Telstra Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Australia-based telecommunications company Telstra, channelled its activities into a partnership with private equity firm HarbourVest today.
The size of the vehicle will be A$675m (approximately $500m), according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), which reported that HarbourVest will pay for $62.5m for a 25% stake in the vehicle.
The entities have each invested a further $92m in the fund, and Telstra is expected to come out with a 62.5% stake and HarbourVest 32.5%, according to AFR.
Founded in 2011, Telstra Ventures runs offices in Australia, the US and China and targets deals in sectors such as mobile internet, media, cloud computing, machine learning and cybersecurity.
The fund will take over management of Telstra Ventures’ portfolio, but the companies have not confirmed whether it will retain the existing Telstra Ventures name, offices or management.
Telstra Ventures’ exits include Snapchat owner Snap, digital signature technology provider DocuSign and file sharing platform Box, which raised a combined total of more than $4.2bn in their initial public offerings, and online video platform Ooyala, which Telstra bought for $270m.
Mark Sherman, managing director at Telstra Ventures, said: “We know that the best entrepreneurs seek investors with significant strategic and financial resources.
“The Telstra Ventures team has been investing in technology companies since 2011, and we are excited about this new phase and the capabilities it will add to our portfolio, Telstra, HarbourVest and the broader ecosystem.”