Silicon Valley is the birthplace of some of the world’s largest tech companies and those investors who are keen to spot the talent and growth potential are the ones that have the multi-billion dollar paydays. American Express wants to be one of those investors and in a bold move, the credit card giant has setup a $100 million fund to ensure that it never misses one of those opportunities in the future.
To make certain that the funds can reach the start-up with minimum friction, American Express has enlisted the services of Harshul Sanghi, the person charged previously with managing Motorola’s Mobility Ventures. Sanghi will operate out of the plush offices created specifically for the project in Palo Alto, California—another move to be close to the action taken by American Express.
American Express is also taking a targeted approach to the type of start-ups that it funds and according to Enterprise Growth President Dan Schulman, the company is primarily focused on start-ups in the digital commerce space, including those focused on loyalty and rewards programs, personalized offers, location-based services, security issues, analytics and online and mobile payments.
The new ventures that get a piece of the $100 million pie will join the likes of Payfone, a mobile payments technology company who’s growth potential is certain given the trajectory for online mobile payments in general.
Should American Express stick to doing credit cards and leave Silicon Valley investing to professional VCs like Sequoia Capital? Share your thoughts below.
Source: http://www.sitetrail.com/2011/11/12/american-express-puts-together-100-million-fund-to-stay-digitally-relevant/
To make certain that the funds can reach the start-up with minimum friction, American Express has enlisted the services of Harshul Sanghi, the person charged previously with managing Motorola’s Mobility Ventures. Sanghi will operate out of the plush offices created specifically for the project in Palo Alto, California—another move to be close to the action taken by American Express.American Express is also taking a targeted approach to the type of start-ups that it funds and according to Enterprise Growth President Dan Schulman, the company is primarily focused on start-ups in the digital commerce space, including those focused on loyalty and rewards programs, personalized offers, location-based services, security issues, analytics and online and mobile payments.
The new ventures that get a piece of the $100 million pie will join the likes of Payfone, a mobile payments technology company who’s growth potential is certain given the trajectory for online mobile payments in general.
Should American Express stick to doing credit cards and leave Silicon Valley investing to professional VCs like Sequoia Capital? Share your thoughts below.
Source: http://www.sitetrail.com/2011/11/12/american-express-puts-together-100-million-fund-to-stay-digitally-relevant/