The early stage players raising funding this week include Ondato, SatoshiPay, Xenon, Sympatient etc. We also feature a Q&A with Astrid Freier of Vidici Ventures and Terrie Smith of DIGISEQ.
Meet the first set of startups and investors who will be on stage at the 12th FinTech Forum, on 19th Nov. 2020 in Frankfurt:
(Click on the hyperlinked names to read our Q&A with the respective founders and investors)
KlickOwn: blockchain-enabled platform offering a superior real estate investing experience for everyone
CommneX: a digital brokering platform for credit- and deposits from municipalities and municipal enterprises
Finteum: a platform for interbank intraday lending, enabling treasurers to borrow and lend for hours at a time
We are pleased to confirm the following investors and financial institutions who will be sharing investment trends and opportunities in specific areas.
Astrid Freier: Partner, DACH, Vidici Ventures
Paula Blazquez Solano: Head of Investments at InnoCells (Banco Sabadell)
Manuel Silva Martinez: Partner, Head of Investments, Santander InnoVentures
Daniel Andemeskel: Head of Innovation at Universal Investment
If you are in the midst of a funding round, feel free to reach out to us via LinkedIn: Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar
Call for startups: apply to pitch at the 12th FinTech Forum, 19th Nov. 2020 in Frankfurt – email contact (at) fintechforum.de or reach out via LinkedIn. Investors & corporates: register here directly http://ftf12.eventbrite.com
7 Minute Pitch Template Essentials
In the past 7 years we at FinTech Forum have evaluated over 3,500 pitches and given a lot of feedback. More than 350 FinTech startups have presented their business models in 7 minutes each.
From this we developed a template. We recommend that all founders cover at least the following eight themes in their presentation.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-minute-pitch-template-essentials/
7 Questions with Astrid Freier of Vidici Ventures
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
I am passionate about fintech for most of my business life. I started my carreer at Deutsche Bank during the New Economy bubble. Since then I pay a lot of attention to sustainability of business models. Since 2008, during the financial crisis, I started focusing on reg tech – even if it was not called like this.
I experienced this time in Japan where apart from work I could enjoy excellent food and in-depth experience in different cultures. Both aspects play an important role in my private life.
Astrid Freier is among the investors who will be on stage sharing insights and investment trends in European FinTech at the 12th FinTech Forum, 19th Nov. 2020 in Frankfurt: https://ftf12.eventbrite.com
7 Questions with Terrie Smith of DIGISEQ
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Hello! I am Terrie Smith. I’m going to start by talking about myself and how I got here When I was 17, I worked at an insurance firm and experienced gender inequality first-hand. Being a tenacious young lady (or maybe just glutton for punishment), I hardened to this, left the company, and moved into the even more male-dominated environment of information technology. And that’s pretty much how it all started.
Today, I’m a mobile payments expert with over 20 years’ experience and a proven track record in product development and management. I have always had a zealousness for innovative payments and NFC technology, and am included in fundamental patents related to provisioning and tokenisation. I managed the development of MasterCard’s MOTAPS solution, a pioneering Trusted Service Manager (TSM) solution and was instrumental in shaping the MasterCard Digital Enable System (MDES), used to support Apple Pay. In June 2014, I started my very own passion project with my friend, Colin Tanner, and together we co-founded the award-winning IoT platform, DIGISEQ.
You may ask… why did I decide to launch a start-up? (I sometimes ask myself that when I am working at midnight). The reality is that it was a move towards personal goals and me attaining control. It was a big risk, no doubt, but I was raised and supported to believe that I can do anything I put my mind to, and I upheld this mantra. Challenging, one might say, but beyond exciting and fulfilling.
Work aside, everyone you ask will tell you I’m pretty much a butterfly – I don’t sit still! If I’m not working, I’m grabbing a coffee, cooking, spending time with my family, or FaceTiming my daughter and the grandkids – there are endless things for me to do and simply not enough time in a day.
