As most European countries moved to enforce lockdowns, close schools, businesses and borders, startups braced for an uphill battle in the months ahead. Startups who have raised and closed their round recently are revisiting their budgets and spending, while those in the middle of a round (or planning one) are getting prepared for turbulence. We are talking to some of the investors in the FinTech Forum network on their “dry powder” and readiness to invest through the crisis, so if you are an early stage FinTech in Europe looking for investors, do reach out to us (LinkedIn: Frank or Samarth) and we will do our best to help.
Also check out the following resources:
- Fundraising during coronavirus: Are startups screwed? for a pulse of startup funding in post-Coronavirus Europe.
- How Will The Coronavirus Impact The Banking Ecosystem? lays out the negative and positive impact of the crisis (e.g. consider the WHO pressing for contactless payments).
- Early Stage Technology Funding In The Time Of Coronavirus offers some counter-intuitive thinking about investing in early-stage startups during crises.
Stay safe and until next week!
—
iATROS Raises €2M Seed Financing Round
iATROS, a German digital health startup, raised €2m seed financing round. Backers included High-Tech Gründerfonds and Bayern Kapital and several business angels. The company intends to use the funds to expand its staff and drive the further development of the software.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/03/iatros-raises-e2m-seed-financing-round.html
UK Fintech Emma Secures $2.5 Million Through Latest Funding Round Led By Connect Ventures
Emma, a UK-based fintech startup, announced on Thursday it secured $2.5 million through its latest round of funding, which was led by Connect Ventures. As previously reported, Emma has created a banking app specifically for millennials (iOS and Android), which is described as a mobile-only solution that helps consumers avoid overdrafts, find and cancel subscriptions, track debt and save money. The company also claimed that its app may save customers up to £600 a year by solving these four problems.
Crypto Wallet Argent Secures $12 Million Through Series A Funding Round Led By Paradigm
Argent, a UK-based crypto wallet platform, announced on Monday it secured $12 million through its Series A funding round, which was led by Paradigm with participation from Index Ventures, Creandum, and firstminute.
Launched in 2018, Argent claims it built the first crypto wallet with the “simplicity and security” fo the best new bank apps and never holds users’ assets. The platform also noted that users may put their assets to work by earning up to 8% in interest with Maker and Compound.
Berlin FinTech FinCompare secures €12 mn in Series A+ funding
Berlin-based FinTech FinCompare has announced the extension and the completion of its Series A financing round. It secured €12 million in its Series A+ funding round, thus bringing the total funds raised to €22 million. The round was led by existing investors such as Speedinvest, ING Ventures and UNIQA Ventures. along with international financial investors, such as RBI Ventures of Raiffeisen Bank International AG, and other private investors.
Goodlord Raises £10M in Series B Funding
Goodlord, a London, UK – based property technology company which provides software and services for people to rent, raised £10m in Series B funding. Backers included Latitude Ventures, Finch Capital, and Oxx. In conjunction with the funding, Julian Rowe from Latitude Ventures, is joining the Goodlord board. The company intends to use the fund to invest in its engineering, product, and customer-facing teams.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/03/goodlord-raises-10m-in-series-b-funding.html
Finantix Acquires Fintech Firm InCube for Undisclosed Sum
Finantix, a financial market technology provider, announced on Tuesday its acquisition of InCube Group, a Swiss artificial intelligence (AI) and data science-based solution provider to wealth management and insurance companies. With the acquisition, Finantix will leverage InCube’s solution to boost its technology services to the wealth management, insurance, and banking industries. Further, it is aiming to broaden its market access with the AI-based solutions in the offering, specifically in the Swiss and global wealth management and insurance markets.
Frontline VC announces $80 million fund to help US B2B companies scale into Europe
European venture capital firm Frontline has announced a new $80 million fund, FrontlineX, for B2B tech companies. Based in London and Dublin, the firm typically invests in European seed-stage startups. With this fund, the firm will back US businesses looking to expand into Europe.
“We’ve benchmarked the best of B2B software and seen that, by the time a company goes public, 30 percent of its revenue should be coming from Europe. But even the biggest names in tech fail to get there because of avoidable mistakes when they land,” explained Stephen McIntyre, a partner of the firm co-leading the new fund with Brennan O’Donnell, who is based in San Francisco.
https://tech.eu/brief/frontline-vc-new-fund/
Join the global movement fuelling the future of money at #M2020EU this June in Amsterdam. Book your Early Bird ticket before Friday 6th March to save €1000. Get your pass here https://bit.ly/32F8Adp @money2020
Meet us at:
Money2020 Europe, Amsterdam, 16-18 Jun. https://europe.money2020.com/
Digital Insurance Agenda, Amsterdam, 23-25 Jun. https://next.digitalinsuranceagenda.com/dia-amsterdam-2020/want-to-attend/