Nokia: We have $350 million to invest in payments, analytics, advertising, gaming and virtual worlds

At the VentureWire Technology Showcase in Redwood City, California today, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer Mary McDowell, openly said that the company’s internal investment group called “Nokia Growth Partners” is looking to pour some money into companies that are working on “payments and transactions, analytics and advertising, gaming and virtual worlds”. Nokia Growth Partners has around $350 million in the bank, and they recently invested $35 million into Obopay, who is handling Nokia Money, and an undisclosed sum in both Zvents, a local event search engine, and KongZhong, a Chinese mobile internet company. “We tend to look for companies that have success in the fixed Internet world and are moving to mobile, though we’re always interested in mobile ideas” McDowell said, further adding “also those with traction in the U.S. who are looking to make a move to global markets. We can help facilitate that.”

Judging by Nokia’s past history of acquisitions, it seems like any company that gets swallowed into the belly of the beast gets thrown out into the dark, brutal Finnish winter to die a slow and painful death. Many of the cofounders of the companies that Nokia has purchased have already left, taking their payout and cashing their chips. What’s to stop this from happening in the future?

[Via: Wall Street Journal, hat tip to @vesterinen]