European FinTech deals this week include Numeral, Silverflow, Pliant, Re:cap and Modifi
We feature Q&As with Enrique Lizaso Olmos of Multiverse Computing and Paula Blazquez Solano of InnoCells (Banco Sabadell)
If you are an early stage startup in Europe building the next big thing in FinTech, reach out to Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar
FinTech Rising Stars 2021 – nicht verpassen
Der jährliche Online-Report der Szene. Junge FinTech- & InsurTech-Startups aus Deutschland und Österreich, die aktuell den Markt erobern. Rising Stars kommt 2021 das erste Mal heraus. Und ab sofort jährlich im Herbst. Jedes Jahr die neuesten FinTechs/InsurTechs zu entdecken, die im aktuellen Jahr auf den Markt kamen. Und die Trends und Entwicklungen der anderen jungen FinTechs/InsurTechs (die schon in den Jahren davor gelauncht sind — im Report bei jedem Startup steht zB: welche Meilensteine sie in den letzten 12 Monaten erreicht haben, was sie im nächsten Jahr planen, welche Kontakte sie aktuell suchen, etc.)
https://fintech-i.com/
7 Questions with Enrique Lizaso Olmos of Multiverse Computing
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Multiverse Computing. Largest European Quantum Software Company. Backed by the European Investment Council and large VC. Third largest in the world after two American not-so-much-larger competitors. Delivering solutions to financial problems in optimization, machine-learning and pricing that are not correctly answered (or even not answered) with classical computers. Problems that range from $200-300 to $3B in impact in net income. Working for large customers (Top 10 Banks in the world), appeared in the Boston Consulting Group reports, The Economist, Forbes… Single European Company in McKinsey’s Quantum global Technology Council. 24 new patents/year, 34 people now, we are nearly 3 yr old!
Me: Mathematician, 20+ yr in finance (also Computer Engineer, PhD in biostatistics, MBA from IESE Business School -and also MD, yep). I can just speak when my Physics cofounders let me do
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-
7 Questions with Paula Blazquez Solano of InnoCells (Banco Sabadell)
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
My name is Paula Blazquez, I lead the Corporate Investment Vehicle of Banco Sabadell, the 4th largest private bank in Spain. At InnoCells, we invest in Fintech related startups across the globe, from seed to series A (tickets between $500k up to $3M). I have worked in venture capital most of my career, having worked for a listed Venture Debt fund based out of Palo Alto, California and later on in a venture fund based in Madrid with a focus on Latam, Spain and India prior to joining InnoCells. I am a proud advisor, investor and Board Member in several Fintech startups.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-
Addressing the bank payments bottleneck, Numeral raises €13 million
After only six months since its inception, Paris-based Numeral has raised €13 million. The company provides a payment operations automation service specifically targeted at tech companies operating in a variety of industries. The funding will be used to grow the team size from 10 to 40 over the coming months, continue product development, and augment its bank coverage.
Co-founded by Édouard Mandon (previously at Ibanfirst and Jumia) and Hichem Mâalmi (previously at Qonto and Boursorama Banque), Numeral is the newest startup arising from Logic Founders, a joint venture between Camille Tyan and eFounders.
The startup is working on an API and web app solution that allows tech companies to automate payments from creation to reconciliation through a direct bank link. The API side of the offer gives developers the tools to integrate payment options within their own productions, while the web app can be used by the finance and operations teams to keep tabs on the books and make sure payments and accounts are all up to date.
https://tech.eu/brief/
Balderton Capital is a venture capital firm based in London, UK, that invests in early-stage, technology and internet startup companies in Europe. It is considered to be among the four-biggest venture capital firms in the English capital.
Amsterdam-based fintech startup Silverflow raises €15M; plans to grow its team in next 2 years
Amsterdam-based fintech startup Silverflow announced that it has raised $17M (approx €15M) in its Series A round of funding led by Coatue Management.
The round also saw participation from existing investors Crane Venture Partners and INKEF Capital, along with Global Paytech Ventures. In addition, angel investors Jason Gardner, founder and CEO of Marqeta, and Gokul Rajaram, a former Square product lead and current Coinbase board member, also invested in this round.
