AI Squared Secures $13.8 Million in Series A Funding

AI Squared Secures $13.8 Million in Series A Funding
  • AI integration platform AI Squared raised $13.8 million in Series A funding this week.
  • Participating in the round were ANSA Capital (Allan Jean-Baptiste), NEA (Greg Papadopoulos), and Roger W. Ferguson Jr., former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve System and CEO of TIAA.
  • AI Squared made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2023 in San Francisco, California.

AI integration platform provider AI Squared has raised $13.8 million in Series A funding. The Washington, D.C.-based startup, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring last year, said that the investment will help the company fulfill its goal of “fostering widespread AI adoption by embedding AI-generated data insights directly into mission-critical applications and everyday workflows,” wrote AI Squared Founder and CEO Benjamin Harvey in a blog post this week.

“As we embark on the next phase of our post-Series A journey,” Harvey added, “AI Squared remains committed to advancing seamless AI integration and real-time feedback capabilities through the development of reverse ETL and lean AI functionalities.”

Participating in the Series A were ANSA Capital (Allan Jean-Baptiste), NEA (Greg Papadopoulos), and Roger W. Ferguson Jr., former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve System and CEO of TIAA. The investment takes the company’s total equity capital to $19.8 million, according to Crunchbase.

Founded in 2019, AI Squared helps companies integrate AI functionality into their applications. The company’s integration platform enables the integration of AI and machine learning technology into any web-based application, shortening integration times from eight months to eight hours. AI Squared enables companies to build seamless connections between data sources and applications; give their business teams easily consumable, relevant, actionable insights; and create feedback loops between consumers and developers that enhance data quality.

In his statement on the company’s recent funding, Harvey underscored that third point about AI Square’s technology, emphasizing it as a “core differentiation” from other providers. “By incorporating real-time feedback mechanisms, like survey questions, directly within business application workflows, we create a feedback loop between line of business employees and data science teams,” Harvey explained. “This allows for prompt improvements to the performance and accuracy of AI models and how insights are delivered to the business.” The result, Harvey said, was a gain in “confidence in AI’s effectiveness within business operations and workflows.”

Learn more about the company and its founder. Read our interview with AI Squared’s Benjamin Harvey from August of last year.

Interested in demoing at FinovateSpring in San Francisco in May? We are happy to read applications from innovative companies with new solutions that are ready to show. Visit our FinovateSpring hub today to learn more.


Photo by Samuel Walker

More Than $113 Million Raised by Nine Alums in Q1 2024

More Than $113 Million Raised by Nine Alums in Q1 2024

Nine Finovate alums raised more than $113 million in Q1 of 2024. The relatively low fundraising results for the first three months of the year do reflect larger trends in fintech funding. But the fact that nearly half of the alums that raised funds in Q1 did not disclose the amounts raised tells us that the quarterly funding haul for Finovate alums was higher than the $113 million we have been able to confirm.

Previous quarterly comparisons

  • Q1 2023: $453 million raised by 13 alums
  • Q1 2022: $365 million raised by 11 alums
  • Q1 2021: $3.3 billion raised by 26 alums
  • Q1 2020: $1.3 billion raised by 14 alums

The biggest fundraising month of Q1 was likely January, which featured the $58 million investment secured by Digital Onboarding. Again, the high number of “amount undisclosed” investments makes comparison difficult.

Top Equity Investments from Q1 2024

  • Digital Onboarding: $58 million
  • Argyle: $30 million
  • Amplify Life Insurance: $16.3 million
  • Altro: $4 million

As noted above, Digital Onboarding pulled in the biggest investment of any Finovate alum in the first three months of the year. Also noteworthy was the $30 million raised by Argyle, a real-time income data platform that made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring in 2022.


Here is our detail alum funding report for Q1 2024.

January: More than $58 million raised by three alums

February: More than $21 million raised by three alums

March: More than $34 million raised by three alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the first quarter of 2024 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Matthias Groeneveld

Payroll Connectivity Provider Argyle Raises $30 Million in Series C Funding

Payroll Connectivity Provider Argyle Raises $30 Million in Series C Funding
  • Payroll connectivity provider Argyle raised $30 million in Series C funding this week.
  • The round was led by Rockefeller Asset Management’s Fintech Innovation Fund.
  • New York-based Argyle made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022.

