The connected mobility sector is undergoing a structural transition driven by software defined vehicles, digital platforms, and data-intensive mobility services. Despite rapid expansion, the startup ecosystem remains conceptually fragmented and characterized by strong funding concentration. This thesis provides a structured empirical snapshot of connected mobility startups in 2025, focusing on ecosystem segmentation, capital concentration, and observable outcomes. The study is based on a manually cleaned dataset of 553 startups founded between 2017 and 2025, built from Crunchbase and company-level verification. Startups are classified by functionality, scope (Connected Car vs. Smart Mobility), geography, technological orientation, and explicit AI positioning. Funding is analysed using distribution-aware measures suited to heavy-tailed venture capital data (medians and concentration ratios). Outcomes are evaluated using observable proxies: organizational survival status and acquisitions. Results show that connected mobility is not a homogeneous market but consists of two adjacent innovation systems: vehicle-centric Connected Car and system-centric Smart Mobility. Entrepreneurial activity concentrates in a limited number of domains especially autonomous driving, electric mobility, and sharing platforms while other functions form a long tail of niches. Capital allocation is strongly skewed, with a small set of firms capturing most disclosed funding, making mean values misleading relative to median conditions. Funding is disproportionately associated with high-tech and AI-positioned startups. Outcome analysis indicates that capital is enabling but not determinative for survival: discontinuation is observable even among well-funded firms. AI-positioned startups attract higher capital but exhibit lower survival rates, consistent with greater technological complexity and execution risk; acquisitions, although rare, are more common among highly funded ventures.
Il settore della connected mobility sta attraversando una transizione strutturale guidata dai software-defined vehicles, dalle piattaforme digitali e dai servizi di mobilità basati sui dati. Nonostante la rapida espansione, l’ecosistema di startup in questo ambito rimane frammentato e caratterizzato da forte concentrazione dei finanziamenti. Questa tesi offre una fotografia empirica strutturata dell’ecosistema di startup della connected mobility nel 2025, con focus su segmentazione, concentrazione del capitale ed esiti osservabili. Lo studio si basa su un dataset ripulito e verificato manualmente di 553 startup fondate tra il 2017 e il 2025, costruito a partire da Crunchbase. Le startup sono classificate per funzionalità, ambito (Connected Car vs Smart Mobility), area geografica, orientamento tecnologico e posizionamento esplicito sull’intelligenza artificiale. I finanziamenti sono analizzati con misure adatte a distribuzioni asimmetriche (mediane e indici di concentrazione). Gli esiti sono valutati tramite proxy osservabili: stato di attività e acquisizioni. I risultati mostrano che la connected mobility non è un mercato omogeneo, ma comprende due sistemi di innovazione adiacenti: Connected Car (vehicle-centric) e Smart Mobility (system-centric). L’attività imprenditoriale è concentrata in pochi domini, in particolare guida autonoma, mobilità elettrica e piattaforme di sharing, mentre le restanti funzioni costituiscono una lunga coda di nicchie. L’allocazione del capitale è fortemente concentrata: poche imprese catturano la maggior parte dei finanziamenti dichiarati, rendendo la media poco rappresentativa rispetto alla mediana. I finanziamenti risultano associati in modo sproporzionato a startup high tech e con posizionamento AI. L’analisi degli esiti indica che il capitale è una condizione abilitante ma non determinante per la sopravvivenza: la discontinuità è osservabile anche tra imprese ben finanziate. Le startup AI attraggono più capitale ma mostrano tassi di sopravvivenza inferiori, coerenti con maggiore complessità e rischio di esecuzione; le acquisizioni, sebbene rare, coinvolgono prevalentemente startup più finanziate.
Connected mobility startups in 2025: ecosystem mapping, funding concentration, and outcome analysis
DESHPANDE, NISHANT SANJAY
2025/2026
Abstract
The connected mobility sector is undergoing a structural transition driven by software defined vehicles, digital platforms, and data-intensive mobility services. Despite rapid expansion, the startup ecosystem remains conceptually fragmented and characterized by strong funding concentration. This thesis provides a structured empirical snapshot of connected mobility startups in 2025, focusing on ecosystem segmentation, capital concentration, and observable outcomes. The study is based on a manually cleaned dataset of 553 startups founded between 2017 and 2025, built from Crunchbase and company-level verification. Startups are classified by functionality, scope (Connected Car vs. Smart Mobility), geography, technological orientation, and explicit AI positioning. Funding is analysed using distribution-aware measures suited to heavy-tailed venture capital data (medians and concentration ratios). Outcomes are evaluated using observable proxies: organizational survival status and acquisitions. Results show that connected mobility is not a homogeneous market but consists of two adjacent innovation systems: vehicle-centric Connected Car and system-centric Smart Mobility. Entrepreneurial activity concentrates in a limited number of domains especially autonomous driving, electric mobility, and sharing platforms while other functions form a long tail of niches. Capital allocation is strongly skewed, with a small set of firms capturing most disclosed funding, making mean values misleading relative to median conditions. Funding is disproportionately associated with high-tech and AI-positioned startups. Outcome analysis indicates that capital is enabling but not determinative for survival: discontinuation is observable even among well-funded firms. AI-positioned startups attract higher capital but exhibit lower survival rates, consistent with greater technological complexity and execution risk; acquisitions, although rare, are more common among highly funded ventures.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2026_03_Deshpande.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/252665