Westpac announced another AUS$50 million commitment into a second fund to be managed by Reinventure Group, according to a release. Reinventure, cofounded by Danny Gilligan and Simon Cant, makes investments from Seed through to Series A and up, with a particular focus on disruptive technologies with a direct bearing on Westpac’s core business.
“The Australian fintech industry is developing rapidly and we continue to be impressed by the quality of the talent, ideas and technology that exists in the start-ups,” indicated Westpac Chief Strategy Officer Gary Thursby. “Our vision is to be one of the world’s great services companies and we believe the adoption of new customer-focused technologies is an important step in achieving this goal.”
Reinventure’s first AUS$50 million fund was launched in 2014 and has since invested in ten Australian startups, including SocietyOne, Coinbase, Nabo, Zetaris, PromisePay, Hey You, Auror, Data Republic, Flare and Valiant.
The VC reportedly awaits a return on its investments which represent approximately 60% of the fund’s total value, but avers that all the companies in its portfolio have made positive strides and picked up additional funding from other investors.