Reconnect with and hear from the startups, investors and financial institutions behind “what’s next in European FinTech” – on 18th November, FinTech Forum returns to the Airport Club, Frankfurt here.
Early stage European FinTech deals this week include ilumoni, Weecover, 9fin, Humn, N26, Zopa and Juni.
We feature Q&As with Daragh Hanratty of IDA Ireland and David Putts of Billon.
Seen the 2nd edition of Scaling Enterprise FinTech | The Handbook, launched in partnership with Money20/20 and SixThirty Ventures, and featuring Q&As with the founders and investors behind Europe’s leading B2B / SaaS FinTech scale-ups? http://www.fintechforum.de/sef/
If you are an early stage startup in Europe building the next big thing in FinTech, reach out to us: Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar.
7 Questions with Daragh Hanratty of IDA
- Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
I am VP for financial Services with IDA Ireland, the state agency responsible for FDI into Ireland. I am based in Frankfurt, have a keen interest in fitness and travel. During lockdown I took up running. I am currently working to improve my times for 5km and 10km park runs
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-daragh-hanratty-of-ida-ireland/
Scaling Enterprise FinTech: with David Putts of Billon
- Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.
I am the Chief Growth Officer of Billon – the fintech scaleup which created the Unified Enterprise DLT System. What makes Billon special is that it saw weaknesses in the ability for blockchain protocols to handle the complexity of compliance. For this reason, Billon creates a new, eco-friendly layer 1 protocol which unifies fiat digital cash, documents and non-cash tokens into a single, high-performance distributed ledger (DLT). The system, designed for maximum throughput and low cost of maintenance, meets regulatory requirements and solves challenges for the wide adoption of blockchain technologies. As a result of this innovation, we are now moving past the early commercialisation stage, and we have over 20 clients…
http://www.fintechforum.de/qa-with-david-putts-chief-growth-officer-billon/
Yorkshire fintech start-up launches ‘borrowing’ app after £1.63m investment
A Yorkshire fintech start-up has launched a ‘borrowing’ app following £1.63m investment. ilumoni, based in Barnsley, gained FCA authorisation earlier this year and has successfully completed its Beta testing and is now available to the wider market on Android and iOS devices.
The free to use, AI-driven app helps users identify how they can improve their borrowing. The app shows them the benefits of making changes to repayments as well as alternative borrowing options, all based on what the user can afford and the products they are eligible for.
The insight the app provides encourages users to stay on track to reach their goals, which in the long term not only improves their financial situation but could also alleviate stress and anxiety.
ilumoni previously raised £340K pre-seed investment from Move Ventures, and angel investors including Simon Moran, former CMO, and now non-executive director, Premium Credit, and Andy Deller, former CEO of Dunbar Bank plc, part of Zurich Insurance Group.
Insurtech startup Weecover secures €2.3M seed funding, plans to increase workforce and international presence
Weecover, a Spanish startup specialising in embedded insurance, has raised €2.3M in its seed round of funding. Nauta Capital, a venture capital firm that has previously invested in firms such as Holded, Privalia, and Brandwatch, led the investment round.
Weecover intends to use the proceeds to increase the company’s international presence and to hire more talent to expand its workforce.
Weecover CEO Jordi Pagés says, “The new funding allows us to increase our presence in European markets while strengthening the organisation by incorporating new talent.”
Weecover claims to have developed a plug-and-play insurance solution that enables businesses to integrate customised insurance products into their sales processes, both online and offline.
https://siliconcanals.com/news/weecover-secures-2-3m-seed-funding/
9fin Raises £8M in Series A Funding
9fin, a London, UK-based provider of data, news and predictive analytics for debt capital markets, raised £8M in Series A funding.
The round was led by Redalpine, alongside previous investors Fly Ventures and angel investors Paul Forster, Co-Founder of Indeed, Alan Morgan, Co-Founder of MMC Ventures, Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital and a number of high net worth individuals.
The company, which has to date secured over £10M in funding, including the support from Seedcamp and AI Seed Fund, intends to use the funds to accelerate its expansion into the US, with the opening of a New York office following increased demand from existing customers in Europe.
