24.09.2021 |
Doubling of investment volume from EUR 75 million to 150 million allows UNIQA Ventures to actively support European start-ups in the Series A phase and beyond
Startups in the CEE region that have a scalable business model as well as great exit potential and whose capital requirements exceed EUR 500,000 are on the radar of the UNIQA Ventures team, which now consists of seven members. The investment focus is clearly on the FinTech, InsurTech and Digital Health sectors, which are also relevant for UNIQA Insurance Group. The average investment volume is usually in the range of EUR 0.5 million to 5 million and is primarily made available to promising companies in the early growth phase (Series A/B) with a proven product-market fit and already existing, relevant revenue.
One of the most active corporate venture capital pioneers in Europe
UNIQA Insurance Group's original intention to invest EUR 50 million in digital business models has been able to develop into a highly profitable business since 2015. Since 2016, UNIQA Ventures has been pursuing the primary goal of making financially attractive direct investments as well as generating financial returns through co-investments as an independent investment vehicle. The now more than 30 investments across Europe, including a unicorn, 5 exits and a solid annual return of more than 20%, underline the success to date. The most successful investments are: Twisto, Bitpanda and Wayflyer in FinTech, Luko, Omnius and INSLY (InsurTech) and Telemedico, Second Nature and Bestdoctor (HealthTech).
"5 years ago, we decided to invest in the gamechangers of tomorrow. I am very proud that today the UNIQA Insurance Group can call itself one of the most active startup investors in the country (No. 3 in 2020) and has been able to achieve an average return of over 20 percent per year over the last five years," said Andreas Brandstetter, CEO UNIQA Insurance Group.
Now, the doubling of the capital provided from the current EUR 75 million to 150 million is primarily aimed at continuing to actively support outstanding startup founders in Europe with growth capital. Around half of this is to be invested in Western Europe and half in Central and Eastern Europe. With an investment volume of EUR 150 million, UNIQA Ventures is not only one of the largest VC funds in Austria, but also wants to make a contribution to further closing the financing gap that still exists in the country for startups in the growth phase.
Strong financial investor for innovative startups
The core activity of UNIQA Ventures as a venture capitalist is to support innovative startups in scaling their business models as a strong financial partner. In doing so, UNIQA Ventures acts as a pure financial investor with the clear intention of achieving financial returns. In addition, the UNIQA Ventures team provides its portfolio companies with extensive expertise in the financial services, insurance and healthcare sectors, as well as access to a comprehensive network in the core markets of Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The financial resources from the increased investment capital are to be used, among other things, to increasingly promote investments in "bold future investments" in the areas of FinTech, InsurTech and Digital Health and thus to specifically drive innovations in startups from said industries. In addition to financial returns, the focus is clearly on outstanding founding teams that pursue the vision of transforming their industry.
"Startups play an important role in the transformation and digitization of traditional industries. The technologies developed by them are often seen as a catalyst for the digitization of entire industries and thus the further successful business development of companies. The capital provided will now be increased from 75 to 150 million and will primarily serve to keep up with the speed of this development," says Dr. Andreas Nemeth, CEO UNIQA Ventures.
About UNIQA Ventures
UNIQA Ventures is the venture capital fund of UNIQA Insurance Group AG, founded in 2016 and based in Vienna, Austria. We invest in innovative business models and outstanding founding teams with a clear vision to transform their industry. Our investment focus is on startups across Europe with proven product-market fit and solid traction in the late seed or early growth stage in sectors such as FinTech, InsurTech and HealthTech. Our portfolio, which includes more than 30 tech startups, including one unicorn, has had five exits since 2016 as well as solid double-digit returns to date. Backed by a strong financial investor, we are a small but dedicated team of entrepreneurs with a clear focus on financial returns and a mission to provide smart growth capital. We offer our investments the added advantage of in-depth industry expertise in financial services, insurance and healthcare, as well as a strong network in our core markets of Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The 5 exits of the UNIQA Ventures portfolio are Inzmo (2017), Koalaboox (2020), FragNebenan (2020) and Playbrush and Twisto in 2021.
UNIQA Ventures' current portfolio includes investments in the following startups:
Afilio, Anansi, BestDoctor, Bitpanda, Bnext, Bsurance, Coya, Doctorly, Estateguru, Eversports, Fairmoney, Finabro, Fincompare, FragNebenan (exit), Kevin, Impress, INSLY, Invesdor, Inzmo (Exit), 360Kompany, Koalaboox (Exit), Lemonway, Moove, Luko, Omnius, Playbrush (Exit) , Ready2Order, Second Nature, Simple, Telemedico, Tide, Toq. io, Twisto (Exit) and Wayflyer.
For further information please visit: https://www.uniqaventures.com/
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