Q&As with Banxware and IDA Ireland; European FinTech deals this week include Moonfare and ArK Kapital

European FinTech deals this week include Moonfare and ArK Kapital

We feature Q&As with Miriam Wohlfarth of Banxware and Daragh Hanratty of IDA Ireland

If you are an early stage startup in Europe building the next big thing in FinTech, reach out to us: Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar.

7 Questions – Interview video with Miriam Wohlfarth of Banxware

Banxware’s Embedded Financial Service platform bridges the gap between traditional banks and digital platforms, marketplaces or payment providers. Interviewed by FinTech Forum Co Founder Frank Schwab.

http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-interview-video-with-miriam-wohlfarth-of-banxware/

7 Questions with Daragh Hanratty of IDA Ireland

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.

I am VP for financial Services with IDA Ireland, the state agency responsible for FDI into Ireland. I am based in Frankfurt, have a keen interest in fitness and travel. During lockdown I took up running. I am currently working to improve my times for 5km and 10km park runs

http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-daragh-hanratty-of-ida-ireland/

Meet Moonfare, the German fintech which raised $35 million to lower entry barrier for private investors

With the democratisation of private markets and stock market volatility, high net worth individuals, retail investors and their advisors are looking for alternative investments to benefit from high returns. However, retail access to private equity funds for individuals remain low. Addressing the gap, German fintech company Moonfare has raised a $35 million funding from London-based private equity firm Vitruvian Partners, which has earlier invested in Just Eat , Farfetch, Transferwise and Trustpilot.

The funding will come in handy as the startup is gearing up to fuel its global expansion. The company entered the U.S. market this January after it raised a massive $125 million funding in November last year.

Equipped with fast and easy-to-use digital platform, the startup offers retail investors access to select, top-tier private market funds and venture capital funds that were previously only available for institutions.

https://tech.eu/2022/03/29/meet-moonfare-the-german-fintech-which-raised-35-million-to-lower-entry-barrier-for-private-investors

Stockholm-based ArK Kapital raises €165 million to help startups grow faster and smarter

With the aim to fuel startup growth in a way that is faster and smarter, Swedish fintech company ArK Kapital has today announced it has secured a massive €165 million in seed funding. The funding was led by Local Globe, with participation from Creandum and angel investors including Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen, iZettle founder Jacob de Geer, and EQT Ventures founding partner Hjalmar Winbladh.

Not only is this funding an impressive boost for the startup, which was only launched in November 2021, but also represents a big lift for the startup ecosystem as a whole, given the firm’s business proposition.

Ark Kapital fuses banking and artificial intelligence, operating as a data-driven precision finance company that enables technology companies to grow faster and smarter through long-term loans – maintaining control for founders and reducing risk for investors.

CEO and co-founder Oliver Hildebrandt, explained: “Any founder will tell you how difficult fundraising can be: retelling your story and hoping to convince the other side really adds up and results in precious time spent away from a business. We believe that entrepreneurs should retain more ownership of their companies and more transparency is needed throughout the fundraising process. After all, no matter how small, any investor equates to a long-term relationship. This is where the power of an AI-driven approach becomes clear: companies can benefit from tailored financing options based on their potential, backed up by data. As an entrepreneur-first company, we want to offer the best network for founders”.

Stockholm-based ArK Kapital raises €165 million to help startups grow faster and smarter

Eight Roads Launches US$350M China Focused Technology Fund

Eight Roads, a global venture capital firm backed by Fidelity, launched its latest dedicated technology fund for China.

Eight Roads China Technology Fund V, has US$350m of capital to deepen the firm’s focus on core technology areas accompanied by a deep thematic investment approach.

Since its first investment in China in the 1990s, Eight Roads has evolved with the development of the technology industry in the country and remains committed to supporting local entrepreneurs to develop the next generation of global technology companies with its deep domain expertise and global network.

Led by Jarlon Tsang, Managing Partner and Head of Eight Roads Ventures China, and Ted Chua, Senior Partner, Eight Roads Ventures China has backed over 130 companies in the country’s healthcare and technology sectors such as Alibaba, Adagene, Asia Info, BangEr, Eyebright, FenBeiTong, Innovent, Innovusion, Kyligence, Medbanks, MediTrust, PingPong, Pony.ai, WuXi Apptec, etc.

Globally, the Eight Roads platform has backed more than 300 companies including AppsFlyer, Cazoo, Icertis, Made.com, Neo4j, Paidy, Shadowfax, and Spendesk, to name a few. The firm is managing over $8bn of assets across offices in China, India, Japan, Europe and the US.

Eight Roads Launches US$350M China Focused Technology Fund

Berlin-based AlphaQ Venture Capital launches $1 billion ‘fund of funds’

Berlin-based AlphaQ Venture Capital (AQVC) has launched a venture capital fund of funds to strengthen the VC ecosystem by backing top-performing venture capital funds worldwide. Dubbed the ‘VC for VCs’, AQVC will invest in top performing venture capital funds globally.

The initial target fund volume is €500 million, which will be mainly invested in Europe, with exposure to the startup nation Israel and the homeland of venture capital, the U.S. The capital will be allocated to 50-60 funds which in turn would finance more than 1,200 early and growth-stage startups.

AQVC is screening over 2,000 VC funds per year for investment and has secured allocations or already invested in 50 top-tier VC funds like Northzone, Partech, Speedinvest, Headline, Nucleus Capital, White Star Capital and many others.

https://tech.eu/2022/03/28/berlin-based-alphaq-venture-capital-launches-1-billion-fund/

FTV Capital Raises Seventh Growth Equity Fund, at $2.3 Billion

FTV Capital, a growth equity investment firm, closed its seventh vehicle, FTV VII, at $2.3 billion.

The fund saw substantial renewed and increased commitments from existing investors, with nearly 100 percent of limited partners in its previous fund committing to FTV VII, as well as commitments from new limited partners. These investors are diversified by size, type and geography across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The firm will continue its 24-year track record of investing in innovative, high-growth companies across the enterprise technology, financial services and payments landscapes. This new fund provides FTV flexibility to make control and significant minority equity investments, often as the first institutional investor, generally ranging from $30 to $200 million that align with the objectives of company management teams to accelerate growth and expansion.