ANZ's venture arm 1835i plans to step up investing pace after fintech winter
ANZ's venture arm is not dormant, its CEO says, but it has been focused on preserving its portfolio of investments in the last two years - including a stake in Airwallex. That's about to change.
The head of ANZ’s venture arm 1835i knows many in the market think the operation has pulled down the shutters with its founding managing director leaving and no new investments made.
“A lot of people said to us last year ‘are you no longer doing this? Have you walked away?’ No, it was purely at the beginning of last year, we saw the tide had changed,” says CEO Justin Greenstein.
That was the fintech “winter”.
“We talk about a funding winter and we knew that a number of our portfolio companies were going to need support, and we doubled down last year on those companies, on our existing portfolio,” Greenstein says.
That internal focus is now shifting. 1835i has taken on new venture partners in the UK and US. Daniel Jarosch, the former head of BCG’s Digital Venturing unit, has joined as an adviser. Greenstein said more announcements on deploying capital are imminent.
