DENSO obtains stake in Creationline to strengthen connectivity business

DENSO Corporation today announced that it has taken an equity stake in Creationline, which excels at deploying and integrating cloud and other technologies that enable next-generation software development, including open source software.

The auto industry is undergoing a once-in-a-century paradigm shift.

Competition continues to intensify as new players from other industries enter the market and as speed to market also increases.

DENSO invests in companies both within and outside the automotive industry in order to pioneer future mobility solutions and products more nimbly, blending its existing technologies and automotive component expertise with new perspectives and agile R-D processes.

Creationline is one of few companies in Japan with a strong track record developing technologies using an open source and agile software development approach, both crucial for future connected vehicles.

This equity participation will enable DENSO to harness the skills of Creationline's IT engineers, who are developing advanced technologies key to growing connectivity-related business.

DENSO will also participate in various open source communities organized or co-organized by Creationline to strengthen its own software-oriented development system.

DENSO is headquartered in Japan and is a global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electronics and information and safety.

Its customers include the majority of the world's major carmakers.

Worldwide, the company has more than 200 subsidiaries and affiliates in 38 countries and regions (including Japan) and employs more than 150,000 people.

Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, totalled US$40.4 billion.

Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 9.0% of its global consolidated sales on research and development.