By Caroline Preece. Originally published on CloudPro.
Salesforce has set aside a $100 million fund to pour cash into European start-ups.
The money will be allocated by the SaaS giant's global corporate investment group, Salesforce Ventures, whose portfolio includes more than 150 start-ups, such as CartoDB, CloudSense, Cloud9 IDE, NewVoiceMedia, Qubit, Universal Avenue and YOUR SL, but only 17 of those are based in Europe.
However, John Somorjai, EVP of corporate development and Salesforce Ventures, said the money signalled a growing focus on Europe from the company.
“There is so much incredible innovation happening in Europe today and we want to empower the next generation of enterprise cloud start-ups in the region," he said. "Our $100 million commitment strengthens our mission to help start-ups grow and give back to their communities.”
The public cloud software market in Europe is predicted to grow 12 times faster than other sectors, according to IDC, and is set to hit €33.3 billion by 2019.
Salesforce Ventures has invested in start-ups since 2009, and those present among its portfolio are encouraged to take up Salesforce Foundation’s 1-1-1 model that encourages companies to give back to their community with one per cent of their product, time or equity.
Ruben Daniels, co-founder and CEO at Cloud9 IDE said: “Salesforce Ventures provides not only funding, network and introductions, but also the mentorship and framework to help companies understand how they can give back as they grow.
“We are proud of our commitment to pledge one per cent and expand diversity in the technology industry by making the community a key stakeholder in our business.”
Thorsten Kohler, co-founder and CEO of mobile productivity solutions firm YOUR SL, added: “An investment from Salesforce Ventures offers a collaborative partnership. Salesforce Ventures has increased our ability to stay competitive as we grow and connect with new enterprise customers, delivering success to the entire spectrum of business.”
Originally posted: October 14, 2015
