This past week saw 33 deals in the FinTech sector reported, with Australian financial and payments firm Zeller taking the prize as the biggest investment with its $100m Series B.
The 33 companies raised a combined total of $1.1bn this week, down from a huge $3.4bn last week. This week saw a wide mixture of different sectors pulling in funding, including across FinTech, Wealth, CyberTech and PropTech.
In a big move in the cryptocurrency market this week, Hack VC launched a $200m crypto seed fund to invest in crypto, blockchain and web3 startups. This recent fund represents a growing investor interest in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors over recent years. With this increasing interest arises more regulatory consideration – earlier this week, the European Parliament postponed a vote on crypto asset regulation after a leaked draft included a provision that sought to ban cryptocurrencies.
While investment in the FinTech sector continues to move along steadily, the growing Russia-Ukraine conflict is undoubtedly taking up a lot of interest currently. It was reported this week that hacking groups are beginning to choose sides on the Russia-Ukraine conflict as the invasion of Ukraine continues to heat up.
Here are the 33 funding rounds from this week.
Zeller bags $100m Series B
Australian financial and payments solution Zeller has closed a Series B on $100m, driving its valuation above $1bn.
Zeller provides business owners in Australia with a fully integrated payments and financial services solution, such as a EFTPOS terminal, business transaction account and Mastercard all within one kit available online and in select stories nationally.
According to Zeller, it will invest the funds from this round to launch a range of new payments and business banking capabilities to cater for the needs of its rapidly growing customer base.
The company will speed-up development of new financial services solutions that will give merchants the ability to manage more of their business from their Zeller account.
Payhawk bags $100m in extended Series B
Payment and expense solution Payhawk has raised an additional $100m to extend its Series B round to $215m, propelling the company to a billion dollar valuation.
Payhawk aims to reduce the amount of manual work finance teams carry out due to disconnected tools for cards, payments, invoices and expense management.
With the extra funds, Payhawk said it now has the financial clout required to aggressively expand its presence in the mid-size enterprise market and continue its ambitious global expansion plans.
The capital will also be used to further grow Payhawk’s product team by adding 60 additional senior software engineers in Sofia from the top 1% of the market. This is with the aim of meeting growing customer demand for new features. Other existing features for enterprise customers will be extended too, including Oracle Netsuite integration, subscription management and budgets. The company also plans to open offices in Amsterdam and Parish in March, and New York in September.
Kin Insurance raises $82m Series D
Kin Insurance, a direct-to-consumer home insurance company, has raised $82m in Series D funding.
With this funding, Kin said it will continue to recruit top talent across all departments, expand its suite of insurance products, and bring its proprietary technology and direct-to-consumer model to additional states.
Kenyan FinTech M-KOPA bags $75m
Kenyan FinTech firm M-KOPA has reportedly raised $75m in a fresh funding round.
M-KOPA’s mission is to make financing for everyday essentials to be accessible to everyone, its website states. It operates a pay-as-you-go financing model allows you to get instant access to products from day one, while building ownership over time through flexible micro-payments.
It claims to have issued more than $600m in financing for its two million underbanked customers across the market.
Digital asset staking service Lido Finance scores $70m
Lido Finance, which claims to offer simplified and secure staking for digital assets, has reportedly raised $70m in fresh funding.
Andreessen Horowitz served as the lead investor, according to a report from Coindesk.
Lido Finance lets users stake tokens on Ethereum, Terra, Solana and Kusama. Through its services, users can put their stakes to work through a variety of products, including 29 ecosystem applications.
Perfios lands $70m Series C
India-based Perfios, which builds financial statement analysis software, has reportedly reached a valuation of more than $2bn.
This has come after the close of its Series C funding round on $70m, according to a report from Inc 42.Contributions to the round came from Warburg Pincus and Bessemer Venture Partners,
It also claims Perfios could potentially raise $40m in debt funding later this year.
Perfios builds customised solutions for data aggregation and analytics to improve real-time decisioning for businesses. Its software is used for consumer lending, wealth management, SME lending, account aggregation, embedded finance and credit assessment.
CyberTech Balbix scores $70m Series C
Balbix, a cybersecurity posture automation platform, has scored $70m in its Series C funding round.
The CyberTech company leverages AI and automation technology to improve cybersecurity postures. Its platform is used for automated asset discovery, risk-based vulnerability management, cyber risk qualification, unified cybersecurity asset management, enterprise vulnerability prioritisation and cyber risk visibility and board-level reporting.
