The WealthTech and cryptocurrency FinTech sectors were among some of the winners of the investment rounds recorded last week.
In the past seven days we have reported on 28 investment rounds in the FinTech sector. Over the week, we saw a smattering of cryptocurrency, WealthTech, payment, cybersecurity and InsurTech companies raise fresh capital.
By taking a closer look at the investment raised, we can also hope to note a trend in the state of different segments of the market, notably the WealthTech and the cryptocurrency space. The rounds also provides an opportunity to check in on the Indian FinTech sector.
Robinhood has grabbed plenty of headlines recently on the back of its massive $660m Series G round. However, is hardly the only WealthTech company to have enjoyed successes recently. For example, last week we reported that WealthSimple had raised $114m in new investment, the biggest one of the last seven days.
The WealthTech sector suffered a slow start to 2020 as rising concerns about the economy caused by Covid-19 and huge losses at leading challenger banks such as Monzo, Revolut and Starling deterred investors. Only $3.3bn was invested in H1 2020, a 41% decline compared to the capital raised in the preceding two quarters, according to FinTech Global’s research.
Although, there are some indications that this could change. In the third quarter of 2020, the WealthTech industry enjoyed a $2.8bn influx of capital. Still, even though that may be up from the $1.4bn and the $1.9bn invested in the first and the second quarter respectively, it’s still far away from the $3.4bn invested in the third quarter 2019.
Razorpay collected the second biggest funding round last week. The India-based company collected a $100m Series D round. The successful raise builds on the accomplishments India has enjoyed over the past five years.
In 2015, the country’s FinTech sector raised $2.14bn in total, according to FinTech Global’s research. However, that amount jumped to $8.24bn in the record year of 2017. While the the investment in the sector slumped to $1.79bn in 2018, it then recovered to see $5.15bn be invested in 2019.
Last week also saw blockchain company Boardroom and cryptocurrency ventures NYDIG and Wirex raise funds, $2.2m, $50m and ?1m respectively. This gives us an opportunity to take a look at the cryptocurrency and blockchain investment. According to FinTech Global’s research, investment in this space has declined significantly since its peak in 2018, when $7.62bn were injected into the industry.
That year represented a significant jump from 2017 when $2.17bn had been invested in the industry. Since 2017, investment has declined. In 2019, $3.11bn was invested in the industry across 161 deals. That has dropped significantly in the year so far. Between January and June of 2020, the sector only attracted $578.2m across 53 deals.
With that out of the way, let’s take a closer look at the deals of the last seven days, shall we?
WealthSimple collects $114m in new investment round
Wealthsimple has joined the ever-growing list of FinTech unicorns on the back of the online investing app closing a $114m round. The startup, launched in 2014, has achieved a $1.4bn valuation thanks to the new cash injection. TCV, Greylock Partners, Meritech Capital, Allianz X and Two Sigma Ventures participated in the raise. Collectively, the investors have acquired a 7.5% stake in the FinTech. Wealthsimple will use the money to strengthen is market position, build additional products and expand its Canadian team.
Razorpay closes $100m Series D round
India-based Razorpay has picked up another $100m in a Series D funding round co-led by Sequoia India and GIC. Sequia had previously backed Razorpay $75m Series C round in 2019. While the exact figure of the new valuation is unknown, the FinTech startup has said that the new cash injection puts it somewhere over $1bn. Existing investor Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, Y Combinator and Matrix Partners also chipped in with fresh capital in the Series D. Payment processing company Razorpay was founded in 2014. As part of its offering it processes and disburses money online for small businesses as well as having recently launched a digital banking platform that has seen it issue corporate credit cards.
deepwatch closes $53m Series B round
Intelligence-driven managed security services company deepwatch has closed its Series B round on $53m, as it looks to expand its partner ecosystem. Goldman Sachs acted as the lead investor, with commitments also coming from existing backer ABS Capital Partners. In line with the investment, Goldman Sachs Growth managing director Holger Staude will join the deepwatch board of directors. The equity infusion has been earmarked for increasing the R&D efforts around its cloud security platform. Funds will also drive the go-to-market strategy and grow the partner ecosystem.
Bitcoin company NYDIG raises $50m
Cryptocurrency company NYDIG has bagged $50m in growth equity funding from investors including financial services companies in commercial banking, insurance, investment banking, and asset management. NYDIG is provider of investment and technology solutions for bitcoin and other digital assets. The funding comes on the back of the company quadrupling the number of clients on its book in the last year.
