Google and Orange Gear Up for Investments in European, Middle Eastern and African Start-Ups

Google and Orange Gear Up for Investments  in European, Middle Eastern and African Start-Ups

Google is joining forces with Orange Digital Ventures, the corporate venture fund of the largest French telecom Orange, on a hunt to finance and acquire promising digital startups. The two giants will seek investment opportunities in Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EMEA), specifically in the areas of internet of things, cybersecurity, cloud services, artificial intelligence, fintech and connectivity solutions.

To this point, an investment budget has not been disclosed but the companies stated they are targeting startups in the seed to growth stages, with the first investments expected to be announced by the end of 2018.

The partnership comes as no surprise as Google and Orange have worked together for a decade in other aspects of their businesses, including developing and building out connectivity solutions in Africa.

The CEO of Orange Digital Ventures (ODV), Marc Rennard, said in an interview that the joint initiative will benefit both companies as well as the communities in the EMEA area: “Orange’s ecosystem is consistent with Google’s know-how and our ability to accelerate the growth of start-ups. This partnership is a way to enhance our collective contribution to innovation in this region.”

SORTIS view: Financing from prominent multinational companies like Google and Orange should spur a wave of entrepreneurial spirit and innovative activities in Europe. This may also be a great opportunity for Bulgarian technological companies to raise funding and collaborate with the Internet and telecom giants.

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