Cisco Announces Venture Capital Initiative in Central and Eastern Europe

"3TS-Cisco Growth Fund III’ to Support Technology and Communications Start-Ups

SAN JOSE, Calif.- Cisco® today announced a venture capital initiative targeting the technology industry in Central and Eastern Europe 1 . Cisco will pursue investment opportunities in technology-related start-ups in the region, both directly as well as indirectly through a regional venture fund.

In collaboration with 3TS Capital Partners, Cisco is making the anchor investment in the Technology in Central and Eastern Europe S.C.A. SICAR fund (to be informally called ’3TS-Cisco Growth Fund III’), which will initially close at 30 million euros. 3TS Capital Partners, one of the leading private equity and venture capital firms in Central and Eastern Europe, will seek and manage the fund’s investments. The target companies for the fund primarily include high-growth small and medium-sized companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors.

“Cisco helps drive entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe through initiatives such as the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, as well as through project financing, leasing programs and, most recently, the venture fund partnership being announced today. New businesses are a key driver of growth in emerging economies and of jobs in local communities,” said Kaan Terzioglu, Cisco’s vice president for Central and Eastern Europe. “Countries in the region innovate across a broad range of technologies, including broadband, wireless, security, and communications technologies. They also lead in the adoption of VoIP applications, multimedia and gaming, mobile content, and entertainment delivery. The opportunities in the region are therefore immense.”

To date, Cisco has deployed more than $2 billion in venture capital investments and has been an active equity investor in major markets such as China, India, Israel and Europe, in addition to the United States. Through a combination of direct and indirect funding vehicles, Cisco is a strategic investor in start-ups and venture funds around the world and focuses on finding and investing in companies that have innovative technologies and business models. Cisco has appointed Yoav Samet, head of Israel and Emerging Europe Corporate Business Development, to lead this important investment initiative.

“Investing in geographically focused venture funds like the 3TS-Cisco Growth Fund is another strategic tool in our global investment portfolio that fuels ICT market growth through investment in the innovation economy,” said Hilton Romanski, senior director of Global Corporate Business Development for Cisco. “This strategy will help catalyze and accelerate tech innovation in Central and Eastern Europe and take technology investment in the region to the next level.”

1 Including, but not limited to: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey.