Telstra has made an undisclosed investment in DocuSign, a US technology startup that lets people use digital signatures in documents and financial transactions, as part of its push into Silicon Valley.
News reports suggested Telstra spent millions of dollars to buy the stake as part of a funding round but the company has refused to specify the exact amount.
It will adopt the system as part of the move.
It comes as global technology giant Apple enters the game of authenticating payments and documents via the fingerprint recognition system on its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices in the US.
Telstra's stake in DocuSign is the latest in a series of overseas investments by the telco as it attempts to stop nimble technology giants like Facebook and WhatsApp from eating its revenue and turning it into a pipe provider of basic broadband services.
Telstra spent $US270 million to buy out US internet video platform maker Ooyala in August.
But the ventures also come with risks. Telstra was forced to write off over $300 million in Chinese start up investments after bribery allegations hit its takeover targets.
Telstra chief executive David Thodey has set a goal of getting a third of profits and revenue from Asia operations "from 2020" onwards.
