Deutsche Telekom plans to set up a specialist team of investment managers in a new company called Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP) in early 2015.

DTCP will support Deutsche Telekom’s strategy to invest in startups, in particular looking at promising prospects domestically.

It will have a fund volume of €500 million for a 5-year period on top of the existing investments in T-Venture, making it one of the largest investment funds in Europe.

The move will help Deutsche Telekom “expand the scope and volume of its investments in venture capital and technological innovation,” it said in a statement.

The new company will also advise Deutsche Telekom on existing investments in Strato, Interactive Media, Scout, Deutsche Telekom Innovation Pool (TIP) and T-Venture.

The venture capital fund T-Venture, established in 1998, will be closed to new investments but the team will remain on board and continue to manage the existing portfolio of around 100 companies.

T-Venture will also retain responsibility for follow-up investments within this portfolio. However, new investments will be executed through DTCP.

A Deutsche Telekom spokesperson told TechCrunch that the new fund is being set up partly because T-Venture was not very flexibile: it focused on investments strategic to Deutsche Telekom’s own business.