ZTE, a China-based telecommunication technology company, has started a RMB100m ($15.5m) corporate venturing fund to promote innovation by its employees.
The ZTE Innovative Fund will help incubate new technologies and business models suggested by its 80,000 employees. It follows ZTE’s minority and majority investments in external entrepreneurs from a fund set up last year, which sources said had involved a greater financial commitment this year than for the Innovative Fund.
Hou Weigui (pictured), ZTE chairman and chief architect of the venture capital fund, said: "The creation of this endowment is intended to foster innovative ideas and projects. Innovation is essential and fundamental to ZTE. The fund is one way ZTE is taking action to create ground-breaking new telecommunications solutions."
Earlier this month, ZTE said it would to build 10 innovation centres, including in the UK, Germany, France and Spain, jointly with local phone operators in Europe and the US.
This followed a joint innovation centre being set up in China with the help of the three largest local phone operators.