Income and employment data provider Argyle secured $30 million in new funding in a Series C round led by Rockefeller Asset Management’s Fintech Innovation Fund. Bain Capital Ventures, SignalFire, and Checkr also participated in the round. The investment consists of both equity and debt and takes the company’s total capital raised to more than $100 million. The funding will help Argyle continue to adapt and expand its automated income and employment verification platform. No valuation information was provided in the funding announcement.

This week’s news comes in the wake of a year in which Argyle notched a number of significant accomplishments and milestones. In 2023, Argyle onboarded more than 90 new customers. The company also boosted its total customer count to more than 140 firms in verticals such as mortgage, personal lending, and background screening.

To date, Argyle has processed more than 1.6 million annual verifications. This includes direct-source income and employment verifications for 90% of the U.S. workforce. Last year, the company achieved a 3.6X growth in bookings, generated cost savings for up to 80% of customers, and built integrations with lending partners ICE and nCino. Argyle also became the first consumer-permissioned provider to integrate into Dark Matter’s Empower LOS.

“Our verticalized approach and direct-source model has provided accurate data and an enhanced consumer experience for our customers,” Argyle CEO and founder Shmulik Fishman said. “With this capital from our valued investors, we will continue to tailor our solutions to priority verticals while improving the verification experience for the next wave of prospective customers that can benefit from our services.”

In an extended “Letter From Our Founder & CEO”, Fishman articulated the journey his company has made and underscored Argyle’s commitment to what he referred to as the “human side of digital transformation.” Noting that even “novel technology” is “only half the equation,” Fishman added “widespread digital transformation only happens when people trust new technologies enough to change their behavior. And change is really hard – even when it’s absolutely essential.” Calling the current moment Argyle’s “enterprise-adoption era” Fishman wrote that now was the time to ensure that “people and process take center stage.”

Headquartered in New York and founded in 2018, Argyle made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022. At the conference, company co-founder and COO Billy Marsden showed how Argyle’s Link 4.0 design update enhanced account connectivity, and decreased drop-off rates for users of its real-time income data platform. Link 4.0 also upgrades the platform’s visual style to boost consistency across Argyle’s product line.

Interested in demoing at FinovateSpring in San Francisco in May? We are happy to read applications from innovative companies with new solutions that are ready to show. Visit our FinovateSpring hub today to learn more.


Photo by David Besh

Finovate Alums Raised More Than $307 Million in Q4; $1.2 Billion in 2023

Finovate Alums Raised More Than $307 Million in Q4; $1.2 Billion in 2023

Finovate alums raised more than $1.2 billion in equity funding in 2023. The total funding for the year reflects the continued slowdown in fintech funding that began in 2022.

Previous Annual Comparisons

In the fourth quarter of 2023, eleven Finovate alums raised more than $307 million in equity funding. Note, however, that this sum does not include the equity portion of the investment secured by SumUp, for example. The quarterly total also does not include the investment received by Icon Solutions, the amount of which was undisclosed.

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q4 2022: More than $380 million raised by 15 alums
  • Q4 2021: More than $1.2 billion raised by seven alums
  • Q4 2020: More than $472 million raised by 17 alums
  • Q4 2019: More than $876 million raised by 21 alums
  • Q4 2018: More than $800 million raised by 19 alums

Nevertheless, the fourth quarter alumni fundraising total approximates that of both last year’s Q4 and the final quarter of 2020.

Top Quarterly Equity Investments

  • Adlumin: $70 million
  • Paysend: $65 million
  • Scalable Capital: $64.7 million

Three investments in the fourth quarter of 2023 stood out among the others: Adlumin, Paysend, and Scalable Capital all announced fundraisings of more than $60 million in Q4. Also noteworthy was the $40 million raised by Stash in October.

Combined, the top three quarterly equity investments from our alums represent more than 65% of the total alum funding haul for Q4 2023.


Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q4 2023.

October 2023: $68 million raised by three alums

November 2023: $145 million raised by three alums

December 2023: More than $94 million raised by five alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the fourth quarter of 2023, and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Dom J

Eight Alums Raised More Than $293 Million in Q3 2023

Eight Alums Raised More Than $293 Million in Q3 2023

A few months ago we opined here on the Finovate blog that the funding woes that had plagued fintech in the first half of 2023 might abate in the second half.

If Q3 is any indication, then it will have to be the fourth quarter of the year when that happens.

Eight Finovate alums raised more than $293 million in Q3 of 2023. The number of alums raising funding was consistent with last year’s total. But the overall level of funding for Finovate alums was down from previous third quarters. In fact, the last time Q3 alum funding was less than $1 billion was in 2018, when 19 alums raised $400 million.

