Early stage European FinTech deals include Salv, eXate, Valuedesk, Cledara etc. We feature Q&As with Christian Nentwich of Duco and Daniel Andemeskel of Universal-Investment.
The 12th FinTech Forum is a wrap- check out the event in tweets.
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 Christian Nentwich of Duco
1. Give us the backstory- what were you up to before starting up, how did you get the founding idea?
I had personally been around data in financial services since I finished my PhD in Computer Science – on complex data validation! Having seen first hand how tough the data challenges are with thousands of systems, hundreds of thousands of people working manually… it felt like there was a better and faster way than writing specifications and code, and that we wanted data management in the hands of the end users in these companies. And so we set out to solve one of the big initial problems we wanted to focus on: data reconciliation.
http://www.fintechforum.de/scaling-enterprise-fintech-with-christian-nentwich-of-duco/
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.
Work aside, in my personal life I like to travel and discover new cultures and countries. Alongside my passion for cooking and wine. To compensate my full calendar, I am trying to do as much sports as possible, frequent morning runs are my favorite. This is rounded up with the fact that I am an early bird (waking up every morning between 4:30am and 5:00am). I use these morning hours for the innovation visioning and creative part of my job.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-daniel-andemeskel-of-universal-investment/
Anti-Money Laundering Platform Salv Raises €1.5 Million to Expand AML Bridge Pilot to Various European Countries
Salv, an Estonia-based anti-money laundering platform, recently announced it secured €1.5 million to expand the pilot program AML Bridge to other European countries. According to Salv, the pilot comes in cooperation with four of Estonia’s largest banks – LHV, Luminor, SEB Estonia and Swedbank Estonia, and Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority, Financial Intelligence Unit and Data Protection Inspectorate.
Data privacy startup eXate raises £2.3M seed led by Outward VC
Accessing and sharing data is a complicated issue for large businesses, and doing this in a secure, compliant way is a problem for many. London-based data software firm eXate is attacking this problem and has now raised a £2.3 million seed round led by Outward VC, with additional backing from ING Ventures and Triple Point Ventures.
EXate is competing with those that tend to do more specific types of data privacy, such as Hazy, Privitar and Very Good Security. By contrast, eXate says it aggregates multiple types of privacy into one solution, and provides central governance and control.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/15/data-privacy-startup-exate-raises-2-3m-seed-led-by-outward-vc/
3,2 Millionen für Bielefelder Saas-Startup
In seiner Seed-Runde hat Valuedesk aus Bielefeld insgesamt 3,2 Millionen Euro erhalten. Das Geld stammt vom Münchner Frühphasen-Investor Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners und diversen Business Angels, darunter der langjährige SAP-Manager Daniel Holz.
Valuedesk hat eine Software entwickelt, mit denen Firmenkunden ihre internen Ausgaben optimieren können, beispielsweise bei der Produktentwicklung oder in der Logistik.
Nach eigenen Angaben nutzen bereits Unternehmen wie Dr. Oetker und Miele das Tool, um Kosten einzusparen. Gegründet wurde Valuedesk 2017 von Torsten Bendlin, Ingo Roßdeutscher und Dennis Cutraro.
https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/news/32-millionen-fuer-bielefelder-saas-startup/
Cledara Raises $3.4M in Funding
Cledara, a London, UK-based SaaS purchase and management platform provider, raised $3.4M in funding.
The round was led by Nauta Capital, with participation from existing investors Anthemis.
The company will use the new funds to accelerate their product growth and international expansion.
Founded by CEO Cristina Vila and COO Brad van Leeuwen, Cledara is a provider SaaS purchase and management platform that enables companies to empower their teams to get the SaaS they need when they need it, in a secure and scalable way.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/12/cledara-raises-3-4m-in-funding.html
Berlin fintech startup Neufund picks up €4 million on its quest to secure a financial license
Neufund, a German fintech startup that connects investors and entrepreneurs by means of a blockchain-powered platform, has raised another €4 million in financing in a round led by Christophe Maire’s Atlantic Labs and Factory Berlin CEO Udo Schloemer, with participation from Freigeist Capital and Dario Suter (founder and managing director of DCM).
The round, which is effectively an extension of the startup’s previous €3.4 million series A round, will serve to obtain a financial license, and for the usual things like hiring and further product development.
