This week was a relatively quiet week for the FinTech sector, with FinTech Global reporting on 22 deals across the market and investment totalling $422m.
The top performing funding round of the week was Employement Hero, an employment management platform, who scored $131m in a Series F raise.
In terms of sector, the CyberTech space was the market that performed strongest this week – with seven deals in total. FinTech firms recorded six deals, InsurTech companies record five deals, while WealthTech, PayTech, AI and RegTech firms recorded one each.
Geographically, the US dominated with 13 deals, trailed by the UK and Australia with three and two deals respectively. Singapore, the Netherlands, Israel, Norway and Ireland brought in a deal each.
Here are this week’s deals.
Employment platform Employment Hero rakes in £131m
Employment Hero, one of the world’s largest employment management platforms, has pulled in £131m in Series F funding.
According to Bdaily, this remarkable fundraise was led by the renowned global growth fund, TCV.
Employment Hero stands out with its comprehensive all-in-one platform which is designed to seamlessly and compliantly recruit, onboard, pay, and manage talent. This platform’s effectiveness lies in its ability to grant peace of mind to business owners and managers, enabling them to centre their energies on business growth.
Island secures $100m in Series C investment
Island, described as the pioneer and front-runner in the enterprise browser market, has recently made headlines with a major financial announcement.
The firm has secured a whopping $100m in its Series C funding round. The investment round saw significant participation from Prysm Capital, Canapi Ventures, and a group of Island’s existing venture partners.
Island has a unique selling point, offering a cutting-edge enterprise browser. To date, the company boasts sales of over two million browsers, catering to a diverse clientele, including many within the esteemed Fortune 100 bracket.
Censys locks in $75m funding: Advancing cybersecurity’s future
Censys, described as “the leading Internet Intelligence Platform for Threat Hunting and Exposure Management”, has made a significant announcement concerning its latest financial endeavours.
The firm has successfully secured $75m in a new funding round. This capital raise encompasses a $50m Series C, led prominently by Decibel Partners, GV, Greylock, and Intel Capital. New investors, namely Ascension Ventures, Four Rivers, and accounts overseen by Hamilton Lane, have also come on board.
To top it all, SVB Capital and Silicon Valley Bank took the lead on the $25m debt funding portion.
Darwinium’s edge-based security platform garners $18m
Darwinium, a next-generation digital security and fraud prevention platform, has recently made headlines with its groundbreaking initiatives.
The firm successfully amassed $18m in a Series A financing round. The noteworthy endeavour was spearheaded by U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) and saw enthusiastic participation from seed investors including Blackbird, Airtree Ventures, and Accomplice.
In an age where online fraud is increasingly sophisticated, Darwinium has emerged as a beacon of hope for many businesses.
Aleph debuts with $16.7m
Aleph, described as “the source of truth for finance teams”, has unveiled itself, attracting an impressive $16.7m in its latest funding round.
This financial boost was orchestrated by Bain Capital Ventures (BCV) and saw contributions from established investors such as Khosla Ventures, Picus Capital, and Y Combinator. Notably, angel investors and their current clientele also chipped in.
Delving deeper into its operations, Aleph functions as the singular reservoir for all fiscal data, aiming to assist teams in making enhanced, quicker decisions.
Spec’s $15m funding boost to counter AI-powered cyberattacks
Spec, a front-runner in the cybersecurity sector, has made an exhilarating announcement concerning its recent financial strides.
The firm has successfully wrapped up its Series A funding round, amassing a commendable $15m. This significant investment was orchestrated by SignalFire and saw substantial participation from both Legion Capital and Rally Ventures.
Established during the early pandemic days as a mere “hello world” prototype, Spec has transformed dramatically. Today, the firm’s platform diligently screens the entire customer journey, marking threats and pinpointing attacks.
Triple-A lands $10M in Series A
Triple-A is making waves in the financial technology industry with the announcement of their successful $10m Series A funding round.
The investment was led by Peak XV Partners (formerly known as Sequoia India & South East Asia), along with support from Shorooq Partners, a prominent technology investor in the MENA region. The recent cash influx follows an earlier seed investment of $4m, which served as the foundation for Triple-A’s platform.
This subsequent investment reaffirms the confidence of existing investors in the company’s potential and the strength of its team.
multifi secures £10m to revolutionise UK SMB Finance
UK-based start-up multifi has successfully secured an initial capital injection of £10m to provide financial solutions to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the United Kingdom.
