Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) progam Amdocs Ventures has made two minority investments in Israeli start-ups: Amobee Media Systems Ltd. and Trivnet Ltd. Amobee develops mobile advertising server solutions for telecommunications providers, and Trivnet provide mobile-based transaction management capabilities.
The announcement was made at the unveiling of Amdocs' new Open Innovation program at an event in Silicon Valley. Amdocs did not disclose the amounts of the two investments, but they were probably not large.
"Globes" named Amobee as one of Israel's promising start-ups in 2008. According to IVC Online, the company has raised $54 million in three financing rounds, while Trivnet has raised $35.5 million in four rounds.
Amdocs also unveiled two other programs: Amdocs Ascend! - a start-up partnership program focused on creating new solutions by combining external innovation with Amdocs products and services to develop partnerships that complement the Amdocs CES (customer experience systems) portfolio; and Amdocs Engage! - a business development program promoting business opportunities between Amdocs, service providers, and start-ups, through which Amdocs offers selected companies a discussion channel with its global customer base.
Amdocs VP product and solutions marketing Seth Nesbitt said, "Amdocs is now a well-established leader in the industry - however, we were once a start-up too. When we look back, we recall how innovation, often introduced by our employees, played a role in our success. The Open Innovation program honors Amdocs' deep heritage in innovation, and offers us an opportunity to foster the startup community that will inevitably help shape the future of the industry."
Amdocs's share closed at $26.60 yesterday, giving a market cap of $5.43 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 13, 2009
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