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The big bank UBS is changing its strategy when it comes to innovations. Now it is investing $ 200 million to buy financial and technology startups. To do this, he works with one of the great fintech thinkers and investors.
Last July, UBS acted for the first time as a venture investor in the fintech sector. Your investment in the Swiss real estate services platform Houzy has likely reached the single-digit million range.
Now the big bank is stepping up, and clearly: It plans to invest around $ 200 million in digital startups, as stated in a press release. The program runs under the name UBS Next.
Pipeline already full
Part of the investment goes to Anthemis. It is one of the best-known venture capital funds in the technology sector. This gives UBS access to a global universe of potential deals. Various purchases and investments are already under review.
Fintech and startups from the broader tech ecosystem will be analyzed, he said. Linking tech and fintech startups through UBS innovation labs, digital workshops, competitions and fintech collaborations has always been the key at UBS to stay at the forefront of the digital movement stay, could be Sabine Keller-Busse, UBS COO and president of the EMEA region quote in the announcement.
Buy innovations
But the $ 200 million investment also represents a change in innovation strategy at UBS: Instead of focusing primarily on internal developments, the big bank is now apparently shifting to buying more innovations.
Swiss insurers, for example, have long followed this path in building their ecosystems. “UBS Next is a step to accelerate our innovation efforts”, Mike dargan, who quoted UBS’s chief technology officer.
From bond trader to tech visionary
Anthemis is from Sean Park was founded, a pioneer in the field of fintech investments. Park, which is based in Geneva, was a fixed income trader in BNP Paribas and Dresdner Kleinwort before the financial crisis. He is considered a banker who promoted the digitization of markets. For example, he was one of the driving forces behind the development of an electronic auction system for the European bond market.
As the author of the “Park Paradigm” and producer of the legendary video “AmazonBay,” Park has become a visionary and philosopher of financial technology.
In the video produced in 2005, Park anticipated the most relevant developments in the financial industry and predicted that technology companies like Google would take the banking industry by storm with their algorithm-based business models.
Will there be a relocation of European financial centers due to Corona and Brexit?
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Yes, London will lose much of its importance.
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Yes, Frankfurt will emerge as the big winner.
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There is a division between different cities.
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Yes, Switzerland will become significantly more important.
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No, everything remains the same.
