Dell Ventures to spend $300 million fund in innovation

In order to invest in early-to-growth-stage companies  in emerging technology areas including storage, cloud computing, big data, next generation data center, security and mobility Dell’s strategic investment arm, Dell Ventures has  announced an expanded commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation with a $300 million Strategic Innovation Venture Fund.

The Strategic Innovation Venture Fund is Dell’s second major investment fund and builds on the $60 million Dell Fluid Data Storage Fund announced last year. Since then, Dell has completed roadshows to meet with entrepreneurs and VCs in Silicon Valley, Boston and Israel, reviewed hundreds of companies and invested in numerous startups that have contributed to Dell’s storage and end-to-end solutions innovation.  As the global business environment evolves and customers are increasingly challenged by the pace of change with virtualization, cloud computing, big data and mobility, Dell is expanding its venture investments to new areas of IT innovation.

“Dell is committed to bringing the most innovative, affordable and easy to manage technology solutions to our customers. To accomplish this, we will aggressively pursue organic investment in R&D, acquisitions and venture investing. The expansion of our venture investing will allow us to stay at the forefront of innovation for our customers, and support the entrepreneurs who are helping shape the future of IT.” said Brian Gladden, Chief Financial Officer, Dell.

The Dell Ventures model is to co-invest with venture capitalists and other strategic investors, acting as a board advisor and making the full breadth of Dell resources available to the portfolio company. These resources include technical and business counsel, as well as access to brand scale, OEM solutions, channel and go-to-market relationships.