Swiss financial services group Baloise has committed CHF50 million with UK venture capital fund Anthemis to help source, execute and manage investments in startups across Europe, the UK and the US.
Anthemis currently holds more than 30 companies in its portfolio, including the automated wealth management platform Betterment, fundraising platform Artivest and on-demand insurer Trov. Successful exits in this time include Simple, sold to BBVA for $117 million in 2014, and The Climate Corporation, acquired by Monsanto for $930 million in 2013.
In August last year, the firm raised a $60 million war chest to provide pre-seed, seed and series A financing to digitally native financial services startups across North America and Europe. Unicredit also announced a EUR200 million collaboration with Anthemis in March to create a dedicated initiative targeting mid-stage startups and follow-on investments in more mature and established fintech businesses.
The Baloise deal will see Anthemis tracking down promising startups in the emerging insurtech market.
Gert De Winter, group CEO Baloise, says: “Insurance incumbents have a unique opportunity to capitalise on lessons learned from the financial services world’s venturing successes and mistakes. We could not have found a better partner than Anthemis, as can be seen from its expertise and success in evaluating fintech start-ups and advising on investments in such businesses. Baloise now has a unique opportunity to benefit from the Anthemis Group's knowledge of innovation in digital financial services."