US-based Twilio are launching a European version of their Twilio Fund.
The cloud communications company today announced their joint venture, the Twilio Fund Europe 2013, managed by 500 Startups.
The fund will provide seed funding to startups from Europe and surrounding countries, to develop their own service powered by Twilio’s web service APIs.
The announcement was made today on stage at the London Web Summit 2013 by Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson. Jeff told Tech City News:
“What Twilio does is bridge the old to new, connecting the communication methods that we’re used to with the technology of tomorrow – and this makes innovation a key part of what we do.
“We want to fund startups that use Twilio in an interesting way to solve problems for customers. We can’t wait to see what they build.”
“Incredible” innovation in Europe
As with the US-based fund, Twilio Fund Europe will be managed by 500 Startups founding partner Dave McClure, who has managed funds on behalf of Facebook, Accel Partners, and Founders Fund. Dave said:
“I’m being Captain Obvious to say that that there is incredible innovation happening in Europe. Entrepreneurs in those countries often have limited access to venture capital.
“We’re already investing actively all around the world, Europe included. So we’re pumped to be continuing with Twilio Fund Europe.”