Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) said on Tuesday it would invest $250 million to its venture funding arm, Nokia Growth Parnters, significantly boosting the $600m currently under NGP’s management.
“Nokia Growth Partners is delighted with Nokia’s continuing commitment, which recognizes strong financial performance since our formation in 2005,” said John Gardner, managing partner of Nokia Growth Partners.
This would be the third injection of funds for Nokia Growth Parnters which invests in mobile hardware and component companies as well as digital advertising startups.
“Our ongoing commitment to Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) Growth Partners reinforces Nokia’s support for a vibrant mobile ecosystem and our determination to collaborate with industry innovators to build great mobile products,” Timo Ihamuotila, Nokia executive vice president and CFO said in a statement.
With this fund, the VC will focus their efforts in regions like U.S., Europe, and Asia.
“What sets NGP apart from pure financial investors are the partnerships and insights our invested companies get from their close association with Nokia. In the past year, NGP has also realized several successful exits, including the IPOs of Morpho and Inside Secure and sales of Swype, Summit Microelectronics and Netmagic. We are excited about our existing strong portfolio of companies and their potential impact globally,” the statement said.
NGP’s recent investments include $8 million in Swedish video streaming service Voddler and $23 milion funding round for messaging security entrant Cloudmark.
By apponting former AMD China president David Tang as managing director, NGP aims to grow its business in China . Lu Guo, former Keystone Ventures vice president, will act as principal in China.
“We are pleased to welcome David Tang and Lu Guo to the NGP team and look forward to their contributions to our ongoing investment activities in China, an important market for Nokia,” said Paul Asel, managing partner of Nokia Growth Partners.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK)’s venture capital arm Nokia Growth Partners had $600 million under management, according to its online press.
