US-based financial technology provider FIS announced a $150m commitment to corporate venture capital subsidiary FIS Ventures yesterday.
The $150m represents a target level for the unit’s investment over the next three years, and its priority areas include distributed ledger technology, financial inclusion, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data and analytics, security, privacy, digital enablement and automation.
The announcement marks the official launch of FIS Ventures, though the company revealed in January 2020 that the unit would be overseeing the fifth iteration of its FIS Fintech Accelerator this year.
FIS was revealed as one of the investors in the $35m series B round closed by Africa-focused payment technology provider Flutterwave the same month, and it revealed yesterday the transaction marked FIS Ventures’ first deal.
The unit also participated in a $6m series A for distributed ledger technology developer Billon Group last month.
Asif Ramji, FIS’s chief growth officer, said: “At a time when many other fintech firms are scaling back their investments, FIS is deepening its commitment to stay at the forefront of innovative technologies that can help our clients accelerate digital transformation and emerge even stronger from the current pandemic.
“FIS Ventures is a significant new component of our investment strategy to identify and bring to market innovative new technologies that advance the way the world pays, banks and invests.”
