New York-based venture capital firm IA Capital Group has announced the initial close of its Inter-Atlantic Opportunity Fund I, marking its 11th fund. The fund is backed by QBE Insurance Group through QBE Ventures, the insurance group’s corporate investment and venture development arm.
The new fund will focus on later-stage fintech and insurtech companies, primarily at Series B and later. It aims to support established businesses with proven revenue that are looking for growth capital or opportunities to provide liquidity to existing investors.
IA Capital Group plans to make both new investments and secondary investments. This means the fund will provide fresh capital to companies while also purchasing existing shares from investors seeking liquidity, including corporate venture funds that have reduced their investments in the sector.
“We believe there is a significant opportunity to build a more flexible model for corporate venture investing,” said Andy Lerner, Managing Partner at IA Capital Group. “We bring infrastructure, network, and investment experience to partners seeking meaningful exposure to innovation, complementing what they already do well.”
“A number of corporate venture programs have retrenched over the past few years, often because the investments were disconnected from the core business and strategy,” said James Orchard, Chief Executive Officer of QBE Ventures. “Our thesis has always been to work closely with our business and invest in strategic partnerships that have the potential to significantly accelerate the delivery of our core priorities. The Opportunity Fund complements this approach – it lets us move quickly and enables us to back strong companies as other investors step back.”
The investment team, led by General Partner Ravi Shah, has already completed two investments through the fund. These include Panacea, a US-based financial platform serving doctors, dentists and veterinarians, and Aurora, a UK-based technology company that uses algorithms to automate property and casualty (P&C) insurance underwriting.
This investment gives QBE Insurance Group access to fintech and insurtech opportunities that can support its global business. The company will use QBE Ventures to develop strategic alliances with technology companies and to source value-adding solutions across the business.
Founded in 2000, IA Capital Group has built a long track record of investing in fintech and insurtech companies. The firm has completed 73 investments in these sectors and has managed venture capital funds for insurance companies and financial institutions.
Alongside its new Opportunity Fund, IA Capital manages three multi-investor funds backed by 23 insurers and two single-investor funds for Prudential Financial and Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