Co-founded by Steven Hunter and Hussam El-Sheikh, 9fin provides intelligence for the debt capital markets community. Its tech platform uses machine learning and computer vision to extract and standardise debt capital markets data in real time to allow customers to save time, spot trading opportunities and increase their share of the $65bn of debt capital markets fees earned by advisors each year.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/10/9fin-raises-8m-in-series-a-funding.html
Humn Raises £10.1M in Series A Funding
Humn, a London, UK-based insurtech company, raised £10.1m in Series A funding. The round was led by BXR Group and Shell Ventures as well as Hambro Perks Leaders Fund and Woodside Holdings.
The company intends to use the funds to further develop its insurance data capabilities and expand the commercial functions of the business, as well as expanding into Europe next year.
Founded in 2018 and led by CEO Mark Musson, Humn is an insurtech company producing real-time data-driven fleet insurance. The solution provides fleets with transparency by leveraging a risk platform, riskOS, which analyses thousands of in-vehicle and external data points, in real-time, to provide an entirely contextual assessment of driving risk and a clear basis for the pricing of Rideshur, their dynamic insurance product. Rideshur continuously adjusts the insurance premium cost based on the risk exposure at any given moment.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/10/humm-raises-10-1m-in-series-a-funding.html
Berlin-based neobank N26 raises over €775 Million additional funding at a valuation north €7.75 billion
The mobile bank N26 today announced its record-breaking €775 million Series E funding round, the largest financing round to date for a digital bank in Europe. The recent funding increases the company’s valuation to more than €7.75 billion, making the Berlin-based pioneer the highest valued fintech in Germany, and ranking it amongst the top 20 fintechs in the world.
The round was led by the New York-based tech investors Third Point Ventures and Coatue Management, and joined by Dragoneer Investment Group as well as N26’s existing investors.
N26 was founded in 2013 with a mission to build the first mobile bank the world loves to use. Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal launched the initial N26 product in early 2015. Today, N26 has already welcomed more than 7 million customers in 25 markets. N26 has a 1,500-strong team of 80 nationalities based across the globe.
Digital Bank Zopa Raises $300 Million, Expects to be Profitable within Weeks
Zopa, a digital bank that started as a peer-to-peer lender, has raised $300 million (£220 million) in a funding round that reportedly gives the Fintech a $1 billion valuation. The deal is currently in the process of receiving regulatory approvals from UK regulators. JP Morgan acted as Sole Placement Agent for Zopa on this transaction.
The Softbank Vision Fund 2 led the round that included participation from Chimera Abu Dhabi. Existing investors also participated including IAG Silverstripe, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, NorthZone, and Augmentum Fintech. The announcement was timed to align with the UK Global Investment Summit (GIS) 2021, a one-day event hosted in London by the Prime Minister and attended by members of the Royal Family.
Swedish FinTech Juni secures a $52m Series A funding round
Juni, the financial companion for eCommerce entrepreneurs, has secured $52M in funding led by EQT Ventures, with participation from FJ Labs and other existing investors to add to the $21M already raised from their Series-A round in late June this year. This boosts Juni’s Series A round to $73M and takes the total funding to date to $76M. EQT Ventures joins Partners of DST Global, Felix Capital and Cherry Ventures in backing Juni to disrupt online banking for internet first business customers. The company will use the funds to triple the number of its employees and launch an industry first, fully integrated credit line product for their users.
Founded in June 2020 in Gothenburg, Sweden, co-founders Samir El-Sabini (CEO), Jonathan Sanders (COO), and Anders Orsedal (CTO) have a winning combination of payment, banking, FinTech and technical developer experience between them. As part of Juni’s mission to help eCommerce businesses grow faster, customers will soon access short-term credit, starting with an initial roll-out in the UK.
https://ibsintelligence.com/ibsi-news/swedish-fintech-juni-secures-a-52m-series-a-funding-round/
Mastercard-backed AvidXchange valued at $4.6 billion in tepid Nasdaq debut
Business payments firm AvidXchange Inc hit a market capitalization of roughly $4.62 billion on Wednesday in a lukewarm market debut, mirroring investor concerns of growing volatility in the U.S. capital market.
Shares of AvidXchange, which counts Mastercard Inc among its investors, opened at $24.14, down 3.4% from its initial public offering (IPO) price of $25 per share… AvidXchange, which makes software that automates payments, invoicing, and accounting for small and mid-sized businesses, had raised $660 million in its upsized IPO on Tuesday by selling 26.4 million shares.
https://www.reuters.com/article/avidxchange-ipo-idUSKBN2H31UM
European rival to PayPal and Square makes $317 million acquisition to expand in the U.S.
