Cisco® announced a venture capital initiative targeting the technology industry in Central and Eastern Europe 1 . Cisco will pursue investment opportunities in technology-related start-ups in the region, both directly as well as indirectly through a regional venture fund. In collaboration with 3TS Capital Partners, Cisco is making the anchor investment in the Technology in Central and Eastern Europe S.C.A. SICAR fund (to be informally called ’3TSCisco Growth Fund III’), which will initially close at 30 million euros. 3TS Capital Partners, one of the leading private equity and venture capital firms in Central and Eastern Europe, will seek and manage the fund’s investments. The target companies for the fund primarily include high-growth small and medium-sized companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors.

To date, Cisco has deployed more than $2 billion in venture capital investments and has been an active equity investor in major markets such as China, India, Israel and Europe, in addition to the United States. Through a combination of direct and indirect funding vehicles, Cisco is a strategic investor in start-ups and venture funds around the world and focuses on finding and investing in companies that have innovative technologies and business models. Cisco has appointed Yoav Samet, head of Israel and Emerging Europe Corporate Business Development, to lead this important investment initiative.

1 Including, but not limited to: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey.