Early stage European FinTech deals include KodyPay, Nemuru, Exabel etc. We feature Q&As with Gustas Germanavicius of EVOESTATE and Balakrishna Dubey of Nagarro.
As media partners of Money2020 Europe we are proud to announce MoneyFest (26-29 Oct.): 100+ of money’s greatest minds delivering razor-sharp insights on navigating tomorrow’s digital-first future. Register your free place now: https://bit.ly/33cOsAe
Check out the updated set of startups and investors who will be “on stage” at the 12th FinTech Forum’s digital edition – http://ftf12.eventbrite.com. If you are a startup- or know one- that is building the next big thing in FinTech, apply to present at the event: email contact (at) fintechforum.de or reach out to us via LinkedIn: Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar.
7 Questions with Gustas Germanavicius of EVOESTATE
1 Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Hi, my name is Gustas, I’m a co-founder of EvoEstate. I could say I’ve started my entrepreneurship journey relatively young when I raised my first VC funding at the age of 18 for an AI company, which I’ve exited a few years later. I enjoy investing in real estate, stocks, alternative finance and startups. In spare time I greatly enjoy reading books, training for a triathlon and playing basketball daily. Prior to COVID-19, I used to travel a lot and live in different countries, while spending most of the time in Spain or Lithuania. Due to great passion for sports and learning of new cultures, I’ve spent some time living and training with Shaolin Monks in a mountain monastery in Western China.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-gustas-germanavicius-of-evoestate/
EvoEstate is among the startups selected to present at the 12th FinTech Forum on 19th Nov. 2020: http://ftf12.eventbrite.de
7 Questions with Balkrishna Dubey, MD of Nagarro Germany
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Empathy and trust have played a pivotal role in shaping my worldview, and the way I engage with my business partners, colleagues, friends and family. I grew up in India and moved to Germany 17 years ago that essentially means that I combine the deep-rooted values in both societies and cultures.
In my leisure time I passionately read German literature, philosophy and learning violin.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-balkrishna-dubey-md-of-nagarro-germany/
KodyPay Raises £1.8M in Funding
KodyPay, a UK-based new mobile point of sale app and payment aggregator, raised £1.8m in funding. Leading the financing was Cognition Foundry and Hank Uberoi, alongside a group of high-profile private investors. These include former members of senior management from Legal and General, Verifone and HP.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/09/kodypay-raises-1-8m-in-funding.html
Nemuru secures €2.6 mn in funding round led by InnoCells and Bankia Fintech Venture
Spain-based multi-FinTech platform, Nemuru has launched a new funding round with the participation of national and international investors including Banco Sabadell’s corporate venture vehicle InnoCells, Bankia Fintech Venture as well as renewed commitment from Antai Venture Builder, Encomenda, Lánzame and the rest of their partners. International investors such as Plug and Play (US) and Scale Lab Andorra have also participated in the funding round.
Exabel Closes $3.6M in Funding
Exabel, an Oslo, Norway-based London, UK-based AI, analytics and data platform for active asset managers, closed its third seed round, bringing the total amount raised to more than $12m. The round was led by 17 existing and 11 new investors, alongside a loan and grant from Innovation Norway.
The company intends to use the funds to build out its commercial functions in Europe and North America, and continue to establish strategic partnerships with data vendors.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/09/exabel-closes-3-6m-in-funding.html
French startup ReciTAL raises €3.5 million to help enterprises extract data from documents
ReciTAL, a French artificial intelligence startup, has raised €3.5 million from Breega to continue developing its deep learning business software.
The Parisian startup applies artificial intelligence, specifically natural language processing (NLP), to business processes, helping enterprises extract data from contracts, emails, and other documents.
https://tech.eu/brief/recital-funding/
Digital Debt Capital Markets Raises £4.32M in Second Funding
Digital Debt Capital Markets Ltd, a London, UK-based techfin company, raised £4.32m in follow-on seed funding. The round was led by IPGL Ltd (Lord Spencer’s private investment group) and David E. Rutter Founder & CEO of R3, which develops Corda Enterprise, the blockchain software integral to the functioning of its agoraPlatform. Co-founded by bond market veterans Charlie Berman and Naveed Nasar, Digital Debt Capital Markets is providing technology to enhance, upgrade and improve communication and processes from a bond’s issuance to repayment at its term.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/09/digital-debt-capital-markets-raises-4-32m-in-second-funding.html
UK startup that provides an all-in-one toolkit to cover KYC and AML secures €5M funding
…Sumsub, a London-based ID verification platform announced that it has secured $6 million (approx €5 million) in Series A funding, bringing the total capital raised since Sumsub’s founding to over $7.5 million (approx €6.3 million). The round, led by the leading developer of financial trading software MetaQuotes, also involves a group of strategic investors and several existing investors, including Ilia Perekopsky, VP of Telegram messenger.
