$30 million fund for high tech

Financier George Soros is deepening his interest in high-tech by joining hands with the Netherlands-based ComSor Investment Fund B.V. to manage a $30 million technology venture capital fund.

The fund, a partnership between Soros Fund Management's Quantum Industrial Holdings and Comverse Technology (CMVT), will primarily invest in technology companies based in Israel.

"Israel's technology industries have rapidly become among the most advanced in the world, producing a stream of new ventures that is extraordinary in terms of both its rate of growth and quality," said Kobi Alexander, Comverse chairman and president, in a statement.

The fund will be equally owned by a subsidiary of Quantum Industrial Holdings and CTI Capital, a subsidiary of Comverse Technology.

CTI's wholly owned subsidiary Comverse Investments will represent the new fund.

"We believe that Comverse's knowledge of high technology in general, and the Israeli high technology sector in particular, combined with Soros Fund Management's financial and investing acumen, create a team with all the of the skills necessary to successfully identify and nurture emerging technology firms," Alexander said.

This high-tech investment is just the latest for Soros. Last month, a group of investors lead by Soros took a 5.15 percent stake in Sybase (SYBS), one of Silicon Valley's leading database software vendors.

The group paid $23.3 million for its shares, which it plans to hold for investment purposes, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.