FinTech funding rounds pass $1bn – Here are the 23 deals

September 15, 2023

FinTech funding passed the $1bn mark this week across the 23 deals – following two mega deals – including one worth a monstrous $500m.

Across this week’s mega deals, two stood higher than the rest, bolstering this weeks’ figures massively with $729m between them.

Databricks, a leading analytics and AI platform, produced the biggest fish, landing $500m in a round led by T. Rowe Price Associates. They were supported by India’s leading B2B SaaS FinTech company, Perfios, who themselves snagged a whopping $229m in their Series D round.

Whilst the pair produced the vast majority of this weeks’ $1.069,375bn, there were still large coups elsewhere, as Beam Benefits landed $40m in the highest InsurTech deal of the week, while US cybersecurity company DER bagged $39m in their own right.

DER’s funding was one 12 US FinTech deals over the past seven days, as the global powerhouse continued their dominant run as the lead producer of deals in the space. The UK followed behind, albeit distantly with four deals done, in a case of normal service being resumed for the two nations.

No other country secured more than the solitary deal, but France, Estonia, Australia, India, Italy, and Switzerland were all represented in a diverse week for FinTech funding rounds.

The aforementioned Perfios deal even saw India secure a higher amount of capital this week than any other nation outside of the United States. The southeast Asian nation landed $229m, dwarfing the $37.25m secured by the United Kingdom.

In terms of sector-by-sector numbers, FinTech and RegTech led the way with six deals apiece, ahead of CyberTech, in a productive week for organisation’s focusing on sectors related to anti-fraud and compliance.

WealthTech secured three deals, InsurTech landed two, while the PayTech space only had one deal, for Australian firm, AMP.

Here are the 23 funding rounds from the past week.

Databricks valuation skyrockets to $43bn after $500m funding round

Databricks, a leading analytics and AI platform, announced today that it has successfully raised $500m in a new funding round.

The round was led by T. Rowe Price Associates, joined by new investors Nvidia and Capital One Ventures.

Founded in 2013 by the original creators of Apache Spark, Databricks has made a name for itself with its unique “lakehouse” platform. This platform combines the functionalities of data warehouses and data lakes, unifying data, analytics, and AI on a single cloud-based platform. Customers can govern, manage, and derive insights from their enterprise data more effectively, accelerating their AI and analytics projects.

Kedaara Capital backs Perfios with a whopping $229m in Series D round

Perfios, described as “India’s leading B2B SaaS FinTech company”, has made headlines with its latest funding announcement. The Bangalore-headquartered firm revealed its Series D funding round today, successfully raising $229m, all thanks to Kedaara Capital, a prominent private equity investor.

Delving deeper into what Perfios does, this market leader is not only dominant in India but has also stamped its authority in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Their offering is vast, providing a comprehensive stack of Decision Analytics SaaS products.

Beam Benefits raises $40m to boost company value 25%

Beam Benefits has closed a $40m funding round which is set to boost the insurers’ company value 25% since its Series E in early 2021.

The round was led by existing investor Georgian, and is set to put Beam on track to grow its revenue 40% year-over-year with its expanded benefits portfolio and continued investment in new platform capabilities.

Over the past 18 months, Beam has launched six new benefits products and plans to add more in-demand products in the future.

DER cybersecurity gets a $39m boost from the US Energy Department

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has revealed its latest investment towards fortifying the cybersecurity framework for distributed energy resources (DER).

On Tuesday, the DOE pledged a generous sum of $39m, set to be distributed among nine distinct National Laboratory projects, with the primary aim of strengthening the cyber-defence capabilities of the DER.

This noteworthy funding is being facilitated by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). According to the statement released by the agency, the money will be channelled into research, development, and demonstration projects that reside within the vast expanse of the DER domain.

BaaS FinTech Swan plans European expansion with €37m funding round

French FinTech Swan has secured €37m through its series B funding round as it looks to expand its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) technology across Europe.

Lakestar led the funding round, and it is believed that they were joined by existing investors including Accel, Creandum, Bpifrance and start-up studio eFounders.

The Parisian firm provides white-label embedded finance solutions to companies looking to embed banking features, including accounts, cards and IBANs, into their user experience and workflows.

Kin Insurance raises $33m in funding round

Home insurance startup Kin Insurance has announced the closing of a $33m Series D extension.

The capital injection brings the firm’s total equity funding raised to approximately $265m, as the organisation continues to grow from strength-to-strength.

