Innovation

A strategic pillar

Ahead

At Brisa Group, innovation is one of our fundamental pillars.

Our innovation is built around three core areas. Explore each one in more detail.

Strategic Innovation
Funds & Grants
Corporate Venture Capital

Our mission is to live in the future of our customers and to provide them with safe, seamless and sustainable mobility solutions

Ahead

Our Innovation Pillars

Every challenge is an opportunity to evolve, learning from change and driving business transformation while staying ahead of market and technology trends. To ensure a Group-wide impact, we have structured our innovation efforts around pillars that help us identify and accelerate opportunities across the entire organization.

Img Roadsafety — Road Safety

Expand the road safety ecosystem and assess the impact of different solutions on risk reduction.

Img Sustainability — Sustainability & Energy Transition

Use innovation to achieve our decarbonization goals.

Img CCAM 1 — Connected, Cooperative & Automated Mobility

Mitigate road human factors through connectivity and automation between vehicles and infrastructures.

Img Smart Cities — Smart Cities & Urban Mobility

Deploy mobility management solutions for smart cities and end users, focusing on Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

Strategic Innovation

Orchestration and acceleration of the Innovation Agenda, through Open & Internal Innovation and key partnerships.

Inovacao Aberta 384X428px2 — Open Innovation

Driving innovation through collaboration with startups, academia, companies and strategic partners to explore new solutions, accelerate innovation, and bring new capabilities into the organization.

Inovacao Interna 384X428px — Internal Innovation

Enabling internal innovation through intrapreneurship and driving cultural change through experimentation and new ways of working.

Funds & Grants

Brisa Group continuously seeks new funding opportunities, with a dedicated team supporting different business areas in accelerating disruptive innovation projects aligned with the Group’s strategic vision.

Grant-funded projects

€47M

Total Investment

€17M

Incentive Received

Ongoing project

Corporate Venture Capital

Deploying capital to drive innovation.

Strategic Capital Backed by Operational Power

With over 50 years of mobility leadership and 1,500+ km of highways under management, Grupo Brisa has pioneered advanced toll and mobility systems in Europe. Through initiatives like the Ahead Start Program and focus areas such as Road Safety, Sustainability, Connected Mobility, and Smart Cities, we ensure our investments align with our long-term vision. We deliver not just capital, but real operational value and mentoring.

Market Access & Co-Creation

Our market access through Brisa's ecosystem is a key advantage, reaching 3 million users directly via Via Verde. Our collaborative approach, proven by over 30 executed pilots, fosters co-creation with Brisa's business units and extends to commercial pilots through A-to-Be, Colibri, Controlauto, and PrevenControl. Brisa's €10M annual R&D investment further underscores their commitment to innovation.

Long-Term, Mission-Aligned Partnership

Ahead Ventures is a long-term strategic partner, focused on ecosystem building and real innovation integration, not just financial returns. We prioritize strategic KPIs, offer clear followon investment paths, and back top-performing startups with hands-on support from Brisa’s leadership, tech, legal, operations, and UX teams. This is reinforced by strong financial stability and non-dilutive funding support (grants, subsidies, and consortia).

Visibility, Events, and Talent Connections

As an Ahead Ventures portfolio company, you gain strong visibility within Brisa’s innovation ecosystem. We support your presence at top industry events (for example, Web Summit, South Summit) and amplify your news across Brisa’s channels. We connect you to EU projects, top accelerators, and academia (e.g. Nova SBE, Universidade Católica), enabling pilots, talent access, and policy engagement. This is all backed by Brisa’s multidisciplinary teams.

Real-World Data & Operational Intelligence

Startups tap into Brisa’s 1,300+ tolling and mobility points, gaining access to behavioral, traffic, and infrastructure data for AI, UX, and real-world testing. Our international presence (namely in Europe and U.S.) supports cross-border scaling, while Brisa’s multidisciplinary teams and operational depth offer a feedback rich environment to accelerate product-market fit.