Hardware manufacturer and software provider launches “fund for startups, by a startup.”
Razer is making some changes to its businesses model. The company, which debuted as a hardware manufacturer making computer mice, keyboards and the like before recently adding a software division, announced a new fund of $30 million for tech startups.
Dubbed zVentures, the fund will be used to invest in a broad range of startups, according to TechCrunch, including companies working in industries like the Internet of Things, Big Data analytics, virtual and augmented reality and robotics, among others.
Razer CEO and Cofounder Min-Liang Tan said that it will be “a fund for startups, by a startup” and promised to share the company’s expertise, retail and distribution networks and other resources to companies who received funding.
The investments will mostly be distributed to early-stage startups, with investments typically totaling between $100,000 and $1 million. The fund will be based out of San Francisco and Singapore.
The fund is designed to help Razer create a funnel of companies that it may partner more closely with in the future. The strategy is similar to several other strategic investment funds from companies such as Slack, Intel or HTC.
According to reports, the fund may already be active. TechCrunch indicated that there have already been investments made by the fund, though they have not been disclosed, and there are also several deals “in the pipeline.”
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