Nokia to invest $250 million in venture founding

Nokia Growth Partners will continue to invest in high potential businesses within the mobile ecosystem in the U.S., Europe and Asia. "Over the past decade, Nokia has developed an innovative venturing strategy," said Timo Ihamuotila, Nokia executive vice president & chief financial officer. "Our ongoing commitment to Nokia Growth Partners reinforces Nokia's support for a vibrant mobile ecosystem and our determination to collaborate with industry innovators to build great mobile products." "Nokia Growth Partners is delighted with Nokia's continuing commitment, which recognizes strong financial performance since our formation in 2005," said John Gardner, managing partner of Nokia Growth Partners. "What sets NGP apart from pure financial investors are the partnerships and insights our invested companies get from their close association with Nokia. In the past year, NGP has also realized several successful exits, including the IPOs of Morpho and Inside Secure and sales of Swype, Summit Microelectronics and Netmagic. We are excited about our existing strong portfolio of companies and their potential impact globally."