Japan's NTT Group, parent company of NTT Docomo, plans to establish a new 20 billion yen ($187.8 million) corporate venture fund to support new technologies including AI.
The new fund will be set up in July to aid the expansion of the group's global and business to business to x (B2B2X) businesses by investing in venture companies with the potential to contribute to strengthen R&D in cutting edge areas such as AI, security and robotics.
The 20 million investment is funded by NTT itself as well as subsidiaries NTT Finance and NTT Docomo Ventures. It has a management period of 12 years.
The corporate venture fund is the third NTT Investment Partners Fund. The first was established in 2018 with 15 billion yen under management and the second in 2014 with 10 billion under its supervision.
“NTT will establish the NTT Investment Partners Fund Ⅲ to promote the continuous reinforcement of its cooperation with venture companies,” the NTT Group said in a statement.
“By launching this fund, NTT will support the NTT Group's initiative as a value partner that supports its clients in their efforts to reform their business models and facilitate the creation of prosperous lifestyles.”