This funding aims to alleviate cashflow challenges faced by SMBs, who represent 99% of the UK economy. These issues are seen as the primary contributor in business closures, with 82% of UK failures falling under this banner. To combat this, multifi aims to offer simplified access to credit, targeting industries such as wholesale, manufacturing, and logistics.
The £10m capital injection comes from Fasanara Capital, a London-based asset manager and technology platform with assets totalling $4bn.
Credit Genie bags $10m funding
Creditly, which operates as Credit Genie, a prominent digital personal finance platform catering to over one million Americans, has announced its most recent triumph.
The firm completed an additional fundraising round, pocketing a noteworthy $10m. This surge of capital elevates their total financing pot to an impressive $21m.
A major chunk of this recent financing round was channeled in by Khosla Ventures. Tippet Ventures also made a significant contribution, ensuring Credit Genie had the resources it needed.
Upfort attracts $8m in Series A to boost cyber resilience
Upfort, a pioneering cyber security and insurance platform, has raised a substantial $8m in a recent Series A funding round.
The round was spearheaded by SYN Ventures and saw significant contributions from Eniac Ventures and Fika Ventures. Notably, the latter two had co-led Upfort’s seed round.
This recent injection of capital aims to bolster Upfort’s ambition of simplifying insurance sales processes for brokers and insurers. Furthermore, the platform seeks to protect clients from the growing menace of cyber threats. In the past year alone, ransomware attacks impacted a staggering 66% of organisations, resulting in a considerable financial drain on the global economy.
InsurTech Laka pedals ahead with $8m funding
Laka, an InsurTech aimed at bicycles, reportedly announced a successful funding round amounting to $8m. Leading the investment was the French mobility fund, Shift4Good.
Additional supporters of this round encompass Autotech Ventures, Porsche Ventures, Creandum, Ponooc, and Elkstone Partners, according to a report from Forbes. It’s worth noting that the funding round was composed of both debt and equity.
Laka distinguishes itself with a unique “collective-driven insurance model”. Instead of traditional upfront premiums, this approach calculates coverage costs based on the actual claims filed each month.
Harmonic Security bags $7m in seed funding
Harmonic Security, a specialist in the safe deployment of GenAI, has successfully secured a funding round of $7m.
According to MSSP Alert, Leading the seed funding was Ten Eleven Ventures, accompanied by Storm Ventures and an array of 14 private investors.
Generative AI is rapidly becoming a priority for numerous organisations. Such interest is highlighted by recent Gartner poll results, which demonstrated that a vast 78% of 1,400 executive leaders believe the benefits of generative AI surpass its inherent risks.
Preczn rakes in $6.8m
Preczn, described as the leading financial services Command Center that specialises in vertical SaaS platforms, has proudly announced its latest successful funding round.
The company managed to secure a substantial $6.8m, with the funding round led by Flyover Capital and Blank Ventures. There was significant participation from other entities, including Grand Ventures, Gilgamesh Ventures, SaaS Ventures, Rosecliff Ventures, and Nelnet Ventures, among a few others.
As the FinTech sector burgeons, it is anticipated that transactions via vertical SaaS platforms will skyrocket to a staggering $5trn in 2023, potentially growing to $7trn by 2026 in the US market alone.
Canopy Connect clinches $6.5m in a funding round
Canopy Connect, a leading platform dedicated to collecting, verifying, and monitoring insurance data, is elated to announce a successful $6.5m Series A funding round.
This notable round was spearheaded by Nevcaut Ventures and witnessed considerable participation from investors such as Elefund, Nimble Partners, LocalGlobe, 9Yards Capital, and Global FinTech Venture Partners, among others.
At its core, Canopy Connect is devoted to bridging a pivotal gap in the insurance market. The company’s primary mission revolves around enabling an efficient platform for the exchange of verified insurance information.
Kota seals €5m funding to revamp employee benefits platform
Kota, an integrated platform aiming to streamline insurance and retirement benefits for contemporary teams, has secured €5m.
Spearheading this investment was EQT Ventures, accompanied by the continuous support of existing investors, notably Northzone and Frontline Ventures.
