Telefónica Ventures

Telefónica Ventures, formally Telefónica Innovation Ventures (TIV), is the corporate venture capital arm of Telefónica, the Spanish multinational telecommunications group. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Madrid with an office in Silicon Valley, it invests and builds strategic partnerships aligned with Telefónica's global strategy. It runs a dual model: making direct investments in technology startups and acting as a limited partner in a network of leading venture capital funds in key Telefónica markets, 12 funds in total, including Alter Venture Partners in Silicon Valley, Vintage in Israel, four funds in Spain and three in Brazil. Its current portfolio comprises around 10 directly held startups plus more than 80 companies reached through those fund commitments. Investment scope spans Europe, the United States, Israel and Latin America, and thematic focus areas include 5G and next-generation communications, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, IoT, cloud, edge, video, gaming, fintech and digital transformation, with growing interest in Web3 for telecoms. Across tracked direct activity it has made roughly 28 investments with about 4 exits and only a handful of lead positions, typically co-investing in larger rounds. Notable and recent direct investments include AI search company Perplexity in December 2024, Barcelona-based Mitiga Solutions in 2024, embedded-insurance startup Weecover, and cybersecurity firm Nozomi Networks. Telefónica Ventures sits within a broader corporate innovation ecosystem that also includes the Wayra accelerator, Telefónica Venture Builder and the cybersecurity-focused Telefónica Tech Ventures. By combining direct investments with a fund-of-funds network across its key markets, Telefónica Ventures connects the group to global technology innovation.