Social media company Twitter is set to provide at least $10m in capital for a fund raised by US-based startup studio Betaworks, TechCrunch reported on Friday.
Founded in 2008, Betaworks operates as an incubator and venture capital firm, typically providing between $100,000 and $200,000 for its first investment. TechCrunch’s source did not reveal the ultimate size of the fund, or whether Betaworks will be the sole manager.
Betaworks was an investor in Summize and TweetDeck, which were acquired by Twitter to beef up its technology in 2008 and 2011 respectively, and gained some Twitter stock through the former deal.
Investing directly in Betaworks’ latest fund would help give Twitter an inside track on any other strategically promising additions. Other notable Betaworks portfolio companies have included web address abbreviator Bit.ly, GIF repository Giphy and microblogging platform Tumblr.
The initiative would follow the formation of Twitter Ventures, Twitter’s corporate venturing unit, in March 2015. It has so far funded mobile operating system developer Cyanogen, mobile-focused marketng platform Swirl Networks and live venue management tools provider VenueNext.