Increases its investment allocation more than twofold to €350 million
Inherits Orange’s existing investment portfolio
But can it do something different?
Orange has set its stall out as a major investor in the digital startup world with the creation of Orange Ventures, a wholly-owned but legally separate entity that has been handed decision-making autonomy, an “allocation” of €350 million and an existing portfolio of startups to nurture.
The new unit takes over from Orange Digital Ventures unit that was launched in 2015, and which had an allocation of €100 million.
Now that pot has grown by 250%, making it one of the top 10 corporate investment funds in Europe, and the team of 20 staff has a mandate to invest in emerging companies “in areas traditional to Orange expertise such as connectivity, cybersecurity, the digital enterprise, and innovative financial services, as well as new territories that the group is exploring, like e-health.”