UBS To Invest $200m In Digital Ventures

The UBS Next portfolio is an additional step for UBS to further engage with fintechs and the broader tech ecosystem. UBS plans to invest USD 200 million in digital ventures – starting with a strategic collaboration with Anthemis, a global venture capital fund with expertise in fintech investing – to accelerate deal flow origination. In addition, several direct investments are in evaluation.

The world’s largest wealth manager launched UBS Next, a USD 200 million strong portfolio that targets investments in the fintech and broader tech ecosystem. UBS is driving both internal initiatives as well as existing strategic partnerships and external collaborations with technology companies, start-ups, regulators, peer banks, other market participants, academia and industry thought leaders.

“Connecting to fintechs and tech start-ups through our innovation labs, digital factories, future of finance initiatives as well as project collaborations has always been key to remaining at the forefront of the digital movement to drive client experiences and operational excellence,” says Sabine Keller-Busse, Group Chief Operating Officer and President UBS Europe, Middle East and Africa.

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Mike Dargan, Head of Group Technology, adds: "UBS Next is a further step to accelerate our innovation efforts as well as to identify and apply the latest technology for our client businesses. With our investments through close collaboration with Anthemis, we widen our access to fintech start-ups."

UBS Next focuses on enabling UBS's key strategic priorities such as:

• Codeveloping digital innovation and ecosystem through partnerships, research and innovation pipeline management, facilitated by centers of excellence;
• Modernizing and modularizing technical estates, leveraging new technologies, such as public cloud, microservices architecture, and AI; and
• Finding new and effective ways to engage with our clients and deliver our services, as well as evolving our business model to drive growth across UBS with cutting-edge technologies and solutions.

Through equity investments, UBS Next allows the bank to further strengthen connections to the fintech ecosystem. It ensures closer strategic alignment with key partners and provides an upside when portfolio companies succeed.

UBS Next primarily pursues direct investments into early stage fintechs and other relevant tech companies. In addition to direct investments, UBS enters a strategic collaboration with Anthemis. This global venture capital firm has been identifying fintech companies for over a decade and will help accelerate investment opportunity identification and deal flow for UBS.

UBS Next will be funded exclusively by UBS and will be managed by a dedicated tech venture investment team with market-proven capital expertise.

Source: UBS