The latest fund injection takes the capital of the fintech-focused fund to €150 million.

ABN AMRO has bolstered the cash arsenal of ABN AMRO Ventures, its venture arm, with an additional fund infusion of € 50 million. Last November, the bank topped up capital at the fund by € 50 million, taking it to € 100 million. (Finextra)

ABN AMRO (AMS: ABN) launched the venture fund in October 2015. The fund invested in a portfolio of 15 companies. It includes start-ups such as  Swedish fintech Tink, data privacy company Privitar and data analysis platform Trifacta. The fund has successfully exited from one investment and added six new ones in 2020. It made four follow-on investments during the year.

Tech and fintech focus

ABN AMRO Ventures’ investing brief is to seek out innovative companies focused on digitizing financial products, services, and infrastructure.

By doing so, it would also help to accelerate the pace of digital transformation at its parent bank.

The fund’s bets on fintechs appear to be paying off. Last week, Tink, an innovative open banking platform from Sweden mopped up additional funding of € 85 million in a round led by Eurazeo Growth. The round valued the fintech at a post-money valuation of € 680 million.

ABN AMRO said in a statement that the capital infusion reflected its view of the growth opportunities in the international tech and fintech ecosystem. It added that the venture fund was well-entrenched in the global network of investors, developers, and companies in the tech and fintech sectors.

How the venture investments mesh with ABN AMRO

ABN AMRO’s Chief Digital Officer Frank Verkerk, who also chairs the ABN AMRO Ventures investment committee, commented: “It’s wonderful to see that the fund can make a real contribution to the bank’s digital strategy, and to the development of the innovative companies in which we invest, many of which are just starting. We do this by matching the innovative capabilities of those techs and fintechs directly to ABN AMRO’s concrete client or banking processes. The investments in and partnerships with the companies in our portfolio also give us unique access to technology and talent. With this latest addition to the fund’s capital, we will be able to further pick up the bank’s pace of innovation.”

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