Founded in 2012, ZD Automotive is a limited liability company under German law based in Großmehring near Ingolstadt and provides products and engineering services for vehicle infotainment systems, connectivity, ADAS as well as autonomous driving. On December 18th, 2020 ZD Automotive concluded a cooperation agreement with TUM International GmbH.

The cooperation between the two companies relates to the areas of research cooperation, knowledge transfer and start-up consulting for business development on the Chinese market. In the cooperation with ZD Automotive, TUMint contributes its experience in the establishment and development of industry-related research locations and advises ZD Automotive in this regard. In addition, TUMint mediates between researchers working in the TUM environment with research projects seeking entry opportunities in China.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary ZD-UNI Innopark in Nanjing/China, ZD Automotive can offer a wide range of services for start-ups looking to expand into the Chinese market. This includes e.g. coworking space in China, funding consulting, project scouting, HR and legal consulting, VC platform etc.  In addition to the Inno Park in Nanjing, ZD Automotive also has branches in Shanghai and Beijing. The company sees itself as a bridge builder between Germany and China and wants to enable German start-ups to develop further in China.

In a second step, ZD Automotive can publish the TUM research projects on its platform and in its network channels and thus help to fundraise.