Vladimir Lučić, the general director of Telekom Srbija, expressed great satisfaction with the company’s performance in 2024, highlighting that the shareholders had an excellent year. He specifically emphasized the success of Telekom Srbija’s corporate venture capital initiative, the TS Ventures fund, which was established in 2021 with the goal of supporting innovative startups and boosting the domestic technological ecosystem. The fund focuses on companies with transformative potential, particularly those in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology.
Lučić pointed out that the TS Ventures fund had made notable investments, including in the Italian startup LampoVet, which specializes in AI-based biotechnology for pets in the field of telemedicine. Other investments include the Serbian-American startup Connect The Dots, an AI-driven platform aimed at strengthening professional networks, and Moree LLC, a Serbian-British startup revolutionizing the consumer goods industry through sustainable solutions for reusable packaging.
Since its inception, the TS Ventures fund has invested a total of 2.4 million euros in 15 startups, with an average investment of 133,000 euros. Many of these startups are focused on AI, including projects in areas like smart glasses, internet piracy prevention, early detection of blood vessel diseases, cloud-based hotel automation, and AI-powered personnel recruitment. Six of the startups are expected to undergo new rounds of financing, and six have the potential to become unicorns, with valuations exceeding one billion dollars.
Lučić expressed confidence that these investments could be a significant source of future income for Telekom Srbija, drawing inspiration from global tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and IBM, who have also made successful investments in startups. The company plans to continue investing in the tech ecosystem, with a target of 25 million euros over five years.
