Aflac has increased the capital pool for its venture capital division to $250m.
Initially, Aflac Ventures Fund had $100m available for a three-year period; however, due to the rise in opportunities the company has increased it to $250m over a three to four years.
Alongside the addition of more capital, the investment arm will also look to participate in later-stage deals and fund-of-fund opportunities.
The firm has made eight investments so far, with the majority being early-stage companies in Japan and the US. Investment sizes have ranged from $1m to $6m and ownership stakes in portfolio companies are between 3 per cent to 14 per cent.
Alongside capital injections, the company also maintains commercial relationships with companies in the US and Japan to support ‘mutual growth initiatives.
Aflac Ventures invests into companies and solutions which can support the growth and applications of its core insurance businesses of Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S.
Aflac Corporate Ventures president Nadeem Khan said, “Our focus continues to be on growth-stage, innovative and scalable companies. As we increase the fund size, we are diversifying into later-stage deals and fund-of-fund opportunities.
“This supports our overall strategy to invest in companies with missions relevant to Aflac’s core business and restates our commitment in this space. This also provides greater market reach and drives deal flow by building partnerships with the start-up ecosystem and other corporate and strategic investment groups.”
Last year, Aflac Ventures took part in the $5m Series A of technology developer for the insurance space Wellthie.
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