Early stage European FinTech deals include CoinBurp, StudentFinance, Pento etc. We feature Q&As with Stefan Lemper of Maschmeyer Group, Christoph Bourguignat of Zelros and Maximilian Schausberger of Elevator Ventures.
If you are an early stage startup in Europe building the next big thing in FinTech, reach out to Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar.
Scaling Enterprise FinTech: Stefan Lemper of Maschmeyer Group
1. A year since the first lockdowns- is this is a good time to be building or scaling an Enterprise FinTech (/ InsurTech) firm in Europe?
Big economic shocks usually open the way for new chances and extremely successful starts were founded during such times. One of the key changes for enterprise startups due to the pandemic is the fact, that sales can be done purely digital and I assume that most of that will stay. This brings bears huge cost and efficiency gains in sales being on of the key ingredients for scale. Customers who were forced to turn more digital and a huge increase in private savings might also fuel growth of new business models in fintech/Insurtech, that can also leverage on lean digital cost structures compared to the incumbents. Last but not least the pandemic lead to increased M&A activities (at high valuations).
http://www.fintechforum.de/
Scaling Enterprise FinTech: with Christoph Bourguignat of Zelros
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.
Zelros is a software editor specialized in artificial intelligence for the insurance industry. After working at AXA Data Innovation Lab and Datarobot I cofounded Zelros together with Damien Philippon and Fabien Vauchelles in 2016. Today Zelros counts 50 employees operating in 3 countries (France, Germany and Italy) and doubling size each year. Our technology is used daily by thousands of advisors and agents from 15+ leading insurers and bancassurers.
http://www.fintechforum.de/
These Q&As are part of Scaling Enterprise FinTech | The Handbook, featuring Q&As on the journey to scale, lessons learnt etc. with 16 founders and 10 leading investors.
7 Questions with Maximilian Schausberger of Elevator Ventures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Interviewed by FinTech Forum Co Founder Frank Schwab.
Elevator Ventures is the Corporate Venture Capital Entity of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI). Its primary focus is on early stage and growth investments in fintechs and related enabling technologies in Central and Eastern Europe.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-
CoinBurp Raises $2M in Funding Round
CoinBurp, a London, UK-based cryptocurrency trading platform, raised $2m in its first private funding round.
The round was led by Moonrock Capital and Alphabit Capital with participation from Outlier Ventures, Pluto Digital Assets, Blocksync Ventures and Momentum6.
The company intends to use the funds to continue to build its platform.
Led by Peter Wood, CEO and Co-Founder, CoinBurp is a cryptocurrency trading platform which will allow the user to get in and out of DeFi, hold and trade NFTs, stake for an APY and earn NFTs – all powered by single CeFi and DeFi app with fiat capabilities and direct-to-market access for all major NFT marketplaces.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/
StudentFinance.com Raises $5.3M in Seed Funding
StudentFinance.com, a Madrid, Spain-based fintech company building the technology and data infrastructure to enable education providers globally to offer Income Share Agreements (ISAs), secured $5.3m (€4.5m) in seed funding.
The round was co-led by Giant Ventures and Armilar Venture Partners with participation from existing investors Mustard Seed Maze and Seedcamp, Sabadell Venture Capital, etc.
The company intends to use the funds to expand its operation into the UK later this year and to triple the size of its team, hiring specialists in product, data, engineering and design, as well as operations, HR, finance and legal.
Founded in 2019 and launched at the beginning of 2020 by Mariano Kostelec, Marta Palmeiro, Sergio Pereira and Miguel Santo Amaro, StudentFinance is an international fintech company connecting education with employment through Income Share Agreements.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/
Copenhagen-based automated payroll platform Pento raises $15.6 million in Series A round
Real-time automated payroll software platform Pento has raised $15.6 million in a Series A round led by General Catalyst. The round also saw the participation of a host of varied parties including Avid Ventures, LocalGlobe, Point Nine Capital, Moonfire Ventures, Hustle Fund, and Seedcamp.
