Cisco to invest $150 million in IoT, India innovation

Cisco Investments, the venture capital arm of Cisco, said it will invest an additional $150 million over the next 2-3 years to fund early-stage startups globally. The new funding allocation builds on Cisco Investments’ current $2 billion portfolio.

The investment is focused on next horizon “themes” to accelerate the development of disruptive technology markets, including big data and analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), connected mobility, storage, silicon, the content technology ecosystem, and India innovation, Cisco said.
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The VC arm has also made three minority investments in IoT accelerators and startups Alchemist Accelerator, Ayla Networks, and EVRYTHNG.

The new funding increases Cisco Investments’ thematic investing to $250 million total, adding to the previously announced $100 million commitment to startups focused on the emerging Internet of Everything (IoE) market opportunity.

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Cisco Investments’ nearly 20-year history of strategic investing aligns with Cisco’s existing business, including cloud, data centre, mobility, collaboration, security, routing and switching.

“Our ability to identify and stay ahead of market disruptions is deeply rooted in our build, buy, partner and integrate approach to innovation,” said Hilton Romanski, senior vice president, Cisco Corporate Development. “We gain valuable insight and an understanding of market trends through equity investments in young and interesting companies who are leading the way through new market disruptions.”