MEDIA INFORMATION
T-Venture Successfully Exits Lantiq
Michael Boshammer: „Pearls of technology for future markets in our portfolio“
Bonn, 20th May 2015 – T-Venture, the venture capital company at Deutsche Telekom, has successfully sold its shares in Lantiq, the Munich based chip manufacturer. Lantiq was founded as a spin-off of Infineon in 2009 and subsequently acquired by Intel. Lantiq broadband communication chips are found in many routers and DSL modems. They are considered a key component for the upcoming smart-home market.
„For a long time already, T-Venture has been intentionally investing in technology companies that focus on core components for the major markets of the future. Regarding Lantiq, this was largely in the context of the ever growing demands of broadband communication, especially in the smart-home sector. We, as Deutsche Telekom, had been working very closely with the Lantiq’s precursory organization at that point in time and recognized the great potential and that is why we invested in the spin-off,“ says Holger Wagner, Senior Investment Manager at T-Venture. With the takeover of their position in reference to cable modems, Intel had also announced plans to expand home appliances for other types of access, such as xDSL, LTE or fiberglass. By 2018, Intel expects to see about 800 million households with broadband connections.
“Beyond Lantiq, T-Venture has a strategic relevant portfolio of other innovative technology companies, which will influence the IT and telecommunication market significantly,” says T-Venture Managing Director, Michael Boshammer, classifying the current disposition to Intel. He explains, „just as Lantiq has key technology for the smart-home, the other companies in which we have invested offer key components for future markets.“ As examples, he cites participation in Ranovus and Skorpios. Both companies address the rapidly growing market for data center connections, which handle more than 80 percent of Internet traffic, and they both provide technology to reduce costs tenfold for this sector. The Founder of Ranovus is a „T-Venture Serial Entrepreneur.“ The venture capital Company of Deutsche Telekom had already invested in its previous startup, Core Optics, and implemented a successful exit.
Michael Boshammer explains, „with our expertise and proximity to the market for the IT and telecommunications industry, our experience allows us to very accurately estimate the direction in which the global carriers will align with their technologies and partners for the next five years. That allows us to invest early in the companies that focus on such technologies and to help them prepare for a successful exit.“
About T-Venture: T-Venture Holding GmbH was founded in 1997 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. T-Venture’s footprint includes the USA, Europe, and Israel, and its activities in these regions are covered by the company headquarters in Bonn and T-Venture of America, Inc. in San Francisco. Today, T-Venture is part of Telekom Capital, one of the leading innovation funds in Europe. With a portfolio of around 100 companies, its goal is to create sustainable and significant added value to lead up to a successful exit. Due to its venture capital investments, Deutsche Telekom is able to access innovative young companies in various investment stages. These companies not only have above-average potential for growth, but also generate economic and technological synergies in line with the business units of the Deutsche Telekom Group.
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