SumUp, a U.K.-based payment processor, has acquired marketing start-up Fivestars in a bid to expand its reach across the U.S. and take on giants like PayPal and Square.
The company said Thursday it was buying Fivestars for $317 million in a mix of cash and stock. San Francisco-headquartered Fivestars helps merchants set up rewards schemes and promotions for customers. The deal gives SumUp access to Fivestar’s 12,000 customers and $3 billion in sales per year.
Founded in 2012, SumUp is best known for its mobile credit card readers that let small businesses accept payments. The company also provides other payment tools, including the ability for merchants to set up their own online stores. It has over 3 million merchants signed up across Europe, the U.S. and Latin America.
SumUp competes with Sweden’s iZettle, which was acquired by PayPal in 2018, as well as Jack Dorsey’s Square. As the start-up plots an expansion in the U.S., rivalry with those big players is set to intensify. But SumUp thinks there’s enough room for a number of different companies to co-exist.
Evolution Equity Partners Closes $400M Cybersecurity Fund
Evolution Equity Partners, a global venture capital firm, closed a new fund, at $400m.
Backed by a premier base of new and returning institutional investors, corporates, and family offices from the United States, Europe, Middle East and Asia, Evolution Technology Fund II L.P., will make investments in cybersecurity and enterprise software companies that safeguard the digital world.
The fund will make investments in the range of $10m to $50m in early and growth stage companies in cybersecurity and in companies utilizing machine learning, big data and SaaS to build market leading platforms.
Led by Founders and Managing Partners Dennis Smith and Richard Seewald, Evolution Equity Partners makes investments in cybersecurity and enterprise software companies that safeguard its digital world.
The firm currently has over $1 billion of assets under management. Over three funds, Evolution has backed companies including SecurityScorecard, Carbon Black, Arqit-Quantum, DefinedCrowd, Quantexa, DICE, Onapsis, Elliptic, Unbound, Cape Privacy, Satori Cyber, Solidus Labs, Truefort, Panaseer, AVG Technologies, DFLabs, Logpoint, Eperi, OpenDNS amongst a portfolio of 40 companies in cybersecurity.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/10/evolution-equity-partners-closes-400m-cybersecurity-fund.html
Lendable to Launch $100 million Emerging Market Fintech Fund with Leading Impact and DFI Investor
Lendable Inc. (“Lendable” or the “Firm”), a leading emerging market fintech credit provider, is targeting a ground-breaking $100 million closed-ended fund focused on emerging and frontier market fintech investments.
The Lendable MSME Fintech Credit Fund (the “Fund”) is designed to unlock access to financial services for over 150,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), providing investors with high impact exposure to important markets and the potential of high uncorrelated returns.
This Fund provides credit to African and Asian fintech companies, who in turn offer fair credit facilities to MSMEs. These same MSMEs are the engines of wealth creation, financial inclusion, and economic growth in these regions, yet historically have had limited access to fair credit and financial services.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lendable-launch-100-million-emerging-120000893.html
Portugal Fintech Report 2021
The ecosystem is growing and the Fintech report is growing with him – this year Portugal Fintech presents the Golden Edition.
The Report will present you an overview of the industry’s progress and main trends, maps the top of Portugal’s Fintechs and reflects on the industry’s best practices, real experiences and collaborations.
JOIN US FOR THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH on the 28th of October, and access first-handed the main insights:
The U.S Commercial Service Frankfurt invites U.S. FinTech companies to a briefing about market opportunities in Germany.
Are you a #USA #fintech company interested in doing business in #Germany?
The emergence of financial technology companies (FinTech) whose line of business combines #software and #technology to deliver #financial services – will reshape and improve #finance by cutting costs and expanding access to financial services.
Germany is an important FinTech market in Europe and the fourth largest in the world. It offers great opportunities for U.S. businesses with high-tech, leading-edge solutions.
Tune in on Wednesday, October 27, 11:00 – 12:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time:
https://www.trade.gov/germany-events-fintech-webinar
Meet us at:
Web Summit, 1-4 Nov. 2021, Lisbon
SuperReturn International, 9-12 Nov. 2021, Berlin
FinTech Forum, 18 Nov. 2021, Frankfurt
Meet Our Partners:
Heussen https://www.heussen-law.de
IDA Ireland https://www.idaireland.com
Opportunity Network https://www.opportunitynetwork.com/fintech-forum
FinTech Innovators https://fintech-i.com/?sumsrc=ftf
FN FinTech 40 https://www.fnlondon.com