ANZ is setting up its VC and accelerator business, ANZi, as a standalone venture

Big four bank ANZ will turn its ANZi ventures and incubator business as a stand-alone entity in the hope that it will operate more like a startup.

The bank is hoping the new venture, which will change its name from ANZi to 1835i, will have greater freedom to act quickly as it develops a pipeline of investments aligned with ANZ’s strategy, but without the regulatory burden of the bank’s ADI licence.

ANZ will continue to fund 1835i’s investments and oversee its governance.

Current ANZi MD Ron Spector will continue to lead the team under the new 1835i structure, adding three partners to the new stand-alone venture.

“Speed, agility and low costs are key ingredients to successful start-ups and help drive innovation. We’ve made some great progress to date and the time is right for the next stage of our development,” he said.

“This new structure will make it easier to attract dynamic startup talent with the right skills to help us accelerate the next stages of development.”

The new partners are: Ash Crick, who will lead Product & Technology Innovation; Rami Mukhtar as Chief Data Officer focusing on data and AI; and Justin Greenstein as Chief Operating Officer.

Maile Carnegie, ANZ’s group exec for digital transformation, said ventures team had delivered some important innovations since ANZi was established three years ago.

They include launching three new companies: the digital home loan distribution platform OneTwo Finance, theOneSpot and Propps. 1835i also has eight investments totalling $275 million in fintechs including foreign exchange provider Airwallex and the digital home loan origination platform The Lendi Group.

“Through 1835i, the team will be able to accelerate development and testing of digital solutions that ANZ can adopt quickly to deliver great customer experiences at lower costs,” Carnegie said.

“The 1835i team will remain an important part of ANZ’s ecosystem and our focus on making ANZ a simpler, better bank.”

The new name, 1835i, recognises when the ANZ story began in 1835 in London as The Bank of Australasia.