The Financial Times has broadened its horizons by launching FT Ventures, a venture capital arm focused on investments in high-growth media and technology companies. This strategic move is exemplified by its initial investment in media startup Charter, as reported by Axios.
Strategic Diversification:
FT Ventures complements its approach with a separate investment fund dedicated to exploring opportunities in smaller startups with significant growth potential, particularly those in media, data, analytics, and related technologies. This proactive strategy aims to identify hidden gems that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Investment Portfolio Evolution:
FT has recently engaged in strategic minority investments, exemplified by its involvement with The Business of Fashion. Going forward, such deals will be executed through FT Ventures, while larger transactions where FT assumes a majority stake, like the investment in biopharma media company Endpoints News, will continue to be managed by FT Group.
Operational Independence:
The £30 million initial investment through FT Ventures will be drawn from FT Group’s balance sheet, ensuring operational independence for the venture capital arm. Kevin Delaney, CEO, and editor-in-chief of Charter, indicates that FT’s investment is part of a broader $1 million fundraising round, complementing Charter’s existing $3 million seed funding. Bloomberg Beta and Precursor Ventures have also participated in this latest funding round.
Ongoing Explorations:
FT Ventures is actively engaged in discussions with other startups, spanning a spectrum from small news businesses to entities in technology and artificial intelligence. This signals an ongoing commitment to identifying and supporting promising ventures, notes NIX Solutions.
European Union-backed D2SCALE Program:
In parallel, a new D2SCALE program, funded by the European Union, has been launched to support the growth of technological and digital companies in areas such as transport, logistics, trade, and smart cities. This initiative, featuring 13 partners across European countries, aims to facilitate these companies in finding investors, customers, and international market entry points, with The Recursive media among its contributors.