Many of the world’s leading tech firms operate venture funds to support startups that are developing technology relevant to their competitive plans. The newest member of the club is Trend Micro Inc., which today launched a $100 million investment arm to invest in cutting-edge technologies such as the Internet of Things.

The cybersecurity giant hopes that forging relationships with startups on the forefront of technology will put it in a better position to address market changes. Like other software makers that have seen multiple industry trends come and go, the 29-year-old Trend Micro credits its success to having been able to adapt in time. Founding Chief Executive Eva Chen highlighted in a statement how her firm entered the endpoint protection market at the onset of the personal computer revolution, then caught the cloud computing wave with its Deep Security offering.

The new fund will extend Trend Micro’s reach to the emerging markets that are seeing the most intense startup activity these days. Chief among them is the Internet of Things, the only segment that the company mentioned by name in the press release announcing the move.

The billions of connected devices that are expected to enter the market in the coming years represent a major opportunity for security providers such as Trend Micro. Consumers will need to protect their devices against a wide range of threats, from regular malware to botnets that exploit vulnerable hardware to launch cyber attacks. The same goes for enterprises that are deploying connected devices in the workplace.

Another area where the company can be expected to invest is artificial intelligence. Practically every modern security product incorporates machine learning, which means that staying on top of the rapid advances in the technology will be essential for Trend Micro. Buying a stake in startups that work to push the envelope on AI could be a good way to achieve that.

Besides capital, Trend Micro plans to offer teams assistance with their growth efforts. Participants will receive access to the company’s ecosystem of 28,000 partners, alliance opportunities and threat intelligence. The latter item suggests that the fund will place a particular emphasis on backing security-focused startups, which can benefit a great deal from having up-to-date information about hacker activities. 

Image: Trend Micro