Fraud-fighting RegTechs and digital payment providers were among the 34 rounds raised by the FinTech industry last week, areas that are becoming more important during the pandemic.
The coronavirus continues to influence investment into the FinTech space. That is one of the key takeaways after looking at the 34 investment rounds completed last week in the industry. While far from everyone would note the pandemic, several of the companies that we reported on last week are in industries that have become important during the Covid-19 crisis.
In particular, we noticed that ventures designed to combat financial fraud or to improve digital payments were among the businesses that topped up their cheque books last week.
It is hardly a secret why companies like Forter, Abnormal Security, Havoc Shield and DeFY Security have been able to convince investors to bet on them, apart from their own ability to provide a reasonable service.
As we have reported in the past, criminals have increased their campaigns around the world, trying to leverage the coronavirus pandemic. That includes an increased number of phishing, smishing, ransomware and other hack attacks, as well as money laundering and other forms of financial crime. Consequently, the cost of security breaches has also gone up since the coronavirus outbreak.
Given the risk of falling victim has skyrocketed during the pandemic, it is hardly surprising that businesses that are developing solutions to prevent those nefarious acts from happening have become more popular among investors.
Interestingly though, while the RegTech industry attracted $2.4bn in the first quarter of 2020, investment dropped to $1.2bn in the third quarter, according to FinTech Global’s research. That being said, it did recover in terms of the number of investment deals completed. In the second quarter of this year, only 51 deals were completed, a figure that jumped to 85 between July and September.
A similar argument can be made about the payment providers having bagged big rounds over the past few months, including in the seven days that have gone by.
The biggest venture to raise capital in the last week was the Italian mobile payments company Satispay. It picked up a massive €93m round partly led by Jack Dorsey’s Square, among others. Chipper Cash, Modulr and AppBrilliance were also reported to have raised money in the past seven days.
One of the common predictions made in the FinTech space is that the pandemic is a catalyst that will usher in an era of cashless payments. Not only will using digital solutions reduce the risk of spreading the contagion on physical cash, but since people are increasingly shopping online, a trend accelerated by Covid-19, digital payment solutions are becoming more prevalent.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the 34 FinTech rounds from the past seven days.
Addepar nets $177m in its new funding round
WealthTech platform Addepar has closed its Series E funding round on $177m. It will use the monetary top-up to expand the capabilities of its platform by strengthening its data aggregation, analysis and reporting services. WestCap Group led the raise. 8VC and Sway Ventures also contributed to the cash injection. The equity line brings the company’s total funding to $325m.
Forter collects $125m Series E
Fraud fighting RegTech Forter has raised $125m in a Series E round that pushed its valuation past the $1.3bn mark. Bessemer Venture Partners, Felix Capital and Itai Tsiddon led the e-commerce fraud prevention company’s latest round. Sequoia Capital, NewView Capital, Scale Venture Partners, March Capital Partners and Commerce Ventures also participated in the raise. Forter will use the money to accelerate the expansion of its suite of solutions and global data network.
Satispay collects €93m in Series C round
Jack Dorsey’s Square was one of the investors that behind Satispay’s €93m in a Series C round. The Italian mobile payment startup has now collected a total of €110m in investment since is launch in 2013. The new round consists of €68m of newly issued primary shares and approximately €25m secondary shares purchased from existing investors. The round was completed at a €180m pre-money valuation. Apart from the Twitter founder’s Square, Tencent, LGT Lightstone and TIM Ventures also contributed to the raise.
InsurTech platform HOVER scores $60m in its Series D
HOVER, an end-to-end platform for improvement and property insurance professionals, has closed its Series D on $60m. Travelers, State Farm Ventures, and Nationwide all co-led the round. Other backed included Standard Industries, Menlo Ventures, GV, Alsop Louie Partners and Guidewire Software. Funds from the round will be used to enhance the company’s 3D data platform and expand its e-commerce efforts.
Israel-based OurCrowd scores $60m in capital injection
Israel-based online investment platform OurCrowd has secured $60m through an investment from Japanese financial services group ORIX Corporation. As part of the investment, OurCrowd will supply ORIX with access to its technology. The companies will work together to build financial products and investment opportunities for the Japanese and global markets.
CAIS closes $50m Series B round
Alternative investment platform CAIS has closed its Series B round on $50m, to capitalise on a strong year of growth. The capital injection was supplied by Eldridge, a holding company with a network of businesses in finance, entertainment, technology and real estate.
Abnormal Security bags $40m in new cash injection
Email security company Abnormal Security has closed its Series B round on $40m, to grow the size of its team. The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with capital also coming from existing backer Greylock. Funds will be used to double the size of its machine learning and data science teams, as well as improve its technology.
Remote closes its Series A round on $35m
Remote, a HR platform to help manage payroll, benefits and compliance, has closed its Series A round on $35m. Index Ventures led the round. Sequoia Capital and previous backers General Catalyst and Two Sigma Ventures as well as several angel investors also contributed to the round. This capital injection will enable Remote to further its position in the industry.
Chipper Cash picks up $30m in raise backed by Jeff Bezos
Just a few months after its latest raise, Chipper Cash has now added another $30m to its coffers in a raise backed by Jeff Bezos’ private VC fund Bezos Expeditions. The raise was led by Ribbit Capital, the investor that has previously backed FinTech success stories like Robinhood and Razorpay.
Turtlemint said to close its Series D on $30m
India-based digital insurer Turtlemint has reportedly bagged $30m in its Series D round, which was led by GGV Capital. The round was supported by American Family Ventures, MassMutual Ventures and SIG, as well as previous backers Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, Nexus Venture Partners, Dream Incubator and Trifecta Capital. Proceeds from the round will be used to grow its network of advisors and improve its technology.
Fireblocks said to raise $30m in its Series B
Fireblocks, which enables companies to build, run and scale digital assets in their ecosystem, has reportedly netted $30m in its Series B round. Paradigm led the round, with contributions also coming from Cyberstarts, Tenaya Capital, Swisscom, Galaxy Digital, Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Cedar Hill Capital, according to a report from Crunchbase. With the close of the new round, the company is looking to increase its research and development efforts and grow in Europe and Asia.
Obligo nets $15.5m in its Series A round
Obligo, which helps tenants rent an apartment without providing a security deposit, has scored $15.5m in its Series A round. The round was supported by 83North, 10D, Entrée Capital, Viola Credit, and other strategic real estate investors. Funds from the round will enable the company to roll out its platform across the US.
Flyreel secures $10m Series A investment
Flyreel, an AI-powered residential and commercial property insurance service, has closed its Series A round on $10m. IA Capital Group led the investment round, with additional support also coming from Guidewire Software, Gradient Ventures, State Auto Labs and Donan Engineering. Equity from the round will be used to support the company’s growing list of customers and release new products and features.
Modulr secures £9m in new investment
Payments provider Modulr has added another £9m to its coffers on the back of an investment from PayPal Ventures. It will, unsurprisingly, use the money to fund the further expansion of the venture. This pushes the total cash injected into Modulr to £63.3m. It has previously enjoyed investments from Highland Europe, Frog Capital, Blenheim Chalcot and a £10m grant from the Capability and Innovation Fund.
Amicus.io secures $8.7m in funding
Amicus.io, which claims to be the FinTech for philanthropy, has ended its Series B round on $8.7m, to support the launch of its DAF 2.0 platform. The investment was led by Vancouver-based family office FR Group, with contributions also coming from Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator. Alongside the funding, the company has launched its DAF 2.0 platform, a white label solution designed for consumer banks to ease donations of private bank divisions, digital wealth management, wealth managers and asset managers as well the entire philanthropic community.
Northstar secures its Series A on $7.3m
Northstar, which is enabling employers to offer their staff more financial wellness benefits, has scored $7.3m in its Series A round. M13 served as the lead investor, with contributions also coming from Foundation Capital and Workday Ventures. Other backers to the round include Parade Ventures, Ludlow Ventures, Designer Fund, Combine, RRE Ventures, Swell Partners, PeopleTech Partners, and founders and C-level executives from NerdWallet, Plaid, Adobe, Amazon, BrandSafway, SunRun, Yelp, Product Hunt, and Thumbtack.
Griffin secures $6.5m in funding
Banking-as-a-service provider Griffin swooped in last week and announced that it had collected $6.5m in a funding round. EQT Ventures led the round. Seedcamp, Tribe Capital, Indeed.com co-founder Paul Forster, Go-Cardless co-founder Matt Robinson and Go-Cardless COO Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas also contributed to the raise. Griffin will use the money to fund its product development, hire more staff and continue its efforts in getting bank authorisation from the PRA and FCA.
DiPocket secures €6m investment
UK-based FinTech DiPocket has secured €6m investment from GB & Partners Investment Management, which saw the investor take a majority stake in the cashless payments company.
Facio said to raise $5m in its seed round
Brazil-based Facio, which provides tools to improve the financial wellbeing of employees, has reportedly raised $5m in its seed round. Monashees and ONEVC led the raise. Facio also received capital from angel backers SumUp global head of growth Igor Marchesini, QuintoAndar co-founder and CEO Gabriel Braga and Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel. Around half of the capital from the round will be used for working capital loans and the rest will be used to increase the team size and further Facio’s development.
Bdeo nets €5m in its funding round
Spanish InsurTech startup Bdeo, which utilises visual intelligence to insurance claims, has received €5m in its latest funding round. The investment was supported by BlackFin Capital Partners, K Fund and Big Sur Ventures. Bdeo allows consumers to provide visual evidence of an accident through their mobile phone. It works by starting a geo-located video call and the technology will capture photos and videos of the damage or products.
