Terry Doyle describes Telus Global Ventures, the CVC of Canadian telecommunications company Telus, as a very active investor that seeks to build out entire business lines for the parent company through investments in startups.
To achieve this, it aims to enter a commercial agreement within two years of investing in a company. “We feel that is one of our value-adds. Not only are we writing a cheque, which lots of people can do, but we can also become a customer,” says Doyle.
About 50% of the CVC’s 85 investments have commercial agreements with the parent company. Its typical cheque size is between C$10m and C$25m. In 2023, the venture unit participated in 30 venture deals and deployed more than $175m.
The unit recently went through a rebranding, adding ‘Global’ to its name to reflect its desire to position the company as an investor seeking investment opportunities in global markets. It invests in agriculture, health, digital customer experience and internet-of-things. The venture unit also has a fund, the Telus Pollinator Fund for Good, that invests in for-profit social impact and environmental startups.
Recent investments include Flash Forest, a Canadian reforestation company that uses drone and automation technology to regenerate areas that have experienced wildfires; TalkLife, a global online peer support community for people to talk about mental health; and KODE Labs, an autonomous smart building startup.
Doyle worked for seven years at BT Global Services, a UK provider of voice and data services, in corporate development roles. He was also in corporate development at Nokia and a senior director of business development at Microsoft. He co-chaired C100 Association, a non-profit that aims to bring together Silicon Valley innovators and Canadian startups, corporations and government to drive economic growth in Canada.
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