Founded in 2016, Neufund announced plans to freeze its fundraising campaigns and sideline future tokenised equity offerings back in June of this year, citing regulatory concerns.
Vestrata Raises $4M in Seed Funding
Vestrata, a London, UK-based fintech company providing integrated investment solutions, raised US$4m in seed funding.
The company intends to use the funds to bring its proposition to the wealth management and private banking sector.
Led by Mark Le Lievre, Co-Founder and CEO, Vestrata provides a proprietary technology platform which will deliver a suite of discretionary, advisory, alternatives and ESG investment solutions for wealth managers to drive improved client engagement, control risk and reduce cost.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/12/vestrata-raises-4m-in-seed-funding.html
Modularbank Raises €4M in Late Seed Funding
Modularbank, a Tallinn, Estonia – based core banking platform, raised €4m in late seed funding.
The round was led by Karma Ventures and BlackFin Capital Partners, with participation from Plug and Play Ventures, Siena Capital and angel investor Ott Kaukver, who is the ex-CTO of Twilio and Skype.
The company intends to use the funds to expand into UK, European and wider global markets, to bolster its engineering and commercial teams, and further invest in its technology platform.
Founded in 2019 by CEO Vilve Vene and Chief Business Officer Rivo Uibo, Modularbank provides a cloud-agnostic core banking platform, built with an API-first approach, which allows banks, financial services companies and any other business such as retailers, utility companies or telemedicine providers, to integrate its modular banking technology into their existing infrastructure.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/12/modularbank-raises-e4m-in-late-seed-funding.html
Proportunity raises £7.5 million fund to help make UK home ownership possible
Proportunity, a London-based startup that wants to give first-time buyers a leg up on home ownership, has taken a debt capital injection of up to £7.5 million to manage record demand following Britain’s post-lockdown housing boom.
The company’s portfolio has exploded lately — doubling the past two years in just the last two months — and the new facility, which came from Conister Bank and others, allows the company to keep up.
The UK startup provides home buyers with a ‘deposit-boosting’ equity loan of up to £90,000, enabling them to ink the deal with only a 5 percent cash deposit.
https://tech.eu/brief/proportunity-fund/
Taxdoo Raises $21M in Series A Funding
Taxdoo, a Hamburg, Germany-based automated platform for financial compliance in e-commerce, closed a $21m (€17m) Series A round of financing.
The round was led by Accel, with participation from Visionaries Club, 20VC and existing investor HTGF. In conjunction with the funding, Accel’s Harry Nelis had joined its board.
The company intends to use the funds for international expansion, increased hiring, R&D, sales and customer support.
Co-founded by Matthias Allmendinger, Roger Gothmann and Christian Königsheim, Taxdoo provides a platform that automates transaction-level data ingestion, tax calculation and filings across Europe, as well as the integration of financial and accounting information.
https://www.finsmes.com/2020/12/taxdoo-raises-21m-in-series-a-funding.html
Fintech startup GoHenry grabs $40M
Edison Partners has led a $40 million investment in London-based GoHenry. The startup offers an educational money management app and prepaid debit card for kids. The funds will be used the company’s expansion in the UK and US.
https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/fintech-startup-gohenry-grabs-40m
Deutsches Ur-Fintech Solactive bekommt 50 Millionen
Mit Solactive hat eines der ältesten Fintechs Deutschlands gerade 50 Millionen Euro vom Wachstumsinvestor Summit Partners eingesammelt.
Das 2007 von Steffen Scheuble gegründete Frankfurter Unternehmen entwickelt und vermarktet Börsenindizes für mehr als 400 Kunden, darunter Investmentbanken, ETF-Anbieter und Hedgefonds. Laut Techcrunch profitiert Solactive derzeit vom Run vieler Anleger auf eher passive Investmentstrategien.
https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/news/50-millionen-finanzierung-solactive/
Fintech startup Tink banks €85M
Open banking platform provider Tink has raised €85 million in a round extension led by Eurazeo Growth and Dawn Capital. The funds will be used for international expansion and product development.
The Stockholm-based startup raised €90 million in January. Tink connects to over 3,400 banks, reaching more than 250 million customers across Europe.
https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/fintech-startup-tink-banks-85m
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