Insurance group Aviva has invested £10m ($13.5m) in UK-based startup studio operator Founders Factory having renewed its partnership with the latter by five years.
Founded in 2015, Founders Factory operates startup accelerator and incubator schemes, having created and backed more than 200 companies that have raised almost $540m in funding altogether.
The initial five-year deal agreed in 2016 entailed Aviva’s investment unit, Aviva Ventures, supplying Founders Factory with a multimillion-pound amount in funding while it helped the corporate expand its digital strategy through its portfolio companies’ insurance and financial services products.
During that time, Aviva and Founders Factory had incubated and backed insurance technology developers including Acre and Shepper as well as mortgage brokerage Tembo.
The new iteration will similarly involve the two jointly supporting seven startups per year, focusing on artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies applied in the well-being and mobility spaces.
Ben Luckett, Aviva’s chief innovation officer and founding managing director of Aviva Ventures, said: “The partnership with the Founders Factory ensures Aviva remains at the forefront of the new ideas and technology which will make customers’ lives simpler.
“Working with the Founders Factory we can provide practical and financial support to startups who are moving quickly to test new ways of doing business and new customer propositions.”