Diving into the functionality of Kota, the platform is primarily focused on revolutionising the traditionally cumbersome and paper-intensive core benefits sector. This transformation is presented in a user-friendly manner, allowing companies, irrespective of their size, to initiate the process in a matter of 8 minutes.
CoverForce bags $5m seed funding
Emerging from stealth mode, InsurTech company CoverForce has introduced a dynamic suite of products tailored for agency networks, wholesalers, and software firms. The company’s objective is to digitise an offline market, offering swift and accurate insurance comparisons and purchases with a single click.
At the helm of CoverForce’s operations is a team combining significant tech experience with a profound understanding of insurance. Leading the company is CEO and co-founder, Cyrus Karai.
He is joined by two other co-founders, namely Behram Dinshaw, the company’s board chairperson and previously the executive vice president of global small & middle market business centres at Travelers, and Kaivan Wadia, formerly a software development manager at Amazon, who now serves as the chief technology officer.
RadiantGraph launches with $5m
RadiantGraph, a pioneering platform that harnesses machine learning and artificial intelligence to enhance consumer engagement within health plans, has officially launched after securing a $5m in Seed funding.
The round was led by True Ventures and XYZ Ventures, with the participation of Remus Capital, and is expected to facilitate the company’s expansion, including forging partnerships with healthcare organisations and advancing their product offerings for enterprise health and health plans.
The company achieved this milestone after successfully raising $5 million in Seed funding, led by True Ventures and XYZ Ventures, with the participation of Remus Capital.
Castellum.AI raises $4m to scale compliance screening for enterprises
Castellum.AI has recently closed a successful $4m seed investment round as they look to scale compliance screening for enterprises.
The round was spearheaded by Spider Capital and saw enthusiastic participation from NewFund, Remarkable Ventures, Cameron Ventures, as well as new and existing angel investors. Remarkably, the investment exceeded its initial target by $1.5 million.
The $4m seed investment will propel Castellum.AI to new heights. The company intends to scale its proven software technology, enhance product offerings, and strengthen its engineering capabilities.
Global cybersecurity leader BrandShield nets $3.38m
BrandShield, a prominent global cybersecurity company, has made headlines with its latest financial and strategic moves.
The company recently garnered $3.38m in capital. Noteworthy investors behind this round include Gigi Levi Weiss from NFX, Sir Terry Leahy, the ex-CEO of Tesco, Joseph Haykov, and the investment consortium William Curry.
Founded in Israel, BrandShield stands as a paramount figure in the cybersecurity realm. Through its AI/ML platform, it offers protection against phishing, online fraud, counterfeiting, and various cyber threats. High-profile names like Bristol Myers Squibb, Levi’s, New Balance, and the Pharmaceutical Security Institute trust BrandShield for their online safety.
Australian cybersecurity firm CipherStash secures $3m
CipherStash, an Australian searchable data encryption cybersecurity startup, revealed today that it has successfully secured $3m in fresh capital.
According to Silicon Angle, the latest funding round was spearheaded by Skip Capital LLC, alongside SixThirty Ventures LLC. These funds are earmarked to amplify the startup’s digital security solutions.
As cybercriminals employ increasingly intricate tactics, CipherStash is poised to bolster its defences against the likes of data breaches, identity theft, and other online menaces.
Ctrl Alt’s FinTech venture scoops up £2.2m
Alternative asset provider Ctrl Alt, a pioneering FinTech company in the realm of alternative assets, has recently announced the securing of £2.2m in an investment round.
This round has been spearheaded by prominent investors such as Forward Partners and Middle Game Ventures, according to a report from UKTN.
Originally launched as a consumer-centric (B2C) enterprise, Ctrl Alt has since evolved into a business-to-business (B2B) platform. This transformation now allows various FinTech platforms to delve into alternative assets, notably those related to green energy and real estate.
Dealflow, the AI-driven FinTech, secures $700k
Dealflow, the innovative FinTech firm aiming to transform how global companies manage their finances in the AI era, is in a celebratory mood.
The company has successfully raised a commendable $700k in their pre-seed round, with the distinction of being among the highest valuations in the Nordics for 2023. Ralf Reichert, the founder of the renowned unicorn, led this round. Notable participants also included Ewor, a16z, Atlantis Ventures, and a selection of significant angel investors.
Offering a bit more insight into the company’s core mission, Dealflow was initially launched in 2022 with a primary focus on influencers.