The round was led by QED Investors with participation from returning investors Geodesic Capital, Allegis Capital, Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd, and Alpha Edison. It is expected that the cash injection will vastly improve Kin’s liquidity status.

CertifID secures $20m in Series B to protect real estate industry from fraud

CertifID has revealed that it has raised $20m across its Series B funding round, as it looks to protect the real estate industry from fraud.

The Texan wire fraud prevention company raised the capital in the round led by Arthur Ventures, who also participated in CertifID’s $12.5m Series A in May 2022.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of a strong market reaction to the US company’s fraud protection software, insurance, and recovery services.

Pulsora’s eco-management platform scores $20m for worldwide growth.

Pulsora, previously known as pulsESG, is an all-in-one platform designed for comprehensive enterprise sustainability management.

The company has secured a $20m Series A investment round. Leading the round was Galvanize Climate Solutions, and was supported by Carica Sustainable Investments, Sabancı Climate Ventures, Aramco Ventures, and JetBlue Ventures.

Not to be left out, previous investors FINTOP Capital, Builders VC, and SOMPO Holdings also participated. Following this investment, Saloni Multani from Galvanize will be joining the Pulsora Board of Directors.

Treasury4 secures $20m in Series A funding led by WestCap

Treasury4, an enterprise software platform providing cutting-edge solutions for treasury and finance professionals, revealed today its successful $20m Series A funding round.

The funding round was spearheaded by WestCap and witnessed involvement from other prominent investors like Cowles Company, Fortson VC, Voyager Capital, Kick-Start Seed Fund, and W.T.B. Financial Corporation.

Notable individuals including Jim DuBois, ex-CIO of Microsoft, and Chris Growney, co-founder of Clearwater Analytics, also participated.

Estonia’s DFIR leader Binalyze clinches $19m in Series A financing

Estonia-based Binalyze, a DFIR firm, unveiled on Tuesday its impressive achievement of raising $19m in a Series A funding round.

The company has introduced its flagship DFIR suite, known as AIR. This state-of-the-art offering encompasses evidence acquisition, compromise assessment, triage, a detailed investigation timeline, and even provides automated forensics capabilities.

Delving deeper into its technical prowess, the AIR platform utilises its unique incident response evidence collector (IREC) engine.

AMP raises $18.5m to expand eCommerce platform

Australian firm AMP has raised $18.5m in its series A funding round, as it looks to further expand its interconnected, end-to-end platform for eCommerce merchants.

The round featured participation from a pair of Singaporean VCs, Jungle Ventures and Openspace Ventures.

The platform was launched by its two founders, Cameron Priest and Patrick Barnes, after they encountered hundreds of brands and merchants managing around 25 different apps daily in order to run their eCommerce stores.

Low-code security platform Zenity garners $16.5m in Series A

Zenity, a leading platform dedicated to ensuring the security of low-code/no-code development, has successfully garnered $16.5m Series A funding.

The notable funding round was spearheaded by Intel Capital, with participation from existing backers such as Vertex Ventures and UpWest.

New investors, including Gefen Capital and B5, also jumped aboard. In line with the recent investment, Yoni Greifman, Intel Capital Investment Director, is set to take a seat on Zenity’s board of directors.

Tradeteq clinches $12.5m in funding ahead of US entry

Tradeteq, the technology provider for securitisation-as-a-service and bank asset distribution, has bagged $12.5m in a funding raise.

The funding was spearheaded by the renowned US-based MS&AD Ventures, and saw noteworthy contributions from venture capital stalwart Interlock Partners.

Joining Interlock in its investment was Victor Ganzi, known for previous high-ranking roles including CEO of The Hearst Corporation and Chairman of Willis Towers Watson.

Carbon accounting startup Optera raises $12m

Sustainability management solutions provider Optera has revealed that it has raised $12m, enabling the company to expand its carbon accounting solutions and services.

The Colarado-based company is set to use the cash to offer its suite of solutions to more mid-market and enterprise companies, accelerating its product innovation and growing its sales and marketing teams to reach a global scale.

Tim Weiss, co-founder and CEO of Optera, said: “The biggest businesses around the globe are actively transitioning to the low-carbon economy. It is no longer a question of whether this transition will happen but whether it will happen quickly enough.”

Cleafy secures €10m in fight against digital banking fraud

Cleafy, a Milanese technology firm that specialises in proactive fraud prevention for digital banking, has raised €10m in a recent funding round.

The capital injection came from United Ventures, who led the funding via their UV T-Growth fund.

