Early stage European FinTech deals include B-North, Lightyear, Crux, FTF alumnus Trality etc. We feature Q&As with Daniel Andemeskel of Universal-Investment and Martin Kreitmair of Tangany, both of whom will be “on stage” at the 12th FinTech Forum’s digital edition on 19th Nov. 2020. Check out the line-up of selected startups, investors and guest speakers: http://ftf12.eventbrite.com. If you have any questions, reach out to Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar.
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7 Questions with Daniel Andemeskel of Universal-Investment
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Hello, I am Daniel Andemeskel, Director and Head of Innovation Management at Universal-Investment. I am currently responsible for the Group’s innovation agenda while at the same time developing the next generation investment platform for digital assets, leveraging on Blockchain and AI. Prior to joining Universal-Investment, I gained over 20 years’ experience in investment management in several functions. My motto is to envision new innovations instead of building faster horses (just like the famous quote of Henry Ford) which is why I enjoy speaking at international conferences and panels on innovation and digital transformation. Besides, I am a member of several Blockchain consortiums and forums and like to initiate collaborations on Blockchain…
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-daniel-andemeskel-of-universal-investment/
7 Questions with Martin Kreitmair of Tangany GmbH
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Hi, my name is Martin, living in Munich, and I am one of the founders of Tangany GmbH. Together with my co-founders Christopher and Alexey we have started Tangany in 2017. At Tangany, I am responsible for the administration – namely finance, investor relation, human resources, marketing and controlling. Basically, that reflects my prior experience as director in a Munich tech-marketing agency. I have led a team of 25 employees for about 6 years, which prepared me for my daily tasks perfectly.
Beside that, I am living in Munich for many years and love to attend music concerts and festivals.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-martin-kreitmair-of-tangany-gmbh/
B-North Targets Bank License, Raises Funding on Growth Capital Ventures
B-North, a Fintech that is looking to acquire a bank license, is raising capital on Growth Capital Ventures (GCV). According to the offering page, B-North has raised over £1.23 million – topping its hurdle of £500,000.
Craig Peterson, co-founder and chief operating officer of GCV, stated:
“This fundraise has created a rare and attractive opportunity to own a stake in a business that’s about to bring to market a technology-driven UK bank focused on providing finance to scale-ups and SMEs
£1m investment sees fintech firm Lightyear expand in Belfast
SaaS company Lightyear has announced plans to hire for 12 new people in Northern Ireland across software development, sales and more.
Fintech software firm Lightyear is doubling its workforce in Belfast on the back of a £1m investment. The company will hire 12 new staff members as it expands its global export reach.
As well as its headquarters in Belfast, Lightyear also has an office in New South Wales, Australia.
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/jobs/lightyear-jobs-belfast
British-Israeli startup CRUX raises €1.1 million to battle ‘information overload’ with its knowledge quantification platform
CRUX, the London-headquartered startup that has developed one of the world’s first Knowledge Quantification platforms, has announced an approx. €1.1 million seed investment round led by WENVEST Capital, the B2B SaaS venture capital firm, and includes A-Round Capital and Founders Factory.
With an overwhelming volume of information on both publisher and corporate platforms, CRUX’s groundbreaking deep tech supports digital media companies, financial services firms and management consultancies in helping users become more informed and more engaged. CRUX creates unique knowledge journeys around any topic, by measuring users’ knowledge build-up in real time, and directing users to the most valuable content for them.
Crypto Fintech TRALITY Raises 1.5M Euro to Advance its Platform for Trading Bots
To become the go-to for automated trading, Trality is investing into proprietary machine learning tools for its bot creators. The Austrian startup has now closed a funding round with local and international investors.
Bots are becoming more and more visible in our everyday lives, be that when you ask your phone for the weather or order your shopping online – bots are behind the scenes making it possible. The idea is that bots simulate our behaviour and that they do it in a way that is intelligent and quick. FinTech startup Trality is now making these robotic advantages available to any private investor and trader.
Company founders Moritz Putzhammer and Christopher Helf met ten years ago while in university.
Pimloc gets $1.8M for its AI-based visual search and redaction tool
U.K.-based Pimloc has closed a £1.4 million (~$1.8 million) seed funding round led by Amadeus Capital Partners. Existing investor Speedinvest and other unnamed shareholders also participated in the round.
The 2016-founded computer vision startup launched a AI-powered photo classifier service called Pholio in 2017 — pitching the service as a way for smartphone users to reclaim agency over their digital memories without having to hand over their data to cloud giants like Google.
BitNinja Raises $2.5M in Series A Funding
BitNinja, a Debrecen, Hungary-based website server protection solution provider, raised $2.5m in Series A funding.
The round was led by Lead Ventures with participation from Hungarian investor Oxo Technologies Holding.
The company will use the funds to improve the existing ServerProtection SaaS tool and develop new products.
Founded in 2014, BitNinja gives ultimate protection against WordPress, Joomla and Drupal infections for hosted websites.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/10/bitninja-raises-2-5m-in-series-a-funding.html
Global Digital Payment Platform Wirex Closes Crowdcube Round With More Than £3.7 Million Raised
Wirex, a UK-based payments platform, has completed its equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube with a total of £3,701,909 secured. The funding round, which secured its initial £1 million funding target just 90 minutes after its platform debut, attracted 6925 Crowdcube investors.