M1 Finance collects $45m Series C round
Automated investing, borrowing and banking platform M1 Finance has finalised its Series C investment round on $45m. Left Lane Capital led the round, with previous M1 backers Jump Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures and others, also joining the round. M1 provides consumers with a single, free platform that combines investing, borrowing and cash management capabilities. Its services are used by over 500,000 self-directed investors and supports over $2bn in clients’ assets.
Extend collects $40m in Series B round
Extend has closed its Series B on $40m. The round was led Meritech Capital, with participation also coming from PayPal Ventures and previous Extend backers Great Point Ventures and Shah Capital Partners. Since it was founded in 2019, the FinTech has worked towards reinventing the extended warranty process and has raised a total of $56m in equity. The funding round will help Extend bolster its services, create new features and expand its software development and sales teams. This includes growing its team by 100 people by the end of 2021.
FOSSA closes ?23.2m Series B round
Open source management company FOSSA has closed its Series B round on $23.2m to support the release of its Security Management service. The capital was supplied by Bain Capital Ventures, Canvas Ventures and Costanoa Ventures.
Finexio secures $23m in new investment round
Payments as a service company Finexio has netted $23m in a round led with a strategic investment from Medalist Partners, an alternative credit manager based in New York. Finexio will use the money to optimise, and monetise the last mile of the corporate accounts payable process through its cloud based AP payments platform. The investment builds on the $2.5m it raised in December 2019.
Sonrai Security closes $20m Series B
Public cloud security platform Sonrai Security has closed a $20m Series B round led by Menlo Ventures. Polaris Partners and Ten Eleven Ventures also participated in the raise. As part of the deal, Menlo Ventures partner Venky Ganesan will join the Sonrai Security board of directors. Sonrai Security will use the cash injection to increase research and development efforts and increase the global sales and marketing efforts.
Accurics collects a total of $20m in Series A and seed round
Cybersecurity startup Accurics has collected a total of $20m through its seed and Series A rounds, both announced at the some time. Intel Capital led the Series A and ClearSky leading the seed. The investment funding will help Accurics increase the market momentum and further the development of its technology. The company has built a cyber resilient and “self-healing†cloud native infrastructure.
+Simple closes €20m funding round
InsurTech company +Simple has closed a €20m funding round and the acquisition of wholesale broker April Entreprise. Idinvest led the investment, with contributions also coming from OneRagtime, Mundi Ventures and Speedinvest. Funds from the round will be used to support the company development projects in France and Europe, as well as the expansion of its innovation efforts.
Spendesk extends its Series B by $18m
Spend management platform for SMEs Spendesk has closed an additional $18m to its Series B round, brining the round total to $56m. The fresh equity injection was supplied by Eight Roads Ventures and will enable the FinTech to continue its growth rate, which has accelerated during the pandemic. The company has seen increased demand on digitalisation and spend management solution.
Cover Genius raises ?8.3m round
Digital insurer Cover Genius has reportedly raised ?8.3m in its latest funding round as it looks to expand its product offering. King River Capital led the investment, with contributions also coming from Leap Capital. With the fresh funding, Cover Genius is looking to grow its product suite and expand its partner network internationally.
Cyberpion closes $8.25m seed round
Security platform Cyberpion has closed its seed round on $8.25m to help it increase its sales and marketing efforts. The investment capital will also be used to expand the product development efforts for its Ecosystem Securityâ„¢ platform. Team8 Capital and Hyperwise Ventures co-led the investment.
Polygon.io bags $6m in Series A funding round led by e.ventures
FinTech startup Polygon.io has secured $6m in a Series A round to fund the continuous growth of its platform. The startup is behind a market data platform empowering developers to interface with real-time and historical financial data. e.ventures led the round, which also enjoyed participation from existing investor Green Visor Capital. Thomas Gieselmann, co-founder of e.ventures and early investor in companies such as NGINX, Segment.com, AppAnnie and GotoMyPC, will be joining Polygon.io’s board of directors as part of the deal.
Frontegg secures $5m in seed round
Secure access SaaS services developer Frontegg has closed a $5m seed round. The round was led by Pitango, with support also coming from i3 Equity and Global Founders Capital. Frontegg offers a set of pre-built SaaS product capabilities which can easily integrate with new and existing applications. The plug-in technology enables developers to easily integrate new tools such as secure access, authentication, roles and permissions, notifications, in-app messaging and more.
