T-Mobile unveiled its second corporate venture capital fund to enable the next generation of products and services for businesses and customers. The mobile carrier said private mid- and growth-stage companies can benefit from its 5G network and artificial intelligence to bolster connectivity, according to a release.
The new fund will support augmenting T-Mobile’s smart home products, wearable and mobile apps, and expand the company’s business services and capabilities like intelligent edge computing. The fund also aims to accelerate expansion of T-Mobile Home Internet, T-Mobile Money and T-Mobile Advertising solutions and further advance the carrier’s growth in AI, XR, spatial computing and smart mobility.
T-Mobile’s fund plans further show that the competition between mobile carriers to provide the fastest, most reliable connectivity is fierce.
“This fund is yet another way we’re doubling down on T-Mobile’s mission to be the best in the world at connecting customers to their world,” John Saw, T-Mobile chief technology officer said in a statement. “After the success of our first fund in fueling 5G innovation and bringing futuristic products like 5G-connected, AI-enabled cameras to life, we’re focusing on the next generation of products and services that will bring consumers and businesses a deeper connection to the things that matter most to them.”
T-Mobile launched its first venture capital fund in 2020 to further grow 5G by backing early and emerging growth companies. The original fund planned to focus advancing 5G products in edge computing, security, modernizing the workforce and industrial IoT, or the internet of things.
In September, it was reported that T-Mobile had agreed to buy massive swatch of Comcast’s 600MHz spectrum holdings. The transaction would give T-Mobile an extra edge in the home internet competition. T-Mobile has been snapping up spectrum rapidly over the last three years in an effort to improve its 5G coverage quality and reach. The carrier also unveiled a partnership with SpaceX last year to combine T-Mobile’s spectrum with Starlink’s low orbit satellites to further offer comprehensive wireless coverage.
In July, Opensignal reported that T-Mobile had the best network and 5G performance. In addition, the report declared T-Mobile the winner in terms of download and upload speed experience, consistent quality and video, live video and games experience.