This capital will help bolster its go-to-market capabilities and engineering investments to address market needs across unified asset inventory, software bill of materials (SBOM), vulnerability management, cyber risk quantification and security posture automation.
Nayya snares $55m Series C
Nayya, a leading employees benefits experience and healthcare management platform, has raised $55m in Series C financing led by existing investor ICONIQ Growth.
According to Nayya, it provides consumers with a personalised benefits experience that meets the realities of today’s health and financial landscape, helping Americans gain control at a time of rapid inflation and growing debt.
The latest funding will be used to accelerate product innovation, expand partnerships with major healthcare solutions, bolster collaboration with some of the country’s largest employers, and continue investment in expanding Nayya’s connected data footprint to deliver stronger consumer experiences.
Atomic lands $40m
Atomic, provider of payroll connectivity solutions, has raised $40m in Series B funding.
Atomic’s payroll integrations provide the infrastructure to connect consumers to their financial data for verification of income and employment, automating set-up and updating of direct deposits, repaying financial obligations from their paycheck, optimising tax withholdings, and accessing earned but unpaid wages.
With this latest funding, Atomic said it will continue to invest in growing its team and pioneering new solutions for the industry including enabling consumers to qualify for and repay financial obligations directly from their paycheck, tap earned but unpaid wages ahead of their pay cycle, and securely access their payroll data with the market’s first passwordless authentication with its proprietary Uplink technology.
Social and investing app Shares lands $40m
Social and investing app Shares has launched its first product following the closure of a Series A funding round that raked in $40m.
Launched less than a year ago, Shares is already making moves. The company has hired 130 full-time employees and established its first three offices in London, Paris and Krakow.
The company claims it combines the simplicity of an investment product with all the features users would expect from a social media app and creates a ‘unique trading community’ offering users no-minimum, no fee access to hundreds of stocks from just £1.
Counterpart scores $30m Series B
Counterpart, which stylises itself as the management liability InsurTech, has scored $30m in its Series B funding round.
With the funds, the company plans to expand its presence in the $20bn private company management liability insurance market. Capital has also been earmarked to scale the team and launch new products, including crime and excess in
The InsurTech company offers an advanced management liability rating system to measure small business risk exposures. It proactively identifies and mitigates potential claims through a suite of broker and business services.
The company is also looking to invest into its broker distribution partnerships to make management liability insurance more accessible to small businesses through an API platform.
Volopay collects $29m
Singapore-based Volopay has reportedly collected $29m in its Series A funding round, which was comprised of debt and equity.
The investment will help the company expand across the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, according to a report from TechCrunch.
Funds will also be used to build technologies that complement existing products and enhance integration with resource planning, human resource management and customer relationship software management software.
Volopay is a financial control centre that lets businesses easily manage various aspects of their operations, including corporate credit cards, money transfers, credit, expense reimbursement, automated accounting and more.
Newly-rebranded Bright Security bags $20m
NeuraLegion, an application security platform, has closed its Series A funding round on $20m, alongside its rebrand to Bright Security.
The name change is aimed at reflecting its mission to “illuminate the security testing process.”
Bright Security claims that while there is an increased rate of applications in development, security tools have not evolved to meet the rising demand.
Its technology is aimed at improving application security. AppSec teams can leverage the technology to outline governance and parameters for what needs to be tested and how, and development teams can utilise it throughout the software development lifecycle to identify vulnerabilities and ensure they never make it to production.
nSure.ai claims $18m Series A
Israel-based nSure.ai, which builds AI-powered fraud prevention technology, has reportedly raised $18m in its funding round.
The Series A investment was led by MoreTech Ventures, with commitments also coming from DisruptiveAI, Gryffin Ventures and Moneta Seeds, according to a report from Silicon Angle.
nSure.ai is an advanced fraud prevention platform that protects sellers of digital goods, with its website claiming to be so accurate it only declines 2% of sales, compared to the 20% industry average.
CardinalOps snaps up $17.5m Series A funding
CardinalOps, a firm that labels itself as a threat coverage optimisation firm, has bagged $17.5m from a Series A funding round.
Launched in 2021, CardinalOps claims it helps companies to achieve comprehensive threat coverage without buying more tools and without hiring more engineers.
The firm has developed a platform that is designed to aid security operations center teams close threat coverage gaps by plugging into their SIEM API. The platform automatically finds coverage gaps and missing or broken rules and log sources and continuously recommends rule remediations and misconfiguration fixes.
According to CardinalOps, the new funding will be used to improve its product as well as for go-to-market activities.
