ING spins out its advanced analytics portfolio tool into Katana Labs
ING has spun out Katana, the advanced analytics platform that supports portfolio managers in making faster and sharper investment decisions, into a London-based standalone company called Katana Labs. ING Ventures will invest a further £1.5 million alongside other investors, as part of a £3 million funding round.
Katana learns from the history of hundreds of thousands of trades and translates this into a prediction or suggested decision for the trader.
“A growing number of clients are discovering the advantages of using advanced analytics in decision-making. It enables them to work faster and more efficiently,” said Santiago Braje, CEO of Katana and former head of Credit Trading at ING.
“Supported by ING, we developed, tested and validated the technology. Now it’s time to move to the next phase as an independent fintech. We are very excited about the opportunities we see in developing our platform further and expanding our client base.”
“At ING, when it comes to innovation, we step out of our comfort zone. We think big, start small and scale fast. In the past few years, Katana has managed to grow from an internal innovation project to a serious value proposition for bond investors. We attracted major clients who see the added value of this super smart AI-tool. I’m proud that with our support Katana grew out to a fully-grown fintech that is ready for an independent future,” said Annerie Vreugdenhil, head of Innovation at ING Wholesale Banking.
Download the press release.
Katana named Innovator 2019
Katana was named as an Innovator 2019 by Global Finance magazine. The Innovators is an annual award honouring top innovations in areas such as payments, trade finance, cash management and Islamic finance. Katana was recognised in the Corporate Finance category.
