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European Space Agency (ESA) and Triangle Venture Capital Group announce first closing of the Open Sky Technologies Fund
 March 4, 2010

The €100 million early stage venture capital fund will invest in space-related technologies for terrestrial applications.

Paris, St. Leon-Rot – March 4, 2010 –– Technologies such as satellite TV for home entertainment, CAT Scans for medical imaging, and navigational systems have changed the world – all based on technologies developed for space though also successfully deployed on earth. The new Open Sky Technologies Fund will target these kinds of groundbreaking technologies to be commercialized in agile and fast-growing start-ups with selected best of breed management teams.

Frank M. Salzgeber, Head of ESA‘s Technology Transfer and Programme Office (TTPO) says, “Space is the ultimate frontier and it makes unsurpassed demands on whatever we do. Technologies that satisfy these demands are without a doubt the best that mankind can think of. The potential for terrestrial applications has been proven and that‘s what we want to capitalize on.”

Dr. Bernd Geiger, Managing General Partner at Triangle emphasizes, “There is great potential in approaching this huge pool of technologies in a structured way. Nurturing the most promising technologies in young and dynamic startups, but with experienced management and industry best practices, has been proven to be the most effective way to spin them off and successfully commercialize them.”

The fund will source potential investment opportunities in all 18 ESA member states through the TTPO and its affiliated networks, which develop and commercialize European space-related technologies.

The Triangle-ESA collaboration has been initiated and facilitated by Joerg Kreisel (JKIC, Germany), an internationally recognized space commercialization expert.

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About ESA: ESA (www.esa.int) is Europe‘s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the developments of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA is an international organization with 18 member states. One objective of ESA‘s TTPO, led by Frank M. Salzgeber, is to strengthen the competitiveness of European industry.

About Triangle: Triangle (www.triangle-venture.com) has been exclusively investing in and building spin-offs from universities and research centers since 1997. Unlike many other VCs, Triangle invests in pre-revenue situations, creating the commercial outfit, including technology transfer and search and selection of the management team which in turn operates under standardized best practices. Over the past 13 years, Triangle has developed into one of the most highly distinguished European early-stage technology investors. As a consequence, Triangle‘s founding partner Uli W. Fricke has been elected to be the 2010/2011 Chairperson of the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EVCA).

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