Fieldguide collects $17m Series A
Fieldguide, which offers an automation and collaboration platforms for audit and advisory firms, has collected $17m in its Series A, which brings its valuation to $100m.
With the capital injection, the company plans to quadruple its team, expand its product offering across more audit and consulting projects and scale its go-to-market initiative.
The San Francisco-based FinTech company has built an end-to-end cloud-native experience aimed to simplify cybersecurity ESG and other risk assessments.
Fieldguide claims the heightened risk environment has increased the demand for risk and compliance services. Legacy systems used by audit systems and advisory firms cannot meet the new demands, which is where Fieldguide comes in.
DeadHappy scores $15m
Digital life insurance startup DeadHappy has reportedly scored $15m in its latest funding round.
DeadHappy, which is based in the UK, is a digital life insurance policy provider. The company’s ambition is to get people talking about death and plan for it.
Through its services, people can buy a pay-as-you-go life insurance policy that has a rolling ten-year guarantee. In addition to this, the person can setup “deathwishes”, which is essentially a will. These wishes can dictate how money is used, such as a cash payout, paying off a mortgage or something else.
Feroot Security snares $11m seed funding
Website and web app protection firm Feroot Security has snared $11m in a seed financing round led by True Ventures.
Established in 2017, Feroot offers client-side security with automated JavaScript scanning, monitoring and controls to stop threats and protect customer data.
Feroot claims its solutions are suitable for application developers and security and privacy professionals that are looking to build secure JavaScript applications, ensure compliance and prevent client-side cyberattacks.
According to Feroot, it plans to use the funding to speed up product development and go-to-market strategies.
Delio raises $8.3m in funding
Delio, which helps financial institutions connect their clients with private investment opportunities, has collected $8.3m in funding.
This equity infusion will help Delio expand its international operations and establish the foundations for its non-conflicted private equity private markets infrastructure. This network will connect capital raisers, financial institutions and investors on a global scale and share investment opportunities on an institution-to-institution basis.
Headquartered in the UK, the company helps financial institutions digitise their private investment cycle and provide customers with an improved experience. Its technology optimises the distribution, transaction, and reporting of private equity, private debt, real estate, social impact and fund investment opportunities.
Finary lands €8m
Finary, a portfolio tracker, has scored €8m in its Series A funding round to support its shift into wider banking services.
The capital injection was raised to support the development of its private banking services.
With the support of the capital injection, Finary will spend the next few months and years to transition into a fully-fledged investment platform that supplies tailored advice, access to investment opportunities and improved customer experience.
To support this, the company is releasing new features, tripling the size of its team and expanding across Europe.
BastionZero snags $6m seed financing
Remote infrastructure access provider BastionZero has scored $6m in a seed funding round headed by Dell Technologies.
Launched in 2019, BastionZero automatically integrates with a users’ SSO provider and logs and monitors remote access by users or their scripts. The technology can be supposedly deployed in minutes and ‘provides all the benefits of zero trust’ without storing the credentials to a users’ targets in a centralised authority that can get hacked.
BastionZero claims it plans to use the new investment to build out new features and automate the rollout across cloud and other types of infrastructure.
InsurTech Plum Life closes $5.3m seed
InsurTech Plum Life has closed a $5.3m seed round led by ManchesterStory to grow its agent-only digital life insurance platform.
Plum Life said this round of funding will position it to build upon its initial success attracting new insurance agents to its digital life insurance sales platform. The company will make several key hires, continue to enhance the platform and drive sales.
The InsurTech offers agents a fully digital selling experience which it said enables a quicker and more efficient life insurance sale. The platform manages the entire sales process from application submission to case management and commission reconciliation.
ClaimBuddy closes pre-Series A on $3m
ClaimBuddy, which is based in India, has reportedly raised $3m in its pre-Series A funding round.
ClaimBuddy was designed to help hospitals and patients streamline health insurance claim processes.
It works by a user sharing their claim details with Claim Buddies representatives at a respective hospital desk. An advisor will then assist the person on the eligibility of the claim, as well as help with filing the claim.
WealthTech Nosso secures $2.8m funding
Nosso, which is helping parents invest and plan for their children’s financial futures, has bagged $2.8m in capital.
Funds from the round will help Nosso expand its product offering with the launch of new tools, such as flexible junior investment accounts.
Nosso provides children investment accounts that two parents can track, manage and contribute to. Its app also offers users with a contribution link that can be shared with anyone, such as grandparents or friends. Users can also leave messages and pictures with their contributions.