https://siliconcanals.com/news/uk-startup-provides-toolkit-to-cover-kyc-aml-secures-e5m-funding/
Savings App Chip Raises £10.7 Million in 48 Hours as Part of Future Fund Round on Crowdcube
Savings App Chip is says it raised £10.7 million in under 48 hours as part of a Future Fund round hosted on Crowdcube. A total of £2 million was raised in under 10 minutes and £4 million in under an hour…The funding is said to be part of the Fintech’s Series A round. Chip said that around 25,000 individual investors pre-registered ahead of the offering.
https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/09/166757-savings-app-chip-raises-10-7-million-in-48-hours-as-part-of-future-fund-round-on-crowdcube/
TrueLayer Secures $25 Million Through Series C Investment Round
UK financial API provider TrueLayer announced on Monday it secured $25 million through its Series C funding round. TrueLayer revealed that the investment takes the total amount it has raised to $72 million.
Founded in 2016, TrueLayer describes itself as a technology company that provides secure, global access to financial infrastructure. Developers notably use its APIs to build products that securely access data and initiate payments in real-time.
https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/09/167033-truelayer-secures-25-million-through-series-c-investment-round/
Amsterdam-headquartered Factris helps SMEs with invoice financing; secures €50M in financing agreement
Small and Medium-Sized businesses or SMEs can sometimes struggle in managing their liquidity position better. Amsterdam headquartered fintech Factris helps such SMEs by turning their invoices into cash in just 24 hours. The startup seemed to be taking it slow with an initial seed funding back in 2018 and quick money raise via grant funding earlier this year. However, the company has now zoomed ahead with a notable €50M in a new financing agreement.
https://siliconcanals.com/news/european-fintech-factris-smes-invoice-financing-funding/
Europe has a new unicorn, the fintech company Mollie
With Mollie, Europe has created a new fintech unicorn that does a rather unspectacular thing: it handles payments in online stores…The latest round of financing gives Mollie the unicorn status, meaning it’s valued at more than a billion dollars. The Dutch-based payment service provider has announced that it has raised a whopping $106.3 million (€90 million) in its Series B funding round. The round was led by TCV from the United States. TCV is a very well-known investor that has also invested its money in major companies like Airbnb, ByteDance, Spotify, Revolut, as well as Tourradar from Austria.
https://born2invest.com/articles/europe-new-unicorn-fintech-company-mollie/
Klarna raises $650 million at a $10.6 billion valuation
Fintech startup Klarna has raised a mega-round of funding led by Silver Lake. The company is raising $650 million at a post-money valuation of $10.65 billion. Klarna says it is now the highest-valued private fintech company in Europe following today’s funding round. In addition to Silver Lake, GIC (Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund) and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and HMI Capital are also participating in today’s funding round. Merian Chrysalis, TCV, Northzone and Bonnier have bought out existing shareholders. Klarna’s main product is an alternative payment method on e-commerce platforms.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/15/klarna-raises-650-million-at-a-10-6-billion-valuation/
Deutsche Boerse to buy majority stake in fintech Quantitative Brokers
Germany’s Deutsche Boerse DB1Gn.DE, on a mission to make acquisitions, said on Thursday that it would buy a majority stake in fintech Quantitative Brokers for an undisclosed sum. The German stock exchange operator has a 2 billion euro war chest for acquisitions and is currently vying to buy Borsa Italiana. Quantitative Brokers, which operates in New York, London, Sydney and Chennai, provides execution algorithms and analytics for futures, options and interest rate markets. It expects revenues of $25 million this year.
https://de.reuters.com/article/quantitative-brokers-m-a-deutsche-boerse/deutsche-boerse-to-buy-majority-stake-in-fintech-quantitative-brokers-idUSKBN26812F
Swedish FinTech (Tink) acquires Nottingham open-banking firm’s tech
Sweden-headquartered open banking platform Tink continues its expansion across Europe with the acquisition of the aggregation platform of OpenWrks, a UK-based provider of open banking applications. The move is hoped to strengthen Tink’s connectivity coverage and its market position in the UK. The acquisition is also part of a strategic partnership where OpenWrks will power its applications across Europe through the Tink platform.
https://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/swedish-fintech-acquires-nottingham-open-banking-firm/
Munich-based IDnow acquires Wirecard Communication Services
IDnow, a Munich-based identity verification provider, is buying Wirecard Communication Services in an asset deal. The takeover comes as bits and pieces of the Wirecard Group are bought or repurposed after the fintech company collapsed earlier this summer. Wirecard UK was recently bought by Railsbank, and an internal innovation team moved as a unit to Berlin-based fintech startup builder, finleap.
