Nokia adds $150M to VC fund

Nokia Growth Partners will invest the mobile phone maker's $150 million in companies focused on mobile services and software, including context and location based services, mobile payments, mobile advertising, and music and entertainment.

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- Electronic News, 7/31/2008

Nokia has committed $150 million to an investment firm as the mobile phone maker looks to increase its investment activity in India and China and augment investment activity in the US and Europe.

The infusion brings Menlo Park, Calif-based Nokia’s investments in the venture capital firm, Nokia Growth Partners, to $250 million.

Nokia began sponsoring funds and promoting venture investments in 1998. Nokia said in a statement today that its commitments to venture funding activities to date exceed $900 million. 

"Over the past decade, Nokia has developed an innovative, systematic and sustainable private equity and venture capital strategy", Rick Simonson, Nokia’s CFO, said in the statement. "Our funds are structured to reinforce the primary responsibility of any fund manager: to deliver superior return on investment.  For the funds we invest in, the prospect of partnerships and insights that come from close alignment with Nokia set us apart from pure financial investors. This increase of our commitment to Nokia Growth Partners is aligned with our strategic focus on consumer Internet services, reflecting the increased role that Nokia Growth Partners will play in our future success."

The company is far from alone in its support of venture capital. Intel Capital, for example, in June announced $60 million in funding for eight worldwide projects. Also, Motorola Ventures in Q2 invested in VirtualLogix, a maker of virtualization software for communications devices and infrastructure equipment.

For more on Nokia, see "Nokia goes for the kill, lowers prices."

Nokia Growth Partners, launched in 2004, targets Nokia’s investments at companies creating innovative mobile applications and services that encourage rapid adoption of mobile solutions, such as context and location based services, mobile payments, mobile advertising, music and entertainment and other mobile services and software.

"Today's announcements underscore the success of Nokia Growth Partners," John Gardner of Nokia Growth Partners said in the statement. "Nokia's new commitments will more than double our capital under direct management, enabling us to scale globally and better support Nokia strategic interests at a critical time for the industry. Alignment with the global industry leader in mobile devices and a leading innovator in the convergence of mobility and the Internet is a clear advantage for the companies in which we invest."