Lithuania-based Ondato attracts €450K for its KYC solutions
Lithuanian startup Ondato, which offers know-your-customer (KYC) solutions, has closed a pre-seed round and attracted €450K from the Startup Wise Guys accelerator fund.
Ondato, founded in 2016, is developing remote KYC and compliance solutions, which help identify both private individuals and legal entities, review data registers and fully authenticate the client in line with the highest security and reliability requirements.
In 2019, Ondato was recognised as the fintech company of the year at the German-Lithuanian Business Awards, and was among the Top 10 Scale Ups in Eastern Europe.
The startup is currently offering services to both traditional finance institutions and to private financial technology companies operating or interested in operating in cyberspace.
FinTech SatoshiPay raises $550K from Stellar Development Foundation
London and Berlin-based FinTech SatoshiPay announced the closing of a $550 k worth investment round led by Stellar Development Foundation.
The FinTech offers instant payments and nano payments through blockchain technology. SatoshiPay’s wallet, Solar, has around 25,000 downloads in 40 countries.
“As one of the first businesses on Stellar, SatoshiPay has demonstrated how this technology enables innovation, leveraging the network to create a growing platform for instant global payments,” said Denelle Dixon, SDF CEO and Executive Director.
Carlow-based Xenon raises €1m for temperature testing device
Venture capital firm ATW Partners invested €1m in Carlow-based Xenon to support the company as it scales its Fever Defence device.
Carlow security company Xenon has announced that it raised €1m in funding for its hands-free, infrared temperature testing device, Fever Defence. The investment was made by New York venture capital firm ATW Partners.
Xenon’s Fever Defence device uses thermal imaging and a facial detection camera to test people’s temperatures when they enter a building or work site.
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/xenon-fever-defence-temperature-testing
Hamburg-based startup Sympatient gets €1.6 million for VR therapy that treats anxiety at home
Hamburg-based startup Sympatient, creator of a virtual reality-based psychotherapy treatment for anxiety disorders, has raised €1.6 million in seed funding. The round was led by investiere and joined by Investitions- und Förderbank Hamburg IFB and business angels. The health tech company claims to offer the world’s first CE-certified digital anxiety therapy that works at home.
Using virtual reality technology and an app, the product — Invirto — offers exposure therapy for social phobia, agoraphobia and panic disorders.
https://tech.eu/brief/sympatient-seed/
Digital banking fintech Meniga raises £7.6mn funding
Meniga provides an innovative digital banking platform that enables banks and fintechs to use personal finance data to innovate their mobile and online channels. The company is a recognised global leader in white-label digital banking solutions focused on improving customer experience for more than 90 million digital banking users across 30 countries.
It was reported that the company will use the funding for continued investment into its R&D activities.
It will also be used for strengthening its sales and service teams in order to meet growing demand. On the funding, Meniga’s CEO and co-founder, Georg Ludviksson said: “Partnering closely with our customers is a key part of our strategy to be the preferred digital innovation partner to our clients.
https://www.fintechmagazine.com/fintech/digital-banking-fintech-meniga-raises-ps76mn-funding
Dutch lending platform Floryn raises €9 million to expand as demand for business loans skyrockets
Dutch fintech startup Floryn, an online lending market for small and medium-sized enterprises, has raised €9 million from Endeit Capital, supported by existing investors such as Peak Capital. While some of the funding will go to product development, the majority will go to domestic and international expansion. In a press release, Floryn says demand for business loans in Europe has skyrocketed by 98 percent.
https://tech.eu/brief/floryn-funding/
Belvo scores $10M from Founders Fund and Kaszek to scale its API for financial services
Belvo, a Latin American fintech startup that launched just 12 months ago, has already snagged funding from two of the biggest names in North and South American venture capital.
The company is aiming to expand the reach of its service that connects mobile applications in Mexico and Colombia to a customer’s banking information and now has some deep-pocketed investors to support its efforts.
