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Bloomberg
European insurer Allianz SE is increasing the size of its tech investment fund to 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), making it one of the largest corporate-backed venture funds in Europe.
Allianz X was launched in 2016 with a 430 million-euro checkbook and has done about 15 deals, including an investment in Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek, German mobile bank N26, and US insurance startup Lemonade.
The new funds will target startups where Allianz sees some future cross-selling or use case, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Prior to its investment last year, Allianz Indonesia was offering insurance products to Go-Jek’s riders and customers.
Allianz X now has the option to make larger investments, said Chief Executive Officer Nazim Cetin, and has plans to hire new staff. The fund did not disclose any performance figures, but added that the current value of the portfolio exceeds the initial investment.
Some of Europe’s other major corporate-backed VC funds include that of BMW AG, which in 2016 announced it was creating an investment vehicle to spend up to 500 million euros over ten years. The same year saw Siemens AG pledge 1 billion euros for startups via its next47 venture.