Siemens shuts VC arm. Was it the name?

Venture capital has never been a strong suit of German industry.

Now one of Germany’s biggest companies, Siemens, is shutting down one of its main venture operations — a bit of a surprise, given that it relaunched with a new but clunky name just a few months ago. Dan Primack, of PE Week, has the scoop that “Siemens Acceleration in Communications” is now on the block, including its 24-company portfolio of investments. The group had offices in several places, including San Jose.

It had 25 employees divided among Germany, China and San Jose. The group told us back in March, when it changed its name, that it had aimed to invest $100 million over five years. It also told us then it was about to add someone to the San Jose office.

The group shouldn’t be confused with Siemens Venture Capital, a separate company fund investing in information technology broadly.

It is just the latest about-face for a corporate VC group. Santa Clara semiconductor company Applied Materials said last month it was opening up a venture arm, only a year after it had shuttered its previous one.