Stanhope Financial Group secures $3.5m in new investment
Newly launched FinTech platform Stanhope Financial Group has bagged $3.5m in funding to support the release of its banking services for small and medium enterprises. The FinTech, which is based in Ireland, claims to have released the world’s first combined tier one banking services aimed at the SME space.
AppBrilliance closes its seed round on $3m
Payments technology platform AppBrilliance has secured more than $3m in seed capital. AppBrilliance will use the money to the development of its open payments and open banking technology. The Texas-based startup powers real-time non-custodial open payments and banking services. It claims its technology helps businesses to remove around 75% of the payment processing costs.
Aya collects $2.9m in new investment
Aya, which builds payment solutions, has reportedly launched out of stealth after the close of a $2.9m seed investment. MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund and Luge Capital led the round, with Anthemis Group, BDC Capital and StandUp Ventures, also contributing.
Clim8 Invest secures €2.7m through a crowdfunding campaign
Clim8 Invest, which enables consumers to back companies having a positive impact on climate change, has reportedly netted €2.7m in its latest funding round. The capital was raised through a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube and received support from around 1,900 retail investors. There were also a number of institutional investors in the round, including 7percent Ventures, Basil Capital, Evergreen Fund, EcoSummit Ventures and a handful of ex partners of McKinsey.
Glint Pay said to raise £2.5m
Glint Pay, a mobile app that enables users to buy gold, has reportedly netted £2.5m in a new funding round. The FinTech raised £1.25m of this through a private investment and the remaining £1.5m via the government’s Future Fund, according to a report from Business Money. With this fresh equity, Glint is looking to bolster its marketing efforts, hire more staff and hopes to increase its user base, it said.
Paid said to raise £2.2m in funding
Paid, a digital procurement platform, has reportedly secured £2.2m in its seed funding round. Crane Venture Partners led the round. Contributions also came from Seedcamp, Techstars, as well as several angel investors, including GoCardless founder Matthew Robinson and Outrun Ventures founder Chris Adelsbach. Paid offers a procurement automation platform for buyers and suppliers. The company’s ambition is to create equal opportunity for businesses of all sizes around the world.
Juni bags €2m in seed funding
Swedish FinTech Juni has secured €2m in a seed round led by venture capital firm Cherry Ventures. Angel investors Jarno Vanahatapio, founder of NA-KD.com, and Johan Bendz, founding team and responsible for communications at iZettle, also contributed to the raise.
Incuto nets £1.75m in funding round
Incuto is a company with the official aim to provide people with access to affordable finance. As part of reaching that goal, we reported last week that Incuto had closed a £1.75m funding round. The capital was supplied by NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, Future Fund, Ascension Ventures and Northstar Ventures. Funds from the round will be used to aid the roll out of its platform to more UK credit unions, as well as prepare for international expansion.
ShowPay closes $1.5m in its funding round
ShowPay, a global cryptocurrency payment platform, has closed $1.5m in funding to support the development of its MetalD solution. The capital injection was led by Jinghe Investment, with additional support coming from unnamed venture firms. This funding will be used to aid the research and development of its distributed ID service MetalD, expanding its team, and establishing a non-profit fund to promote the adoption of MetalD.
Havoc Shield secures $1.45m in a new funding round
Havoc Shield, an all-in-one cybersecurity platform, has closed a funding round on $1.45m, as it looks to grow its team. The capital investment was led by Hyde Park Angels, with contributions also coming from Techstars, Active Capital, Lofty Ventures and a series of unnamed angel backers. With the funds, the RegTech is planning to increase the size of its Chicago team and to fill remote positions. Moreover, it is planning to grow its reach to more small and medium-sized businesses.
FinChatBot raises £1.2m to support its international expansion
Conversational AI platform FinChatBot has received £1.2m, as it looks to expand internationally. Saviu Ventures led the investment, with participation also coming from previous backers Kalon Venture Partners and Compass Venture Capital. This equity infusion will enable FinChatBot to increase the size of its team to more than 50 people, as well as expand into the UK, Europe and West Africa.
Ilumoni has scored $450,000 in pre-seed funding
Ilumoni, an AI-powered borrowing insights app, has netted $450,000 in its pre-seed round, which was backed by Move Ventures. Several angel investors also joined the round, including former Premium Credit CMO Simon Moran and former Dunbar Bank CEO Andy Deller. This pre-seed investment capital will be used to support the FinTech with its product development and its efforts getting regulatory approval.
LunarCRUSH secures new funding
LunarCRUSH, a social media analytics platform for cryptocurrencies, has reportedly closed a funding round on an undisclosed amount. The capital investment was led by Draper Goren Holm, with a strategic investment also coming from Manutara Ventures. Funds from the round will be used to grow its team in Europe and Latin America, as well as bolster its position in local communities, it said.
DeFY Security secures new investment
Cybersecurity company DeFY Security has picked up an investment from private equity firm Sverica Capital Management. The North American digital defence startup was founded in 2017, DeFY has grown rapidly and is one of the largest pure play cyber security solutions providers in North America.
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