If the business model sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Belvo is borrowing a page from the Plaid playbook. It’s a strategy that ultimately netted the U.S. startup and its investors $5.3 billion when it was acquired by Visa in January of this year.
Beacon Raises $15M in Series A Funding
Beacon, a London, UK-based freight forwarding and supply chain finance company, raised over $15m in Series A funding. Backers included Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, and US venture capital firm 8VC. The company intends to use the funds to continue to strengthen the team and invest in technology, while also increasing the international presence.
Founded in 2018 by CEO Fraser Robinson and COO Dmitri Izmailov, both former Uber executives, who were joined by CTO Pierre Martin, previously at Amazon, Beacon is a digital freight forwarder which offers a full range of services, including global ocean, air and truck freight, together with supply chain finance, all of which can be accessed and managed on a single platform using AI, search, optimization, data science, cloud and automation technologies.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/06/beacon-raises-15m-in-series-a-funding.html
German Fintech Firm TIS Secures $20 Million in Capital via Round Led by Aquiline Technology Growth
German Fintech firm TIS (Treasury Intelligence Solutions), which offers a cloud-powered platform for handling cash flows and corporate payments, has acquired $20 million in additional funding.
TIS’ latest investment round was led by Aquiline Technology Growth. Existing investor 83North also made contributions. TIS’ management noted that the capital raised will be used to support the firm’s ongoing product development efforts and also to expand its business operations across Europe and the US.
Berlin-based healthtech startup PlusDental raises €32 million
PlusDental, German-born telemedicine startup focused on dentistry, has landed a €32 million funding round led by Hong Kong-based Ping An Global Voyager Fund. Existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures and Lakestar also participated in the round, and so did Christian Wegner, founder of the Berlin-based “re-commerce” platform Momox.
Founded in 2017 and formerly known as Sunshine Smile, PlusDental has built its business around selling sets of transparent splints for teeth straightening.
https://tech.eu/brief/plusdental-series-c-ping-an/
Appway Raises $37M in Growth Funding
Appway, a Zurich, Switzerland-based global provider of business process automation software focused on customer onboarding and customer lifecycle management for financial institutions, received a $37m minority investment from global growth equity firm Summit Partners.
In conjunction with the funding, Steffan Peyer, a Principal at Summit Partners, will join the Appway Board of Directors along with Dr. Matthias Allgaier, a Managing Director at Summit Partners. This deal represents Appway’s first external capital raise. It will enable the company to further expand its product portfolio and accelerate international growth in core markets around the world, including Europe, the APAC region and focusing on North America.
Led by Hans Peter Wolf, founder and CEO, Appway provides a software platform designed to support the digital transformation of customer-focused organizations across the financial services industry.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/06/appway-raises-37m-in-growth-funding.html
Digital banking for good: Starling Bank bags €44.5M, to support small businesses hit by COVID-19
In the recent development, the UK digital Bank, Starling Bank has raised an additional £40 million (approx €44.5 million) in funding led by existing backers, Harry McPike’s JTC and Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited.
The company is planning to use the funding to continue its rapid expansion as it disrupts the banking industry and to provide support for small business customers, who have been affected by COVID-19 pandemic.
Founded by Anne Boden and John Humpish, the Starling Bank has opened 1.4 million accounts, including 155,00 business accounts since launching its banking app in May 2017. According to TechCrunch, the UK digital bank now holds somewhere around £2.4 billion (€2.67 billion) in deposits.
Decibel Raises $40M in Series B Funding
Decibel, a London, UK-based provider of digital experience analytics solutions, closed a $40m Series B funding.
The round, which brought the company’s total funding to date to $54m, was led by Perwyn, with participation from Draper Esprit, Eight Roads Ventures and John Simon, via his Ventureforgood investment entity.