Founding Souq nabs $2.5m seed financing
Saudi Arabia-based crowdfunding platform Funding Souq has raised $2.5m in its seed round, which was backed by a host of angel investors.
This capital injection will help Funding Souq to scale its operations and grow its debt investor partnerships with family offices and banks to focus on Sharia-compliant financing. It is also looking to expand into new markets and release new products.
Founded in 2020, the FinTech company connects investors with established SMEs that need to borrow between $20,000 and $150,000. Investors can use the platform to back SMEs and get an internal rate of return of around 20%.
Paperwork closes $2.5m seed
Financial wellness solution Paperwork has closed its seed funding round on $2.5m.
With the capital, the FinTech company plans to bolster the development of its platform and seek new distribution opportunities and partnerships.
Paperwork’s financial wellness platform automatically organises and analyses financial accounts and documents, such as wills, insurance policies and other financial information clients upload through the app. Its app then offers personalised insights and suggestions that support smarter money choices, plan for the future and protect the financial wellbeing of their families.
Quiver Quantitative scores $2m equity capital
Quiver Quantitative, which designs next-generation investment research tools, has bagged $2m in an equity round.
With the capital, the company plans to accelerate retail user growth, integrate new proprietary databases to its platform, and advanced back-testing and analytics capabilities on top of their existing offerings.
Quiver’s web platform provides tools and dashboards that make it easier for retail investors to leverage alternative data to guide their trading decisions. The company recently released an app on iOS and Android.
Detected bags £1.5m funding
Detected, a compliance API, has received £1.5m in its latest funding round, which it managed to raise in just three weeks.
Founded in 2020, the RegTech company claims to transform know your business compliance into a competitive advantage. It does this by streamlining lengthy onboarding processes that also can adapt to new regulatory changes.
Through its “Find Company” algorithm, Detected can find and verify any registered company in the world, with just the company name and city. Companies can search and locate business credit, corporate and director information from across the world. From there, ID verification, UBO information and company documentation can be gathered and linked to the business’ profile.
WALO lands $1.1m financing
Canadian FinTech WALO has received a $1.1m investment from The Quebec government, among others.
With the capital, the FinTech company plans to get its banking solution of prepaid cards to market. WALO is also looking to release new bank accounts for kids and prepaid MasterCard credit cards later this year,
WALO is a financial platform designed to teach children the value of money. Its mobile app lets users set allowances, establish financial rewards for completing certain chores, goal-based savings, and earn rewards for improving their understanding of financial literacy.
PayPal backs Skipify
Skipify, a company that enables instant checkout on merchant websites and marketing channels, has recently closed a strategic investment round.
Skipify was backed in the round by PayPal Ventures, Synchrony, Okta Ventures and Amex Ventures.
This round follows a recent Series A by Skipify that was co-led by Flourish Ventures and Point72 Ventures.
Skipify’s modern checkout stack provides merchants with the necessary tools to offer instant checkout across the website, apps and marketing channels.
According to PayPal, the new funds raised will allow Skipify to more rapidly enhance their core product and infrastructure and help merchants improve their shopper checkout experience. The company is also hiring aggressively for its product and engineering teams.
Twig receives investment
Circular economy platform Twig has received an investment from Global Blue Ventures, just months after it closed its Series A on $35m.
The investment sees Global Blue purchase a minority stake in Twig and expand its RetailTech offering. It will also help it move towards its goal of being a strategic omnichannel partner.
Twig is a “green payment” solution that aims to disrupt reselling by streamlining the process for consumers and helping them discover new wealth through their “bank of things.”
TabaPay receives SoftBank investment
TabaPay, an instant money transfer platform, has received an investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
With the capital, TabaPay will accelerate the development of its platform, enter new industry verticals and increase its global expansion efforts.
The FinTech company currently processes over one million transactions each day, with a 2018-2021 CAGR of 111% and 153% in dollar volume.
Tabapay offers technology for secure and instant payments. Its technology support fund disbursement, payment collection and direct account transfers.
Pandella collects Series Seed-2 funding
Pendella Technologies, which helps firms automate underwriting, has collected Series Seed-2 funding round.
The investment was led by American Family Ventures and MassMutual Ventures, with commitments also coming from TASC Ventures, SixThirty, Assurity Ventures Inc., Aflac Ventures, MTech Capital and Early Light Ventures.
This equity investment will help Pendella establish more partnerships, adding to the 30 deal it signed over the past 12 months.
