Swiss-based investment bank UBS has announced a partnership with startup incubator and accelerator Tenity, designed to encourage innovation in the fintech sector, the bank said.
As part of the deal, UBS’s strategic venture and innovation unit, UBS Next, is investing in the Tenity Incubation Fund. This will give the bank access to Tenity’s wider ecosystem including cross-industry platforms and its start-up programmes, both locally and globally. Ultimately, it allows the bank to work with and invest in a range of early-stage fintech and tech start-ups.
Sabine Keller-Busse, President UBS Switzerland, said in a statement, “Digitalisation is the key to future-oriented banking. The partnership with Tenity gives us the opportunity to expand our fintech network and align innovative ideas and solutions at an early stage, specifically tailored to the needs of our clients in Switzerland.”
According to the statement, the new fund is looking to invest in up to 400 new companies. Under Tenity’s business model, it has traditionally focused on investing in early-stage technology companies in the financial and insurance industries. UBS said it also expects to benefit from a broad transfer of knowledge around innovation and the latest digital trends.
Andreas Iten, CEO and Co-Founder of Tenity, added: “The success of our ecosystem depends to a large extent on the innovative capacity of the participants. That we were able to win over UBS as a global strategic partner for banking makes us very proud and will help our current and future portfolio companies bring even more innovation to this important industry.”