https://tech.eu/brief/idnow-acquires-wirecard-communication-services/
Amadeus Capital Partners & Runa Capital invest in Polish fintech Kontomatik
The investment will allow Kontomatik to implement the company’s business strategy independently and market its open banking-based services across Europe. Open banking is an area that has untapped potential. Usually associated with banks, fintechs and lending institutions, open banking also creates opportunities for other companies to benefit from real-time access to their customers’ banking data.
https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/84086/amadeus-capital-partners–runa-capital-invest-in-polish-fintech-kontomatik
German fintech Monedo files for bankruptcy
A German fintech once backed by PayPal investor Peter Thiel, has filed for bankruptcy after failing to recover from the economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. Monedo, an online lender, was one of the most highly valued fintech startups in Germany with high profile backers like Thiel, JC Flowers and the global media firm Naspers. But it was reported by online news site Sifted that Monedo filed an insolvency claim in a German court last week and a Hamburg law firm Brinkmann & Partner had been appointed to manage the proceedings. The company was founded in 2012 under the name Kreditech and originally focused on providing microcredit loans.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/36551/german-fintech-monedo-files-for-bankruptcy
Santander spins out its $400M fintech venture capital arm, now called Mouro Capital
Santander, the Spanish multinational banking giant, is announcing that its fintech venture arm is to be spun out and will be managed more autonomously going forward.
Previously known as Santander InnoVentures and established in 2014, the VC is being re-branded to Mouro Capital. It will continue to be headed up by general partner Manuel Silva Martínez, who joined InnoVentures five years ago and has led the fund since 2018, and senior advisor Chris Gottschalk, who joined from Blumberg Capital last year.
Noteworthy, despite its new-found independence, Santander will remain Mouro Capital’s sole investor/LP, including doubling its current commitment, seeing the VC have $400 million in allotted funds.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/11/mouro-capital/
Dawn Capital raises €333 million to invest in B2B software startups
Today Dawn Capital, one of Europe’s largest venture capital funds dedicated to B2B software, today announces the closing of its fund Dawn IV at the hard cap of €333 million. The fund was oversubscribed and closed within six months of launch, after receiving strong support from existing investors and attracting new investors from the US, Europe and Asia. The investors committing to the fund comprise leading institutional investors, including pension funds, endowment funds, fund of funds as well as family offices and high net-worth individuals.
https://www.eu-startups.com/2020/09/dawn-capital-raises-e333-million-to-invest-in-b2b-software-startups/
Europe’s Point Nine outs new ~€100M fund to back early-stage SaaS and digital marketplaces
Point Nine, the pan-European early-stage VC focused on SaaS and digital marketplaces, has raised its fifth fund, totalling just short of €100 million (in fact, “P9 V” is a €99,999,999 fund — get it?). Despite its Berlin, Germany roots, the VC has always operated fairly remotely and invests globally. In total, it has invested in more than 140 companies in 28 countries over the last 10 years.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/22/i-got-99999999-problems-and-carry-isnt-one-of-them/
Money2020 MoneyFest: Money’s greatest minds are hitting your screen
Broadcast live from our studio, Money20/20’s world-class content will be coming to your screens on October 26-29 with our first-ever MoneyFest. Be a part of money’s biggest conversation with the industry’s greatest minds discussing the resetting, reimagining and rebuilding of the future of money. Gain your unfair advantage, knowing first-hand what’s next for Payments, Banking, FinTech, FinServe, Big Tech, Cybersecurity and so much more to ensure your business thrives in tomorrow’s new unknown.
Register here for free: https://bit.ly/3iE2Ec1
“Meet” us at:
South Summit, Madrid, 6-8 Oct. 2020 https://www.southsummit.co/en/home
FinTech Junction, Tel Aviv, 24 Oct. 2020 https://www.fintechjunction.com/annual/
Money2020 | MoneyFest, Online, 26-29 Oct. 2020 https://www.money2020.com/moneyfest
12th FinTech Forum, Frankfurt, 19th Nov. 2020 http://www.fintechforum.de/events/
MoneyConf / WebSummit, Online, 2-4 Dec. 2020 https://websummit.com/moneyconf
Meet Our Partners:
Heussen https://www.heussen-law.de
Nagarro https://www.nagarro.com/en
Money2020 Europe https://europe.money2020.com
InsurTech Insights https://insurtechinsights.com
Finovate Europe https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/
FN FinTech 40 https://www.fnlondon.com