Unocoin closes $5m Series A round
Unocoin, which claims to be India first cryptocurrency exchange, has closed a $5m Series A round. The investment was led by Draper Associates, with contributions also coming from XBTO Ventures and 2020 Ventures. This funding round has put the company valuation to $20m. With the close of the round and the Reserve Bank of India having lifted the bank on digital asset trading, Unocoin will use the capital to foster its growth in India. It plans to build a stronger technology team and enhance its product infrastructure.
NeuraLegion nets $4.7m in funding round
Application security platform for developers NeuraLegion has netted $4.7m in its seed round, which was led by DNX Ventures. Additional contributions came from? Fusion Fund, J-Ventures and Incubate Fund. Funds from the round will be used to support the next generation of the company platform and to help create a dynamic application security testing service. NeuraLegion, which launched in the US market less than a year ago, has seen over 100% quarter-on-quarter growth for the past six quarters.
4G Capital nets $2.6m in new investment
4G Capital has secured a $2.6m term loan from Citi in order to better support the financial needs of 25,000 small businesses specialising in fast-moving consumer goods.
VIVA Finance secures $2.3m in seed funding round
Mobile-first lending platform VIVA Finance has closed its seed round on $2.3m in its seed funding round. The investment was led by Acumen Fund and brings the FinTech total funding to $3.5m since it was founded in 2019. Following the close of the round, the company plans to grow its partnerships and expand its footprint across the Southeast.
Blockchain platform Boardroom secures $2.2m in funding
Boardroom, a governance platform for blockchain platforms, has reportedly raised $2.2m in its funding round. The investment was led by Standard crypto, with participation also coming from Variant, CoinFund, Framework and Slow Ventures. Its platform offers an integrated governance management platform that improves distributed decision making across crypto networks. Through its platform token holders can participate in votes on different blockchains or decentralised apps whose services use the tokens in question.
Assetz Capital closes ?1.5m crowdfunding round
Peer-to-peer lending platform Assetz Capital has reportedly closed its crowdfunding campaign on ?1.5m, with half of this coming from the Future Fund. The FinTech began that crowdfunding in June 2020, with a target of ?750,000. It was able to double this goal following the support from Future Fund, a scheme from the British Business Bank.
PAYMYNT Financial bags $1.1m in seed round
FinTech PAYMYNT Financial has secured $1.1m in seed capital and now aims to launch a the end of the year. The Greater Boston-based Mobile commerce and financial growth startup is looking to take advantage of how the coronavirus pandemic has pushed more people to shop online. It plans to roll out its service in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Wirex raises ?1m
Payments startup Wirex has secured ?1m in just 90 minutes via its Crowdcube campaign and smashed its crowdfunding target by 370%. Nearly 7,000 investors participated in the raise, looking to empower Wirex to develop a next-gen payments platform enabling more people to tap into cryptocurrency opportunities.
Upside Saving raises ?325,431 in crowdfunding campaign
Cashback savings enabler Upside Saving has raised ?325,431 in a crowdfunding campaign which has exceeded its target. The funding, which is being raised on the Seedrs platform, still has another seven days left. There have been 264 investors to back the fundraise and a total of 6.96% of the company equity has been distributed to backers. An initial target for the fundraise was put at ?300,000, with a pre-money valuation of ?4.3m.
Evolve Credit secures $25,000 in funding
Nigeria-based loan marketplace Evolve Credit has reportedly received an investment from Microtraction, an early-stage investor focused on African startups. The deal will see Evolve Credit receive $25,000 in exchange for a 7% stake in the business. Through Evolve Credit, users can access personal or SME loans from a range of loan providers in the country. Users can compare the offerings, which have been personalised, to find the best fit for their needs.
Secret Double Octopus collects funding round
Israeli cybersecurity company Secret Double Octopus has picked up a cash injection from Standard Chartered FinTech investment unit SC Ventures. However, reports did not disclose how much money was involved in the passwordless authentication company new round.
Clearwater Analytics secures funding
Clearwater Analytics, an SaaS provider of investment accounting and analytics, has closed an investment round to support its international reach. The investment was co-led by Permira, Warburg Pincus, Dragoneer Investment Group and Durable Capital. Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), which first backed Clearwater Analytics in 2016, will remain as the majority stakeholder of the company.
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