Japan-headquartered insurance firm Sompo has launched a Israel-based innovation hub that will invest in local startups, Reuters has reported.
The unit will target investments in insurance technology developers as well as those working on mobility, digital health, blockchain, the internet-of-things (IoT), cybersecurity and home, remote and elderly medical care.
Sompo will partner venture capital firm TransLink Capital for deals between $1m and $5m while committing the full amount for investments above that itself. It intends to back one to three companies in its first year of activity while forging partnerships with up to 10 more.
The corporate formed an Israel-based unit known as Sompo Digital Lab in November 2017 in order to support its move into cybersecurity-focused services, but the exact relationship between that venture and this one is unclear.
