Telefonica : Tsinghua Holdings Technology and Innovation invests in Spanish firm Ludei

Madrid, 26 November 2015.- Telefónica has today announced a significant development in its alliance with China Unicom and Tsinghua Holdings Technology and Innovation (THTI), with THTI to invest USD 300,000 in Spanish firm Ludei, a product of its Open Future_ accelerator programme. Ludei has previously received investment from Kibo Ventures, through its Amerigo network of funds, which invests in Telefónica Open Future_ startups.

Ludei, a company engaged in simplifying the creation of apps and games for different mobile platforms, is a Spanish startup with 20 employees and offices in Bilbao and San Francisco. Its competitive advantage is that its applications are developed in the HTML 5 programming language, which enables them, after just a few changes, to be used as apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Users only need to upload the apps to the cloud to enable Ludei's platform, CocoonJS, to process them and return them in an app that can be downloaded in Apple, Google or Microsoft stores. This is a flourishing business model as, according to consulting services company Gartner, by the end of 2016, 70% of apps will be based on HTML5.

This injection of capital will also enable Ludei to launch in China, where it is to open a new office in Beijing. This will give it access to the world's largest market for videogames and applications in general which, according to consultants Newzoo, in 2015 will generate USD 22.2 billion in a country with 700 million smartphones.

The company has also entered into agreements with partners like Chinese mobile devices maker Xiaomi, and Maxthon, one of the leading browsers in the Asian country, and within the next few weeks expects to access a round of financing amounting to USD 2 million.

Eneko Knörr, CEO at Ludei, said, 'We are very grateful to THTI, China Unicom and Telefónica Open Future_ for this opportunity to enter China, since it is a country where the entire ecosystem of applications based on HTML5 is becoming a reality. In China, they are further ahead than in Silicon Valley in everything concerning the mobile sector'.

'We are very pleased with this, the first investment by THTI in a company in our portfolio, because it clearly shows that the diversification of our portfolio and the commitment we are making to companies offering unique innovative technological solutions is what consumers over the world are demanding. In addition, the fact of being present with brick-and-mortar offices on three continents is of great benefit for the ecosystem we are working with, as it allows them to go international', added Ana Segurado, director of Telefónica Open Future_.

ENDS

Note to editors

Ludei

The company, started by serial entrepreneur Eneko Knörr and based in San Francisco, USA and Spain, is the creator of Cocoon.io, a platform for HTML5 app and game developers. Its unique technology is used by 60,000 developers from all over the world, including Fortune 500 companies such as Disney and Viacom. It's funding to date has been $2.5M. http://static.ludei.com/video/ludei.html

China Unicom

China Unicom has subsidiaries in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China and in other countries and regions across the globe. It is the only Chinese telecommunications operator to be listed simultaneously on the New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets. China Unicom has featured on the Fortune 500 companies list for several years in a row and was ranked 227 in 2015. China Unicom mainly operates fixed and mobile communications services, national and international communications services, satellite services, data communication services, network access services, value added telecommunication services and integrated information and communication services. In recent years, the performance of China Unicom has improved significantly. The revenues of China Unicom, its customer base and its market capitalisation are among the most significant for the sector globally. Since 2014, China Unicom has established its venture capitalist entities and funds in both Beijing and Shanghai. Jointly these investment entities constituted a seamless strategic equity investment chain covering the complete lifecycle of startups. As a complementary counterpart, the Center for Int'l Mobile Internet Entrepreneurship has been founded in Shanghai. Based on industrial productivity competences and cross-carrier network of global go-to-market accesses, the CIMIE offers acceleration and incubation programs to startups whilst empowers numerous crowd workspaces with specialized capabilities; and hence intends to form a shared open innovation and incubation platform.

THTI

Tsinghua Holdings Technology and Innovation Holdings Co., Ltd (THTI) is a supplier of scientific and technological services, as well as a manager of science parks, whose main business consists of providing innovative technological services. THTI is a member of the technological innovation platform of Tsinghua Holdings Co., Ltd. Devoted to the technological services industry, the strategy of THTI centres on regional innovation and business technological development through an international network of operations and investments covering five major business areas, ranging from innovation and entrepreneurship, science parks, investment and incubation, and technological financing to international business. Tsing Venture, an innovation and entrepreneurship service platform created by Ms. Qin Jun, Chairwoman of THTI, is a specialized platform under THTI covering different stages of startup services including incubation and investment services. Tsing Venture is committed to providing SMEs with a wide range of services including financial, human resources, market, space, technological and cross-border services. Its ecosystem incorporates brands covering three main business segments: space, talents and capital, including Binggo Café, Innoway, VIV, XYPark, THTI Capital and TIPark Silicon Valley. Tsing Venture aims to become the largest innovation and entrepreneurship service platform in China to help the startups grow.

Telefónica Open Future_

Open Future_ is Telefónica's way of globally championing talent and entrepreneurship. Since 2014 it has grouped together all Telefónica's existing activities, initiatives and projects in the field of open innovation. Through Think Big, Talentum, crowdworking spaces, Wayra, Telefónica Ventures, Amerigo and the CIP platform, it promotes and invests in viable technology-based projects, ideas and people, at all stages of the lifecycle, openly and in conjunction with public and private organisations. With a portfolio of over 600 startups and offices in 17 countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia, Telefónica Open Future_ helps to transform innovative ideas into successful businesses.

Visit our new website: http://www.openfuture.org | @OpenFuture_