Early stage European FinTech deals this week include Payhawk
We feature Q&As with May Wang of Fin VC and Stefan Klauser of Aisot.
Check out the 2nd edition of Scaling Enterprise FinTech | The Handbook, launched in partnership with Money20/20 and SixThirty
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 Forum concludes its first hybrid edition at the Airport Club, Frankfurt
Kicking off with a networking lunch, the event – streamed digitally to participants who could not make it in person – started with Samarth Shekhar, Co-Founder of FinTech Forum, summarising the European FinTech scene’s record funding volumes and deals of note this year. This was followed by the first round of startup presentations (Aazzur, aisot, ALLINDEX and Delega – check out the “startups in a tweet” below). David Schaeffler from Hannover Digital Investments / Talanx and Cynthia Nadal of SeedX Liechtenstein covered the trends to watch in InsurTech and FinTech respectively.
Daragh Hanratty of IDA Ireland provided an overview of how Ireland’s agencies can help leading FinTechs and financial institutions scale, following which we made time for a short coffee break.
The 2nd round of startup presentations (QuickCashAI, Insaas.ai, Vermögensheld and Wequity) set the scene for some interesting discussions around ESG for startups and VC firms to follow.
Ertan Can from Multiple Capital shared a fascinating account of his journey setting up one of the first European Fund of Funds, which has invested into 500 ventures via 30 micro VC funds across Europe and the US.
7 Questions with May Wang of Fin VC
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
I’m an investor at Fin VC, a B2B Fintech/Insurtech focused global venture capital, based out of San Francisco. Fin VC is a team of FinTech nerds with capital, based in SF/NYC and focus on FinTech SaaS in the US and EU/UK. We deploy out of 3 strategies: Regatta (pre-seed, checks of $100K-$1M), Flagship (Early Stage – Seed->B, checks of $1-10M) and Horizons (Growth – C+, checks of $25-50M+, primary/secondary) and have an operating value playbook focused on global BD, corp dev, capital formation, product/GTM, key talent sourcing, and board leadership.
Personally, I’m an avid traveler and a global citizen who has lived in 4 countries across 3 continents. When not at work, you’ll find me hiking/surfing in the summer and skiing in the winter. I’m also mentoring students from underrepresented communities, and an advisor at a Uganda-based NGO.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-
7 Questions with Stefan Klauser of Aisot
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Hi, I am Stefan, Co-Founder & CEO at Aisot Technologies. We are a leading provider of real-time insights for trading and asset management. I always had a passion for both entrepreneurial work and predictive tools. The Oracle of Delphi was by far the coolest thing in Latin class. And my first business I „founded” as a kid, when selling cherries from our garden on our village’s streets. In my free time, I like to be in nature or sing. I have played in rock bands since I was a teenager.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-
London’s fintech startup Payhawk secures €99.44M; plans to open offices in the US, Netherlands, Australia, Singapore
Payhawk, a London-based fintech startup that provides spending software to simplify expenses, payments, and card spending for growing businesses, announced that it has raised $112M (approx €99.44M) in its Series B round of funding.
With this, the company’s valuation jumped to $570M (approx €506.1M) in just three years after its inception.
The news comes after the London-based platform’s $20M (approx €16.55M) Series A round of funding announced earlier this year in April. The funding was led by QED Investors, which has a strong track record of investing in 18 fintech unicorns including Klarna and Nubank.
https://siliconcanals.com/
San Francisco-based investor Greenoaks, a firm that has a strong track record of investing in high-growth technology companies such as Gorillas, Robinhood, Stripe and Brex. Greenoaks Capital makes concentrated, long-term investments in technology-enabled businesses globally
United Fintech acquires trading analytics firm FairXchange
As a first transaction in a multi-stage acquisition towards full ownership, United Fintech has acquired a 25 per cent stake in London-based FairXchange for an undisclosed amount in a transaction integrating the company, its products and employees onto its digital platform.
Trading firms use FairXchange’s state-of-the-art analytical tools to facilitate data-driven dialogue with their counterparties, bringing clarity and transparency to execution performance through the provision of independent data. And according to United Fintech CEO Christian Frahm, FairXchange fits hand-in-glove with United Fintech’s strategy of acquiring state-of-the-art Capital Markets software products ready for scaling and global roll-out on United Fintech’s platform.
Balderton Capital announces €529 million early-stage fund to back Europe’s next wave of breakout tech
London-based Balderton Capital has raised its second fund of 2021, and their largest-ever fund for early-stage startups, of €529 million. The fund is part of a wider mission to be the leading provider of venture capital and founder support to European startups with global ambitions.
Earlier this year the firm launched an ‘early growth’ fund to invest in future tech giants born in Europe.
Founded 21 years ago, Balderton Capital has made almost 300 investments and has extensive experience backing founders from seed to growth stage across Europe. In 2021, the company has invested in 20 new startups in sectors ranging from reproductive health and instant commerce to data labelling and gaming.
South Summit, Madrid
South Summit (Madrid, June 8th-10th, 2022) is a three-day event that supports entrepreneurship and innovation. It is where startups, investors and corporations come together to share ideas, form alliances, and shape the future. This year’s edition of the Startup Competition welcomes projects from any industry, development stage and country. Apply before February 28th to become one of our 100 finalists and get free tickets, a 3min pitch on stage, networking with our partners and investors, media coverage, mentoring, demo stand and more!
Read more (www.southsummit.co/startup-
Meet us at:
InsurTech Insights Europe, London: 15-16 March 2022 https://www.insurtechinsights.com/europe/
Finovate Europe 2022, London: 22-23 March 2022 https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/
South Summit 2022, Madrid: 8-10 June 2022 https://www.southsummit.co/
SuperVentures Berlin: 14-15 June 2022 https://informaconnect.com/superventure/
Digital Insurance Agenda, Amsterdam: 29-30 June 2022 https://next.digitalinsuranceagenda.com/dia-amsterdam-2022/
Meet Our Partners:
Heussen https://www.heussen-
IDA Ireland https://www.
Opportunity Network https://www.
Money2020 Europe https://europe.
InsurTech Insights https://
Finovate Europe https://informaconnect.
FN FinTech 40 https://www.fnlondon.com