Author: Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz)

Worldpay Makes Strategic Contribution to Featurespace’s $21.9 Million Funding Round

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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Behavioral analytics company Featurespace has raised $21.9 million today. The round was led by Highland Europe and supported by Worldpay, Touchstone Innovations, Invoke Capital, and existing investors. Today’s investment brings the company’s total funding to $38.3 million.

Global payments company Worldpay will play a strategic role in the investment as well, forming a technology partnership with UK-based Featurespace. According to the agreement, Featurespace will leverage behavioral analytics to power risk management and fraud prevention services for Worldpay’s merchant clients. Atlanta-based company Worldpay will also use Featurespace’s technology to enhance its own capabilities in the development of Intelligent Payment Services.

Mark Kimber, Chief Information Officer at Worldpay, said that the company is “confident that this partnership will deliver superior outcomes for our customers, by preventing more fraudulent transactions whilst reducing the number of genuine transactions that are declined.” Kimber added, “We’ve been incredibly impressed by the evolution of this business and believe it has the potential to grow significantly. With our investment in the company, we are looking forward to supporting the Featurespace team as they grow their business and capabilities.”

At FinovateFall 2016, Featurespace demonstrated its ARIC Fraud Manager that understands the real-time behavior of each customer, then uses machine learning to prevent fraud by pinpointing anomalous behavior. The company’s clients — including Vocalink/Zapp, William Hill, and TSYS — have deployed products and services in more than 180 countries. In August, Featurespace was selected by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to power the organization’s fraud prevention solution. Earlier that month, the company teamed up with PwC to offer the firm’s clients a solution for combating financial crime risk.

Founded in 1989, Worldpay presented at FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2016 about the payment journey. The company offers payment products and services to a client base of 400,000. Worldpay’s technology can process payments from 146 countries and 126 currencies, enabling customers to accept more than 300 different payment types. Earlier this summer, Worldpay agreed to merge with U.S. credit card processor Vantiv in a $10 billion deal.

Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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On Finovate.com

  • More than $1 billion raised by 31 Finovate alums in Q3 2017.
  • Worldpay Makes Strategic Contribution to Featurespace’s $21.9 Million Funding Round.
  • HooYu to Provide ID Confirmation for UK’s Cars-as-a-Service easyCar Club.

Around the web

  • Actiance helps FinServ companies meet toughest MiFID II compliance challenges.
  • Finews.Asia features Finantix’s AI solution for wealth management.
  • Gemalto and Ledger join forces to provide security infrastructure for cryptocurrency based activities.
  • The Charlotte Observer names Jack Henry & Associates to Top Workplaces list for third consecutive year.
  • Diebold Nixdorf expands managed services portfolio with new offerings.
  • Kasasa now 5th largest banking branch network

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Truphone Raises $339 Million to Fuel Global Expansion

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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What would you do with $339 million? London-based mobile operator Truphone gets to answer that question today, as the company closes its $339 million (£255 million) private equity round. This brings Truphone’s total funding to more than $430 million.

The company will use the funds to retire its debt, help it “disrupt the trillion-dollar mobile industry and power the world’s connected devices,” and fuel its global expansion. Aside from its London headquarters, Truphone currently has offices in Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and in three cities across the U.S. in New York, North Carolina, and Ohio.

Truphone CEO Ralph Steffens said that the funding will empower the company to “offer highly differentiated Enterprise products and are the enabler of choice for disruptive IoT and eSIM solutions.” Steffens adds, “It is an important step in achieving our long-term goal to power billions of connected devices around the world.”

Founded in 2006, Truphone leverages eSims (software-based SIMs) to enable mobile customers to use their voice and data allowances across 40 countries without incurring roaming charges. In addition to SIM-based data plans, Truphone also offers mobile plans for businesses and a mobile recording solution, which it showcased at FinovateEurope 2014. Truphone Mobile Recording enables businesses and banks to record, encrypt, and store mobile communications securely and without disrupting the user experience.

The company has 350 employees across 10 countries. In July, Truphone formed a strategic partnership with Apple to allow iPad users to stay connected across 50 countries. Earlier this fall, the company earned its spot on the Inc. 5000 Europe list, which ranks private companies based on three-year revenue growth.

OurCrowd Opens Office in Spain, Lays Down Roots with Strategic Partnership

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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Equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has furthered its global expansion by opening an office in Spain this week. The company’s founder and CEO Jon Medved has identified Spain and the Iberian region as one of OurCrowd’s “priority markets,” considering Madrid is in the “heart of Europe” and a “gateway into South America.”