As previously reported, Wirex is a UK FCA-licenced global digital payment platform that has forged new rules in the digital money arena. The company also claims it is the only platform that allows access to OTC and interbank rates for crypto and traditional currency exchanges respectively, ensuring the platform’s users always get the best deal.
Decentriq Raises $3.8M in Seed Funding
Decentriq, a Zurich, Switzerland – based enterprise data security company, raised $3.8m in seed funding.
The round was led by btov Partners, with participation from Paladin Capital Group and existing investor Atlantic Labs.
The company intends to use the funds to expand internationally while growing its client base within and beyond the financial services and healthcare industries.
Led by Maximilian Groth, co-founder and CEO, Decentriq provides a cloud-based platform that enables enterprises to assess sensitive data – which falls under GDPR or is strategically important – in a confidential and protected environment.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/10/decentriq-raises-3-8m-in-seed-funding.html
Fintech startup Joko banks €10M
Joko, the developer of a cashback app, has secured a €10 million investment from Partech and Axeleo. The French startup will use the funds to double its workforce by the end of the year and expand internationally. Joko has over 500,000 users and partnerships with more than 1,000 retailers, including Apple and Nike.
https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/fintech-startup-joko-banks-10m
Wayflyer Raises $10.2M in Seed Funding
Wayflyer, a London, UK- and NYC-based eCommerce revenue-based financing and marketing analytics platform, raised $10.2m in seed funding.
The round was led by QED Investors with participation from Middlegame Ventures and co-investors Speedinvest and FinTech Investment Vehicle FGFE.
The company intends to use the capital to grow globally and further develop its proprietary technology.
Led by Aidan Corbett, CEO and co-founder, Wayflyer provides eCommerce stores worldwide with non-dilutive, unsecured capital that allows the flexibility to secure advertising space and inventory.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/10/wayflyer-raises-10-2m-in-seed-funding.html
French fintech Spendesk adds €15.2 million to its Series B round from Eight Roads Ventures
Paris-based Spendesk, a leading spend management platform for SMBs, today announced it has raised around €15.2 million in addition to its Series B round last year (around €32.2 million). The new investment comes from global VC fund Eight Roads Ventures and brings the total raised to €58.1 million.
Founded in 2016, Spendesk offers an all-in-one spend management solution that delivers more visibility and automation to today’s finance teams. The platform combines spend approvals, virtual and physical cards for employees, expense reimbursements and invoice management into one source of truth.
Hyperscience Raises $80M in Series D Funding
Hyperscience, a NYC-, London, UK and Sofia, Bulgaria-based data entry automation company, raised $80M in Series D financing.
The round, which brought total funding to $190m, was led by Tiger Global, with participation from new investor BOND, Bessemer Venture Partners and all existing major investors.
The company intends to use the funds to continue to accelerate the development of the platform, including data validation and unstructured data processing, as well as to build out the partner and channel ecosystem.
Led by Peter Brodsky, CEO, and Charlie Newark-French, COO, Hyperscience provides a date entry automation technology solution to enable businesses to make decisions, and structure their operations.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/10/hyperscience-raises-80m-in-series-d-funding.html
FinTech mortgage disrupter Molo raises £266m
Molo, a FinTech firm which claims to be the UK’s first digital mortgage lender, has raised a further £266m in debt and equity funding, completing its series A equity funding round.
The investment was led by global financial services firm Macquarie Group (Macquarie) and Patron Capital, a pan-European institutional investor focused on property-backed investments.
The equity round was led by Yabeo, an international Venture Capital firm and supported by existing shareholders Andenes Investments, GPS Ventures and others. SpecFin Capital advised Molo.
https://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/fintech-mortgage-disrupter-molo-raises-266m/
Neobank Finom starts in Germany
Das Fintech möchte mit seinem Geschäftsmodell das Leben von 36 Millionen europäischen Unternehmerinnen und Freelancern ändern. Es bietet eine B2B-Finanzplattform an, die Buchhaltung, Finanzverwaltung und Banking miteinander verbindet. Damit tritt das Startup in Konkurrenz mit Unternehmen wie Kontist, Penta oder Holvi. In Deutschland kommt die Technik von der Solarisbank und die Karten kommen von Visa.
https://www.it-finanzmagazin.de/finom-finanzverwaltung-rechnungs-tool-und-bankdienstleistungen-kmu-selbststaendige-gruender-112754/
Money2020 MoneyFest: Money’s greatest minds are hitting your screen
Broadcast live from our studio, Money20/20’s world-class content will be coming to your screens on October 26-29 with our first-ever MoneyFest. Be a part of money’s biggest conversation with the industry’s greatest minds discussing the resetting, reimagining and rebuilding of the future of money. Gain your unfair advantage, knowing first-hand what’s next for Payments, Banking, FinTech, FinServe, Big Tech, Cybersecurity and so much more to ensure your business thrives in tomorrow’s new unknown.
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