Michael Gilroy, General Partner at Coatue, says, “The Founder-market fit is the first thing we noted when looking at the Silverflow team. The depth of experience within payments gives this team a unique perspective from which to solve a problem plaguing the industry – outdated infrastructure. The platform is built for the payments industry of today, and has the scalability, flexibility, and usability its partners need.”
https://siliconcanals.com/
New York based Coatue Management LLC is a global investment manager focused on public and private companies in the technology, media and telecommunications industries. Coatue invests in public and private markets with a focus on technology, media, telecommunications. the consumer and healthcare sectors
Berlin-based pliant scores €18 million for its corporate credit card solution
Just 4 months after announcing its first seed round, Berlin-based pliant has closed €18 million for its corporate credit card. The funding was led by Alstin Capital, Main Incubator and Saber, with participation from Ramin Niroumand.
Pliant offers a flexible corporate credit card solution that focuses on seamless integrations into existing processes, alongside providing fully digital card management and cashback. The fintech startup was founded in 2020 by Malte Rau and Fabian Terner.
The young company aims to offer customers an optimal solution through adopting a technology-first approach. The credit card solution can be combined with other SaaS offerings – namely in the areas of accounting, travel expense, and, invoice management. In doing so, pliant is pioneering a flexible credit card solution for companies.
The flexibility of pliant means that its product can individually adapt to the needs, processes and structures of both scaling and established companies. Seamless integration removes the headache that normally arises for companies bringing in new technology to their processes.
ALSTIN Capital is an independent venture capital fund based in Munich. Their sector focus is technology companies in the field of Fintech / Insurtech / Regtech & Cyber Security / Mobility
German revenue-based financing platform Re:cap raises $111.5M Seed round
Re:cap, a non-dilutive funding platform in a similar vein to Pipe.com and Capchase but based in Europe, has closed a Seed financing round of $111.5 million, in a mix of growth capital and liquidity for the revenue-based financing platform. re:cap’s first product is now officially going live, following a pre-seed funding in May of this year.
The growth capital has come from pan-European VCs Felix Capital and Project A Ventures, with participation from existing investor Entrée Capital. The new capital will be invested into further expansion of the team as well as product and entering new European markets from its launch base of Germany. Initially focused on SaaS businesses, it has plans to move into other verticals.
The company was founded by Paul Becker (CEO) and Jonas Tebbe (CPO), who previously built the LIQID fintech startup.
re:cap allows recurring revenue businesses to fund their growth, but without needing to dilute ownership via VC or taking on debt, with the ability to convert up to 50% of their ARR into instant, non-dilutive upfront cash. At the same time, institutional investors can invest directly in the recurring revenues of software companies.
London based Felix Capital offers flexible capital, investing $500,000 to $10 million early, typically in first or second rounds, and up to $15 million at growth stage or even later in breakout companies in our target segments
Modifi Raises 145MUSD in Debt Financing
Modifi, a Berlin, Germany-based global fintech company, raised 145M USD in debt financing.
Backers included Silicon Valley Bank and Solarisbank.
The company intends to use the funds to expand its reach among small and medium-sized enterprises who want to trade internationally on its digital platform.
Led by CEO and Co-Founder Nelson Holzner, Modifi is a global fintech company that allows small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to finance and manage their international trades. Serving over 1,000 buyers and sellers across more than 40 countries, the company offers digital solutions that enable SMEs to trade like large corporates.
Modifi currently operates out of 9 offices in Berlin, Amsterdam, New York, Delhi, Mumbai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Dubai and Dhaka. Having raised its Series B round in September, the company is now working on major upgrades to its digital platform, which will expand the product offering beyond trade finance and allow customers to take care of all trade-related activities in one place.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/
Silicon Valley Bank, a subsidiary of SVB Financial Group, is a U.S.-based high-tech commercial bank. The bank has helped fund more than 30,000 start-ups.
Founded in 2016, Solarisbank is a Berlin-based fintech company that offers Banking-as-a-Service Platform with its German banking license
US subsidiary sold for $16.3 billion
The major French bank BNP Paribas is withdrawing from the American retail banking business. It sells its subsidiary, the Bank of West, to a Canadian competitor.
The major French bank BNP Paribas is selling its Californian subsidiary Bank of the West to the Bank of Montreal (BMO) from Canada. The purchase price is 16.3 billion US dollars, BNP said. With this, the French end their involvement in the American retail market, which has never really been crowned with success because the competition from the domestic banks is great.
Management expects the deal to be completed within the coming year. Shareholders should benefit from this: BNP then wants to buy back its own shares from the market. In addition, it intends to use proceeds from the sale for the expansion of its own business and for possible takeovers. The authorities have yet to approve the sale.
Deutsche Börse Finalizes Acquisition of Majority Stake in Crypto Finance
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