Investors in early stage European FinTech deals this week include Global Brain (Xayn), CommerzVentures(Afilio), Karlani Capital (Kroo) etc. We feature Q&As with with Marcus Börner of OptioPay and Daniel Andres and Dr. Teddy Amberg of Spicehouse Partners.
If you are an early stage startup in Europe building the next big thing in FinTech, reach out to Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar.
Scaling Enterprise FinTech: with Marcus Börner of OptioPay
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.
At the age of 17 I founded my first company – reBuy.com. Today, Germany ́s leading re-commerce platform employing over 500 great people and exceeding $ 200 million in annual turnover .
My entrepreneurial spirit and passion for combining customer-oriented products with data eventually led to the foundation of OptioPay. OptioPay provides Open Banking white label services that empower customers to benefit from value-add campaigns based on their bank account data. As a B2B2C-provider we serve clients from various industries, such as banking, insurance, telco & retail. Comdirect Bank, DZ Bank, HDI or 1&1 are some of our clients that understand the huge potential of open banking for their business and customers. Going forward, any company missing out on the open banking opportunity will struggle with severe strategic disadvantages.
Next to OptioPay, I am a passionate business angel, and have invested in over 50 companies. I love supporting young entrepreneurs who dare to make an impact. I also advise the Federal Ministry of Finance in Germany as part of the “FinTechRat”.
scaling-enterprise-fintech-with-marcus-borner-of-optiopay
Scaling Enterprise FinTech: with Daniel Andres and Dr. Teddy Amberg of Spicehouse Partners
1. A year since the first lockdowns- is this is a good time to be building or scaling an Enterprise FinTech (/ InsurTech) firm in Europe?
Yes. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalization throughout industries by a couple of years. This digitalization trend will stay and continue to foster, especially in sectors such as fintech and insurtech. We firmly believe in the potential of start-ups in those (and adjacent) sectors. The resulting new or more efficiently structured business models offer tremendous opportunities.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6829474380297334784/
Global Brain und KDDI investieren 10 Millionen in Berliner Browser-Startup Xayn
9. August 2021: Das Berliner KI-Startup Xayn hat im Rahmen einer Series-A-Runde zehn Millionen Euro eingesammelt. Die japanischen Investoren Global Brain und KDDI führen die Finanzierungsrunde an, der sich auch die bisherigen Investoren – darunter Earlybird – angeschlossen haben. Insgesamt flossen damit bereits knapp 20 Millionen Euro in das 2017 gegründete Unternehmen. Xayn entwickelt und betreibt eine App, die einen mobilen Browser mit einer KI-gestützten Suchmaschine verbindet. Ähnlich wie bei Google ist auch ein personalisierter Nachrichtenfeed integriert.
Global Brain Corporation is one of the largest venture capital firm based in Tokyo whose recent investments include DoctorMate and Istore Isend.
https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/news/startup-ticker-aug11-vicampo/
CommerzVentures investiert 11 Millionen Euro in Insurtech Afilio
11. August 2021: Das Startup Afilio hat im Rahmen einer Series-A-Finanzierungsrunde elf Millionen Euro eingesammelt. Angeführt wird das Investment von CommerzVentures, dem Investmentvehikel der Commerzbank. Speedinvest und die Bestandsinvestoren Cherry Ventures, Cavalry und Mutschler Holding haben ebenfalls Geld gegeben. Das Startup will Nutzern bei der Altersvorsorge helfen, indem sie über die Plattform diverse Vorsorgedokumente erstellen, verwalten und sich versichern lassen können. Für Nutzer ist der Service kostenlos, das Insurtech finanziert sich über freiwillige Beiträge. Derzeit zählt Afilio etwa zwei Millionen Nutzer. Till Oltmanns und Philip Harms haben das Insurtech 2017 gegründet.
CommerzVentures specializes in early- and growth-stage companies in the financial services and insurance sectors whose recent investments include Bought by Many and 360X.
https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/news/startup-ticker-aug11-vicampo/
Karlani Capital invests £17.7M in Kroo
Led by CEO Andrea de Gottardo, Kroo is building a new UK bank to allow its customers to participate in shared financial activity with each other and champion social causes that impact their world. The company, which expects to launch in early 2022, will test its concept through a prepaid card offering, issued under the e-money licence of PayrNet Ltd, and innovative ways for people to track their personal and social finances – to create groups with friends, track spending, and split and pay bills quickly and securely. In addition, a tree-planting referral scheme has already been launched.
The round was led by tech entrepreneur and founder of Karlani Capital, Rudy Karsan.
Karlani Capital is an operating fund that builds, buys, and invests in fast-growing, technology companies that serve and enrich humanity whose recent investments include Phenom people and QL Gaming Group.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/08/kroo-raises-17-7m-in-series-a-funding.html
Investors from 33 different countries invest €22 million in Blocktrade
Launched in 2018 Blocktrade was acquired and rebuilt by Cryptix until 2020 and funded by an international group of investors in 2021.
Blocktrade SA, a Luxembourg-based digital asset exchange, says it has closed an over-subscribed €22 million series A funding round that garnered investors from 33 different countries.
Digital Investment Platform Bitpanda to Invest €10M into Blockchain Research and Development Hub
Austria’s Bitpanda, the digital investment platform which has managed to achieve Unicorn status, reveals that it will be investing €10 million during the next couple years into the newly established Blockchain Research & Development Hub.
The new Blockchain Research & Development Hub could potentially attract experienced blockchain professionals including engineers who are interested in developing innovative technologies. Bitpanda expects to have around 30 applications developers on board by the end of this year.
Money2020 Europe: 21-24 Sep. in Amsterdam
Radical change requires a radical catalyst. Fintech has a big journey to go on, and Money20/20 Europe is here to help you take the first big leap into the unknown.
This is the only place where the whole community, from payments to banking to retail to regulation and beyond, comes together to make the decisions that shape the future.
This September, get ready for a reimagined Money20/20 Europe experience that puts you in the driving seat. The conversations that take place here will decide our collective trajectory.
Buy your pass: https://bit.ly/2TjdoEQ
Meet us at:
Money2020 Europe, 21-24 Sep. 2021, Amsterdam
South Summit, 5-7 Oct. 2021, Madrid
Web Summit, 1-4 Nov. 2021, Lisbon
FinTech Forum, 18 Nov. 2021, Frankfurt
Slush, 1-2 Dec. 2021, Helsinki
Meet Our Partners:
Heussen https://www.heussen-law.de
Opportunity Network https://www.opportunitynetwork.com/fintech-forum
Money2020 Europe https://europe.money2020.com
InsurTech Insights https://insurtechinsights.com
Finovate Europe https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/
FN FinTech 40 https://www.fnlondon.com