How VW, Daimler, BMW, others are transforming into tech companies

Daimler got lucky with Marcela Craciunescu. Five years ago, the Romanian software developer had been at Alcatel-Lucent developing a fourth-generation mobile network for the U.S. telecommunications companies in Timisoara. Craciunescu’s sister, who had moved to Stuttgart from Romania, suggested she consider working for the city’s best-known company, Daimler. While Craciunescu didn’t speak any German, the programmer was looking for a change and found herself typing in the company’s Internet address. It was here that she hoped to find the answer to her most burning question: What is Daimler?