The Jerusalem-based company has established a new office in Madrid’s financial district. With this expansion, OurCrowd now has offices in six countries– Israel, the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Singapore; and has plans in place for an office expansion to a seventh– the U.K.

David Hatchwell, a leader of the Jewish community in Spain, will be the Chairman of OurCrowd Iberia— the company’s new Madrid office. “OurCrowd presents the Spanish market with a significant opportunity to taste what is happening in one of the most advanced markets in the world of tech: Israel, as well as offer other global startup investment opportunities,” Hatchwell said. “OurCrowd Spain will operate with strong local partners active in building significant companies, and as we consolidate, we will invest in Spanish tech companies seeking to bring additional leaders from the local ecosystem onto the OurCrowd platform.”

As a part of the recent expansion, OurCrowd has formed a strategic partnership with Cardumen Capital, a Spanish/Israel venture fund focused on “Deep Technologies.” The aim of the partnership is to offer Spanish investors “the opportunity to focus on investing in Israeli companies, building ties between Israeli and Spanish technologies.”

Cardumen’s cofounder and managing general partner, Gonzalo Martinez de Azagra said, “Together with OurCrowd, we are building a global community with an experienced team led by leading venture capitalists.” He added, “Our bilateral fund will invest in pure high tech companies, as we did at Samsung Ventures, and give access to institutional and corporate investors to these unique opportunities.”

OurCrowd’s Shai Ben-Tovim, Chief Product Officer, and Oshrat Kfir, VP of Engineering showcase at FinovateSpring 2016

Founded in 2013, the OurCrowd platform has more than 20,000 members from 112 countries. In aggregate, investors have funded more than $450 million into 120 portfolio companies and funds. At FinovateSpring 2016, the company’s Shai Ben-Tovim, Chief Product Officer, and Oshrat Kfir, VP of Engineering, debuted the OurCrowd mobile app. In June, the company partnered with National Bank of Australia (NAB) to provide NAB clients with direct access to OurCrowd startup investments. Last December, we named the company in our roundup of top direct-to-consumer wealth tech plays.

Luxoft Acquires UNAFORTIS to Broaden Client Base within Financial Services

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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Software development services company Luxoft has bolstered its skillset recently. The Switzerland-based firm announced last week it acquired fellow Swiss company UNAFORTIS, a wealth management consultancy.

UNAFORTIS is a leading implementation provider of Avaloq, a popular software package that offers fully integrated banking software for the back, middle, and front office. This addition is expected to deepen Luxoft’s proficiency in standardized software as well as broaden the client base for the company’s financial services arm, Excelian. Luxoft aims to add clients within the wealth management, private, and universal banking sectors across the globe.

In fact, the company plans to build a team of 150 to 200 engineers to better combine its existing Excelian product, as well as recently-acquired derivIT, into its core capabilities offered across the globe. “We are looking forward to UNAFORTIS joining our growing Luxoft team. It is a strategically important acquisition, helping us diversify financial services business outside of our core investment banking and capital markets presence,” said Dmitry Loschinin, President and CEO of Luxoft. “Its client base complements our own, creating mid-term cross-selling opportunities that can be scaled significantly through our delivery network,” he said. “This will add another valuable premium services layer to our core application development and maintenance offering.”

Founded in 2000, Luxoft is a publicly-traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:LXFT). Last month, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals recognized the company as a “world leading” IT service provider for the sixth year in a row and in August, Luxoft expanded its geographical presence by opening a distribution office in Russia and expanding its offices in Germany. At FinovateFall 2014, the company debuted Horizon, a visualization framework.

Blooom Surpasses $1 Billion in Assets Under Management

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Wealth tech company Blooom announced this week that it has surpassed the $1 billion assets under management milestone.

The Kansas-based company manages employer-sponsored 401(k) and 403bs for “thousands of clients” across the U.S. This comes just 16 months after the company announced it surpassed the $300 million assets under management milestone.

In a blog post, Blooom’s CEO Chris Costello made a point to express the speed at which the company arrived at this milestone. “We also take pride that this Kansas-based company reached the milestone faster than both Betterment or Weathfront – while doing so on a fraction of the capital,” Costello said. He added that he uses these competitors’ achievements to benchmark the company’s own.

Chris Costello, along with the company’s CTO and co-founderRandy AufDerHeide, demoed Blooom at FinovateFall 2014. The company differentiates itself by sticking to its three principles: no more jargon; transparent and fair pricing; and stability and values. The company has raised a total of $13.2 million in funding and was recently featured as one of 10 Kansas City startups to watch in 2017.

Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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On Finovate.com

  • Blooom Surpasses $1 Billion in Assets Under Management.

Around the web

  • Yelp Partners with TrueAccord to Deliver Digital Collections and Streamline Data Loop for Customer Engagement.
  • Lending Club Closes Second Self-Sponsored Securitization to Further Expand Investor Access.
  • Finovera and Payveris partner to launch Payveris BillManager.
  • Signifyd Guarantees Fraud Protection for Magento Commerce Merchants.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Vera to Provide Data Security Services for GE

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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Data security specialist Vera announced a massive new client today. The California-based company will offer its data security services to help General Electric (GE) protect product designs, intellectual property, and proprietary data.

Specifically, Vera is responsible for helping GE automatically secure intellectual property and control how third parties use and access sensitive documents. Vera will also use its frictionless, scalable experience to help GE protect confidential data and email, prevent unwanted sharing, and dynamically revoke access to content when necessary.

Nasrin Rezai, VP and global CIO and product security officer at GE, described the company’s data as “critical” to its competitive advantage. Rezai explained, “When product designs and specifications are shared without continuous protection as part of our supply chain collaboration and technical processes, they’re susceptible to theft or illegitimate use in today’s digital economy. Vera addresses this problem because we know even when shared externally, these files are protected at the source.”

Ajay Arora, CEO and co-founder of Vera said it is an “honor” to help GE protect its intellectual property. Arora continued, “GE continues to be one of the most respected companies in the world making it an unbelievable privilege to win the support of one of the bedrocks of industry of the last two centuries. With GE fully embracing a data-centric approach to cybersecurity, we’ve entered a new and exciting era where the old paradigm of perimeter-based security is no longer the unquestioned norm.”

Vera’s CEO & Co-Founder, Ajay Arora and Sr. Director of Product Marketing,Grant Shirk demoing at FinovateSpring 2016

Founded in 2014, Vera showcased its security solution at FinovateSpring 2016. Since that time, the company has unveiled Vera for Mail, received $15 million in funding, and most recently received the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Award for Enterprise Encryption Solution of the Year. The company has raised a total of $50 million.

Stockpile Raises $30 Million to Boost Millennial Stock Ownership

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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Millennial-focused brokerage firm Stockpile has pulled in $30 million this week in a Series B funding round led by Fidelity. Mayfield, Arbor Ventures, Hanna Ventures, Wang Ventures, and others also participated.

This investment boosts the California-based company’s total raised to $45 million. Avi Lele, Stockpile’s founder and CEO said the company will use the funds to “bring stock investing to more millennial customers and expand its unique features.”

David Milstein of Eight Roads, who is joining Stockpile’s board as a part of the investment said, “Stockpile has had tremendous success in attracting the next generation of investors.” He adds, “Their innovative approach takes the mystery out of stock investing and opens up access to all. They have put the stock market on a gift card.”

Stockpile launched in 2015 and sells its gift cards directly to consumers online and on store shelves via a partnership with Blackhawk Network. The company has also partnered with a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Verizon and FIS, who offer Stockpile gift cards as employee and/or customer incentives.

“We’re on a mission to make it simple for everyone – especially young, first-time investors – to save and invest for their future,” said Lele. “Fractional shares make market investing fun, easy, and personal. Even someone with only a few dollars can buy a piece of a favorite brand like Amazon or Alphabet, which are currently trading close to $1000 a share.”

Earlier this year Stockpile made a move to boost its client base with former Loyal3 customers and in 2016 the company acquired SparkGift, transferring SparkGift’s customer base to its own brokerage platform for free. Founded in 2010, by Avi Lele and Sanj Kulkarni, Stockpile launched at FinovateSpring 2014 in a demo that won Best of Show.

Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on

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On Finovate.com

  • Stockpile Raises $30 Million to Boost Millennial Stock Ownership.
  • Vera to Provide Data Security Services for GE

Around the web

  • Meniga expands global footprint with new office opening in Poland
  • Mediterranean Bank Goes Live With Infosys Finacle Lending Solution
  • Revolut expands services with cell phone insurance in the U.K.
  • Entrust Datacard joins the Industrial Internet Consortium
  • NYMBUS Introduces Next-Generation Digital Platform For Internet And Mobile Banking
  • CardFlight partners with Dynamics Payments to help businesses affected by Hurricane Maria by waiving monthly and setup fees for SwipeSimple.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.