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Nokia Venture Partners announces $100m later-stage fund

Corporate venturing unit Nokia Venture Partners has launched a new mid to late-stage $100m fund called Nokia Growth Partners. The fund will invest in mobile technology companies from around the world.

Similar to other existing Nokia Venture Partners' funds, Nokia Growth Partners will have a global footprint and ROI-focus. Nokia Growth Partners will have parent Nokia as its sole limited partner.

The new fund was founded to complement the continuing early-stage investing activities of Nokia Venture Partners.

'Nokia Growth Partners, as a mid to late-stage focused fund, represents an expansion of our global, early-stage venture model that will increase our ability to work with great companies at all stages and cycles of innovation,' said Nokia Venture Partners managing partner John Malloy.

Markus Salolainen and Rob Trice will be the General Partners of Nokia Growth Partners. Salolainen, based in London, will co-manage the fund with Trice, based in Menlo Park.

Both Salolainen and Trice have been with Nokia Venture Partners for four years. Previously, Salolainen worked at UBS and HSBC, focusing on telecoms and technology.

Trice came to Nokia Venture Partners from DIRECTV, where he worked in a variety of operational and business planning roles.

Matti Alahuhta, executive vice president of Nokia said, 'Nokia Growth Partners will be an important element in Nokia's overall innovation strategy. Nokia is pleased to associate its brand with Nokia Growth Partners, as it continues to renew its global venture model. We believe the addition of this fund will significantly further Nokia's efforts in driving 'win-win' relationships with technology innovators in the mobility ecosystem.'

Nokia Venture Partners has also announced that it will be raising a third early-stage fund in 2005.

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