Goldman Sachs is creating an auto-tech joint venture amid a SPAC boom for EV and lidar companies: Report

Goldman Sachs is creating an auto-tech joint venture amid a SPAC boom for EV and lidar companies: Report

Goldman Sachs is forming an investment-banking joint venture that will specialize in automotive technology, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

The move will combine Goldman's team that focuses on industrial and technology companies with its media and communications team, Dave Friedland, who leads Goldman's Americas cross-markets group, told Bloomberg.

"It will lead to greater collaboration, greater dedication of resources, more efficient execution on opportunities, and more internal institutional support," Friedland said.

Auto technology has provided plenty of dealmaking and underwriting opportunities for Wall Street banks in recent years, as there have been a number of high-profile acquisitions and public listings involving electric-vehicle, autonomous-vehicle, and ride-hailing companies. Some of the biggest moves last year included Amazon's purchase of the robotaxi startup Zoox, Uber's acquisition of Postmates, and the electric-truck startup Nikola's merger with the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) VectoIQ.

Goldman has in recent years worked with Tesla, Uber, and the EV startup Lordstown Motors.

Read more: A top VC explains how Rivian can target a $50 billion IPO valuation, 35 times bigger than Tesla's 2010 debut

SPACs have played a major role in both the investment-banking and automotive industries over the past year. In the wake of massive stock-price increases for EV-makers like Tesla and Nio, startups making EVs