Developing and deploying innovative services, products and business models is a fundamental goal of Deutsche Telekom’s strategy for profitable growth. The T-Corporate Venture Fund supports this goal: the fund identifies opportunities for Deutsche Telekom to collaborate with young technology companies while investing in selected ventures. Relevant technology fields and market segments are assessed in close cooperation with the Corporate Technology and Innovation division of Deutsche Telekom.
Based on this approach the T-Corporate Venture Fund invests in areas with overarching relevance for Deutsche Telekom and its business units. As a result, new technologies can be tapped to enhance and expand the Deutsche Telekom service offering („window on technology“) and assure the healthy bi-directional transfer necessary to support the sustainable growth of Deutsche Telekom. To facilitate this, the fund invests both directly and indirectly through selected fund participations.
The T-Corporate Venture Fund has invested in TeleSoft Partners, Foster City, USA, one of the leading Venture Capital Funds in Silicon Valley. Since its inception TeleSoft Partners has executed a substantial number of successful investments in the IT- and telecommunications markets. An important element of the strategic partnership with TeleSoft Partners is the “corporate-in-residence”-model. It promotes a close cooperation between investment professionals of TeleSoft Partners and T-Venture, the later working in Foster City at the premises of TeleSoft Partners. This strengthens the technology scouting of Deutsche Telekom in Silicon Valley and enables attractive co-investment opportunities.
In 2006 the T-Corporate Venture Fund has conducted an investment and a strategic partnership with iD TechVentures to access the Asian market. iD TechVentures is based in Taipei and Shanghai and ranks among the leading early stage Venture Capital Funds in Greater China.
Furthermore the T-Corporate Venture Fund enables Spin-Offs as a commercialisation option for Deutsche Telekom technologies. Complementary to this aspect is the Limited Partnership with the High-Tech Gruenderfonds, Germany. The Gruenderfonds provides young, innovative technology companies with seed capital.
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