The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach. Led by Ben Harris, CEO, Decibel provides digital customer experience analytics solutions for companies to convert, engage, and increase customer loyalty across their digital offerings.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/05/decibel-raises-40m-in-series-b-funding.html
Oncoinvent Raises 40M NOK Financing Round
Oncoinvent AS, an Oslo, Norway-based developer of new products to provide treatment options to cancer patients, completed a 40m NOK round of financing.
The round, which brought total funding raised to date to 268m NOK, was led by Hadean Ventures with participation from existing investors CGS Holding AS, Helene Sundt AS, Alpine Capital AS, Artal AS, and Sciencons AS. In conjunction with the funding, Dr. Ingrid Teigland Akay, Managing Partner of Hadean Ventures, will join the Oncoinvent Board of Directors.
The company will use the funds to pursue clinical development of its lead product candidate Radspherin® and advance other novel radiopharmaceuticals.
Led by Jan A. Alfheim, Chief Executive Officer, Oncoinvent is committed to developing new innovative products to provide treatment options to cancer patients.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/05/oncoinvent-raises-40m-nok-financing-round.html
Berlin-based fintech scale-up smava secures €57 million in financing to maintain growth through economic downturn
Berlin-based Smava, a credit comparison platform that offers cheaper loan options to consumers, has raised €57 million from Kreos Capital, along with existing investors Earlybird, Verdane, Vitruvian Partners and Runa Capital. The round includes a mix of capital and growth debt.
The fintech platform offers an overview of 70 loans between €1,000 and €120,000 from over 20 banks and lending partners. Consumers select the loan that suits them and take it out directly. On average, smava borrowers pay about 35 percent less interest than the German national average.
https://tech.eu/brief/smava-financing/
Bitbond neuer Kapitalmarktpartner der Börse Düsseldorf
Die Bitbond GmbH wird neuer Kapitalmarktpartner der Börse Düsseldorf.
Das Fintech-Unternehmen aus Berlin entwickelt Blockchain Technologie für Finanzdienstleistungen in den Bereichen Tokenisierung, Verwahrung von tokenisierten Wertpapieren und Kryptowährungen sowie Zahlungsabwicklung. Im Jahr 2019 absolvierte Bitbond Europas erstes Security Token Offering (STO) mit einem von der BaFin gebilligten Wertpapierprospekt. Darüber hinaus agiert Bitbond als Berater und Projektmanager zur Koordination diverser Partner in den Bereichen Legal und Compliance, Marketing und Vertrieb sowie IT.
We are proud to partner with Money20/20 Europe- now taking place from 22nd – 24th September 2020, still at the Rai, Amsterdam (rescheduled from the original date of 16th – 18th June 2020). Join us using discount code MP20FOR: https://europe.money2020.com
Meet us at:
NOAH Conference, Berlin, 4-5 Jun. 2020 https://www.noah-conference.com/noah-berlin-conference-2020/ (going virtual)
FinTech Junction, Tel Aviv, 1 Jul. 2020 https://www.fintechjunction.com (subject to decision based on COVID-19)
Swiss FinTech Fair, Zürich, 8 Sep. 2020 https://www.swissfintechfair.com
Money2020 Europe, Amsterdam, 22-24 Sep. 2020 https://europe.money2020.com
Bank+FinTech EFMA, Madrid, 21-23 Oct. 2020 https://www.efma.com/conference/748-bank-fintech-2020
Digital Insurance Agenda, Amsterdam, 28-29 Oct. 2020 https://next.digitalinsuranceagenda.com/dia-amsterdam-2020/want-to-attend/
MoneyConf / WebSummit, Lisbon, 2-5 Nov. 2020 https://websummit.com/moneyconf
12th FinTech Forum, Frankfurt, 19th Nov. 2020 http://www.fintechforum.de/events/
Our Partners: Heussen https://www.heussen-law.de | InsurTech Insights https://insurtechinsights.com | Finovate Europe https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/ | FN FinTech 40 https://www.fnlondon.com