Angel Investors include Thairu and Diede van Lamoen, Tom Blomfield, Matt Robinson, Eric Yuan, Freddy Macnamara, and Des Traynor. The funding will be used to expand the talent pool, enter new markets, and further refine the product offering. To date, the firm has raised $18.4 million.
“Despite being so business-critical, payroll is one of the least digitally advanced services across the globe,” says General Catalyst’s Adam Valkin.
42Crunch Secures $17M in Series A Funding
42Crunch, a London, UK – based API security company, secured $17m in Series A funding.
The round was led by Energy Impact Partners, joined by Adara Ventures.
Led by CEO Jacques Declas and CTO Isabelle Mauny, 42Crunch is the creator of an Application Programming Interface (API) micro-firewall to individually protect each API, stopping common cyber-attacks such as injections but also API-specific attacks such as those affecting the iPhone call recorder app and SolarWinds.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/
Paris-based Epsor raises €20 million to become market leader in employee savings sector
Today Epsor, a company specialized in employee and retirement savings plans, announces its Series B round of €20 million, led by Gaia Capital Partners, with participating from Augmentum Fintech. Epsor’s historic shareholders, Partech and BlackFin Capital Partners, also participated, reaffirming their commitment and confidence in Epsor.
The company intends to use the fresh funds to continue growing its key accounts and extending its range of services, particularly in the area of responsible savings. Epsor’s ambition is to become the preferred partner for all companies aiming to rekindle employee motivation through value sharing tools.
Founded in 2017, Epsor offers a new-generation of employee savings and retirement solutions.
ComplyAdvantage tops up Series C round to $70m with Goldman Sachs
The British start-up plans to expand its anti-money laundering technology for the financial services sector.
Anti-money laundering start-up ComplyAdvantage has topped up its Series C round with an investment from Goldman Sachs, bringing the round to $70m.
The London-based start-up makes anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) software. It announced an initial $50m tranche of funding in its Series C round last year, with backers including Index Ventures and Balderton Capital.
https://www.siliconrepublic.
Uncapped Raises $80M in Funding
Uncapped, a London, UK-based provider of a platform for online companies to fund their growth and inventory costs, raised $80m in funding.
The round, which brought the total capital raised to date to $120m, was led by Lakestar, with participation from existing investors (which include Mouro Capital, Global Founders Capital, White Star Capital, Seedcamp, and All Iron Ventures).
The company intends to use the funds to expand its business reach with a host of new products and services due to launch in the near future, to increase its headcount from 35 to 100 people by the end of the year, with a particular focus on engineering and product roles.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/
Berlin-based commission-free broker Trade Republic raises $900 million in Series C investment
Berlin’s neobroker Trade Republic has raised $900 million in a Series C investment round led by Sequoia. New investors TCV and Thrive Capital participated and existing investors Accel, Founders Fund, Creandum, and Project A all followed on. Trade Republic is reporting that the fresh raise will be used to continue its mission to provide millions of Europeans with free access to capital markets, expand further into European markets, and recruit top talent.
“The democratization of financial markets will be one of the most important consumer trends of the next decade,” says Sequoia’s Doug Leone.
Linus Digital Finance geht am Mittwoch an die Börse
Das Berliner Fintech ist künftig im regulierten Markt der Frankfurter Börse notiert. Größter Anteilseigner ist aktuell Alexander Samwer mit 62 Prozent.
Berlin Die digitale Immobilienfinanzierungsplattfo
https://www.handelsblatt.com/
Tink acquires FinTecSystems as open banking continues to heat up
The deal will see the Swedish company expand its presence in the German-speaking market as competition increases heavily.
Fintech start-up Tink has acquired Germany’s FinTecSystems as it seeks to garner a firmer hold of the open banking market.
The deal will bolster Tink’s position in the open banking field, especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland where FinTecSystems has more than 150 clients, including banks and other fintech companies like N26.
“Germany is a key market for Tink, and we are excited to have acquired an innovative leader with a strong reputation for the quality of its bank connectivity and payments services.
https://www.siliconrepublic.
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