has joined their advisory board. Autotech Ventures is a specialist firm focused on investing in revolutionary transportation technologies and business models targeting the $3 trillion ground transportation market. They recently launched their first fund in June 2017, a $120M fund that is the largest of its kind. With Foxx joining the advisory board, Autotech will be better positioned to help their portfolio companies navigate policy and regulatory environments.

Prior to joining Autotech Ventures, Foxx served under President Obama as the 17th US Secretary for Transportation from 2013 to 2017. As Secretary of Transportation, he was responsible for many crucial developments, including advancing nationwide public transit options and laying federal regulatory groundwork for self-driving vehicles and drones. Since leaving USDOT, Foxx has founded and serves as a managing partner of a business that specializes in growing firms that can improve America’s infrastructure.

“Autotech Ventures has already built a great team and a strong track record as the leading ground transportation venture capital fund around. They are growing rapidly and are ahead of the curve when it comes to identifying and supporting startups that will shape the future of our transportation system,” said Foxx. “I am thrilled to join Autotech’s team of entrepreneurs, VC investors, former auto execs, and researchers to contribute to the new transportation future.”

Autotech Ventures’ co-founder and managing director, Alexei Andreev, notes that “since Autotech’s formation, the fund has invested in many leading transportation startups, including Lyft, SpotHero, DeepScale, and Metawave. These autonomous, shared, connected, and electric vehicle technologies all have some form of policy component. Anthony Foxx’s leadership skills and deep transportation knowledge will help accelerate growth of those and future portfolio companies of the fund.”

Foxx’s unique policy expertise will help inform investment decision-making where startups must engage the automotive industry and municipalities. He will also support Autotech Ventures’ portfolio companies as they navigate existing regulatory frameworks to accelerate their growth, as well as advise policymakers on how new regulatory frameworks may impact the startup companies that are leading the way in the new mobility future. Foxx will help Autotech Ventures’ portfolio companies engage municipalities effectively to expedite decisions where timing is critical for the trajectory of a rapidly growing startup.

“Autotech is excited for Anthony to join our team, and we look forward to having him here while we grow as a firm,” says Autotech Ventures’ co-founder and managing director, Quin Garcia. “We believe he will increase the existing competitive advantage of our portfolio companies by providing unparalleled access to policymakers that can help them find the right product-market fit to ultimately scale their business.”

Foxx joins Alan Taub, University of Michigan professor and former GM and Ford executive, and Byron Shaw, founder of both GM Ventures and BMW’s original Silicon Valley office, on Autotech Ventures’ advisory board. The advisory board helps Autotech Ventures’ portfolio companies navigate the automotive ecosystem and complex policies developed prior to recent mobility revolution to scale quickly and effectively.