Deutsche Telekom image via Wikimedia Commons
Deutsche Telekom (DT) is offering European start-ups the chance to get their hands on €500m worth of funding, making it arguably the largest of its kind on the continent.
This new funding is expected to work along with DT’s existing venture capital funding programme, T-Venture, but will now be phased out with no new applicants being able to apply for the older fund.
Expected to launch in early 2015, the €500m fund will span a five-year period and will be operated by a spin-off company from DT known as Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP) and while open to European entries, will have a considerable focus on the German start-up scene.
As part of its ongoing remit, DTCP will also expand its activities to include private equity investments in existing operations in what it hopes will foster operational co-operation between over-the-top companies and the German telecoms giant.
“As a hybrid fund, DTCP combines the strengths of a large corporate group with the speed and expertise of an investment fund, and expands Deutsche Telekom’s spectrum considerably,” said the future head of DTCP Thorsten Langheim.
“We are opening up new opportunities for ourselves to increase the value of our own investments that are not part of our core business in the long term.”
