France-based operator Orange flagged the expansion of its venture capital activities with the creation of a new, independent unit called Orange Ventures that will have a pot of around 350 million (US$425.4 million) for startup investments.
Orange Ventures has taken over the portfolio of Orange Digital Ventures, which was launched with an initial funding allocation of 20 million ($24.3 million) in 2015 and grew into a 150 million ($182.4 million) corporate early-stage investment fund.
The aim is to give the VC unit greater freedom to make investment decisions, with a focus on high-growth sectors in traditional Orange territory such as connectivity, cybersecurity, the digital enterprise and financial services, as well as new areas such as e-health. It seems likely that the digital has been dropped from the unit s name as it is no longer deemed necessary in today s increasingly digital environment.