NTTVC recently announced its $500 million fund to help startups reach rapid global scale by harnessing the power of partnership. The independent venture capital firm was founded by entrepreneur and investor Vab Goel in collaboration with global technology service provider NTT. The firm is also announcing investments in five startups delivering impactful innovations for businesses and consumers: Celona, Eko, nference, Shoreline and UDP Labs.
NTTVC invests broadly across all stages and sectors, with an emphasis on the future of enterprise, digital health and innovations powered by AI, machine learning and data. By combining the deep relationships of its investment team with the reach of NTT, the firm offers access to a robust network of industry experts, customers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, system integrators and service providers who can help startups make better decisions, more quickly.
NTT is a $109 billion, top five global technology service provider serving 75 million mobile subscribers, 3 million businesses and 120,000 enterprise customers with a local presence in over 80 countries. The company has a long history of embracing startups and helping them achieve global scale. By partnering with Goel to form a returns-driven venture capital fund, NTT deepens its commitment to building long-term relationships in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In turn, NTTVC portfolio companies have the choice and opportunity to sell to, through and with NTT to help scale their businesses.
“Our mission is to use technology for good to solve social challenges for people, clients and communities,” said Jun Sawada, President and CEO of NTT Corporation. “We have always believed that the startup ecosystem is essential to delivering on that promise, which is why we chose to partner with NTTVC to fuel the next generation of world-changing technologies.”
Collectively, the NTTVC team has founded, advised, scaled and invested in over a hundred startups. Their drive for supporting entrepreneurs stems from their direct experiences as founders and venture capitalists. Prior to founding NTTVC, Goel was a Partner at Norwest Venture Partners for 19 years and helped build many of the foundational technologies of today’s internet as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist and technologist. Partner Fay Hazaveh Costa worked closely with Goel at Norwest Venture Partners and previously helped launch Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s venture group. Mike Koenig, Portfolio Development Partner, is a seasoned sales and business development leader who was an early executive at two startups backed by Goel. Koenig supports NTTVC portfolio companies through impactful connections with the firm’s network.
“We are still in the early innings of a digital transformation that is affecting every industry and creating unprecedented opportunities for startups,” said Vab Goel. “We are passionate about teaming up with entrepreneurs through every phase of their journey to build impactful companies.”
“NTTVC offers entrepreneurs the best of both worlds: an independent and agile investment model coupled with the unique access to our global network,” said Fay Hazaveh Costa. “This powerful combination gives startups a true competitive advantage in scaling and realizing their vision.”