Ping An is launching a $1bn fund to invest in financial and healthcare technology globally in a sign of the Chinese insurance group’s desire to expand its brand and business outside its home market.
The insurer, the world’s largest by market capitalisation and fourth largest by total assets, has been building a reputation for tech investing in related fields, most notably developing Lufax, the Chinese wealth management platform valued at $19bn and Good Doctor, the health app worth $3bn in a 2016 funding round.
The new fund, named Global Voyager, will be headed by Jonathan Larsen, an 18-year veteran of Citigroup, who also becomes the Ping An group’s chief innovation officer.