The company has made waves in the digital banking sector with an innovative solution aimed at actively preventing online banking fraud. Cleafy’s platform provides comprehensive monitoring across all digital channels, including web apps, mobile apps, and open banking.

Deduce nabs $9m investment to challenge AI-generated identity fraud

Deduce, described as the sole patented technology platform dedicated to curbing AI-generated identity fraud, has raised $9m in a recent funding round.

Leading the investment was Freestyle Capital, with Foundry and True Ventures also chipping in. This funding round is pivotal, enabling Deduce to roll out their GenAI Identity fraud solution, pulling it out of stealth mode.

The fresh infusion of capital will propel the company’s efforts in countering widespread SuperSynthetic™ identity fraud, affecting a range of sectors such as the financial service industry, FinTech, and e-commerce.

Identity SecOps leader AuthMind lands $8.5m in seed round

AuthMind, described as a “leading innovator in Identity SecOps,” has successfully announced a seed investment round.

The company has garnered more than $8.5m in funding, with Ballistic Ventures taking the lead role in this investment and receiving strategic participation from IBM Ventures.

At its core, AuthMind focuses on empowering organisations. They provide tools to effectively tackle and shield against the three major enablers of modern identity-based cyberattacks. Firstly, they address Identity & Access Blind Spots, detecting and rectifying issues like shadow assets, unauthorised local accounts, the absence of multi-factor authentication, and the use of unapproved SaaS applications on any platform or cloud.

Caliza launches in Brazil to provide access to US economy

Caliza, a startup offering banks and FinTechs an API that lets their customers save and transact in US dollars, has launched in Brazil with $5.3m in seed funding.

The round was led by Better Tomorrow Ventures and Abstract Ventures and also featured participation from Fontes by QED, Quona Capital and Valor Capital Group.

It is expected that the capital raised will allow Caliza to become the first company to build infrastructure for a suite of compliance, banking, and payment services through USD Coin, that will enable Brazilian companies and individuals to have better access to US dollar accounts.

DeFi asset management firm Range Protocol seals $3.75m seed fund

Range Protocol, an all-in-one on-chain asset management platform, has proudly announced the close of a successful $3.75m seed funding round.

The financing was co-led by influential FinTech names HashKey Capital and Nomad Capital. Additionally, Spark Digital Capital, Mirana Ventures, Symbolic Capital, Asymm Ventures, and Comma3 Ventures were among the participants that lent their support.

Patronus AI unveils security platform for LLMs with $3m boost

Patronus AI, a newcomer in the world of enterprise AI solutions, has announced its official launch and raised fresh financing.

This innovative company has stepped onto the scene with its first automated evaluation and security platform, specifically tailored for the safe deployment of LLMs.

The company’s launch was fuelled by a $3m seed funding round. Notable investors throwing their weight behind Patronus AI included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Factorial Capital, Replit CEO Amjad Masad, Gokul Rajaram, as well as several other top-tier executives and board members from Fortune 500 companies.

FinTech firm Hadrius nets $2m seed round for AI-powered SEC compliance

FinTech company, Hadrius, dedicated to innovating in the realm of SEC compliance, has recently announced their successful acquisition of a significant seed investment.

The company raised an impressive $2m in this latest funding round. Esteemed participants in the round were Y Combinator, Lynett Capital, Singularity Capital, Dorm Room Fund, Unpopular Ventures, as well as the founders of multiple renowned companies such as Arrived, SmartAsset, and FutureAdvisor.

Unique hardware cybersecurity player Goldilock snags $1.7m seed round

British cybersecurity firm, Goldilock, announced today that it has secured a significant investment and the backing of well-known US angel investors.

The company, which has been making waves with its innovative approach to cybersecurity, garnered $1.7m in a seed round. The funding was led by two renowned investor groups, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater NY (HBSAANY) and New York Angels (NYA).

Swiss FinTech yeekatee secures €575k for social investment platform expansion

Zurich-based FinTech, yeekatee, is setting new standards in the rapidly growing world of financial technology.

The company recently announced that it secured a funding round of €575k, with notable backing from investors FiveT FinTech and Ronald Strässler, a well-known figure in the FinTech industry, according to a report from EU Startups.

yeekatee has already made waves in the FinTech landscape with its recently launched mobile application. This app not only allows users to track all their assets but also boasts an ultra-secure automatic synchronisation feature for actual bank and brokerage accounts.

Keep up with all the latest FinTech news here.