Telstra flags ditching venture capital arm

Telstra's US$1 billion start-up incubator has rebranded to Titanium Ventures as the telco giant looks to ditch the venture capital space.

Telstra Ventures, a subsidiary of Telstra founded in 2011, overnight announced it has rebranded to Titanium Ventures.

Telstra chief financial officer Michael Ackland said the company is "exploring options to sell our current investments in Telstra Ventures' funds" in a bid to be consistent with its focus on capital discipline and active portfolio management.

"The new brand reflects the independent strength and capabilities of the team and the trust that they have earned from a range of global institutional investors," Ackland said.

In 2022, Telstra Ventures announced the close of its third fund, which it has a 50% stake in. It has a 62.5% interest in the Telstra Ventures Fund II.

Its Revenue Acceleration Platform has generated US$580 million for its portfolio companies, extending their reach across Australia, Asia, US, and the UK.

The unit has also generated 42 liquidity events for companies that include BigCommerce, CrowdStrike, DocuSign, GitLab, OpenGov, Snap, and Whispir.

"We believe that through the relationships we have fostered over the years, we can continue working together and Telstra will be able to access leading edge technologies in the portfolio companies of Titanium Ventures," Ackland said.

San Francisco-based Titanium Ventures managing partner Mark Sherman said: "Our journey over the past 13 years has been remarkable and this is a significant milestone for us as we approach 100 investments in our portfolio."

"We are grateful for Telstra's support since our inception in 2011. Our new brand is a natural progression as the team has been operating as an independent, global VC firm since 2018."

Given the changes, Sherman said that staffing is unaffected while the investment thesis, which focuses on identifying and scaling startups in the AI and technology sectors, remains the same.

"Today we have more than 50 limited partners (LPs) and we have refined our identity and what we represent. We look forward to continuing to work with Telstra on a commercial basis to generate more revenue for our portfolio companies. It's business as usual," he said.

In May, Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady announced the group will make up to 2800 jobs redundant with the majority to be slashed by the end of the calendar year.

"Consultation on 377 roles will begin immediately, mainly from areas supporting the products and services to be exited in Telstra Enterprise," she said.

Meanwhile, Telstra is looking to offload TelstraSuper, announcing it is on the hunt for a merger partner.