Admittedly, two of the eight alums to report funding in the third quarter of 2023 did not disclose funding amounts. This means that the total investment for Finovate alums in Q3 could be significantly higher than what is known today. And it was interesting to note how many fintechs that did secure investment over the summer months were headquartered in developing markets. But that aside, for markets in the U.S., the U.K., and Europe, in particular, the fintech funding drought continues to define the terrain.

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q3 2022: More than $1 billion raised by eight alums
  • Q3 2021: More than $1.1 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q3 2020: More than $1.2 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q3 2019: More than $1 billion raised by 21 alums

Top Equity Investments for Q3 2023

The top equity investment of the quarter among Finovate alums was clearly the $110 million raised by SpyCloud. The company, which won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2017, specializes in helping businesses fight account takeover fraud, as well as other types of cybercrime.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and founded in 2016, SpyCloud gives organizations visibility into exposed credentials actively traded on the dark web. In response, SpyCloud’s platform not only uncovers these stolen credentials, but also leads to the capture of 40 million exposed assets every week. The company’s Q3 investment takes its total equity funding to more than $168 million.

Also noteworthy in the third quarter were the investments secured by Tradeshift ($70 million), ThetaRay ($57 million), and Splitit ($50 million).

Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q3 2023.

July 2023: More than $4.5 million raised by three alums

August 2023: More than $232 million raised by four alums

September 2023: $57 million raised by one alum

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the third quarter of 2023 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Karolina Grabowska

Ten Alums Raised More Than $209 Million in Q2 2023

Ten Alums Raised More Than $209 Million in Q2 2023

Do any of these headlines sound familiar?

“Global fintech funding nearly halves to $23B in H1 2023”

“North American Startup Funding Fell Across All Stages in Q2”

“Most Active Investors Pare Dealmaking in First Half of 2023”

These are some of the recent headlines from sources such as Crunchbase News and S&P Global Market Intelligence. While there was some real enthusiasm around Generative AI as the summer began, the reality is that technology investors remain cautious in the face of inflationary fears, higher interest rates, and a number of high-profile blowups in some of the more speculative areas of technology. This challenge has been especially acute in fintech. Not only have concerns over COVID-era overinvestment and “malinvestment” been loud in this space, but also fintech has more direct exposure to some of the economic discontents mentioned above.

The retrenchment in fintech funding was in evidence during Q2 2023 for our Finovate alums, as well. Over the quarter, ten alums raised more than $209 million. This makes Q2 2023 one of the lowest quarters in terms of equity capital raised by our alums in many years. Note that two of the nine alums that reported receiving investment dollars in April, May, and June – Agent IQ and EverC – did not disclose the amounts of their fundings. Nevertheless, this quarter’s total is a clear reflection of the relative tepid investment climate across technology writ large.

Previous quarterly comparisons

  • Q2 2022: More than $984 million raised by eight alums
  • Q2 2021: More than $2.8 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q2 2020: More than $975 million raised by 15 alums
  • Q2 2019: More than $1.8 billion raised by 29 alums
  • Q2 2018: More than $1.5 billion raised by 26 alums

The biggest fundraising alum of the quarter was NYMBUS. The company enables financial institutions to digitally transform their operations through a variety of solutions including SmartCore, SmartPayments, and its standalone digital bank alternative, SmartLaunch. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, NYBUS made its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateFall 2019.

Top Equity Investments

  • NYMBUS: $70 million
  • PayNearMe: $45 million
  • BioCatch: $40 million

Other big alumni fundraisers in Q2 2023 were PayNearMe and BioCatch, which raised $45 million and $40 million, respectively. PayNearMe is a three-time Finovate Best of Show winner, making its Finovate debut back in 2010. The Santa Clara, California based fintech offers a cash payments platform that facilitates online purchases and billpay.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, BioCatch demoed its technology at FinovateFall in 2014. Since then, the behavioral biometrics innovator has grown into a major player in the advanced fraud protection industry. The firm continuously protects more than five billion sessions per month and serves more than 250 million users around the world. In 2022, BioCatch prevented more than $2 billion in fraud losses.


Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q2 2023.

April: More than $35 million raised by three alums

  • EverC: undisclosed – post
  • Stratyfy: $10 million – post
  • Tyfone: $25 million – post

May: More than $127 million raised by five alums

  • Agent IQ: undisclosed – post
  • BioCatch: $40 million – post
  • Cable: $11 million – post
  • Kognitos: $6.75 million – post
  • NYMBUS: $70 million – post

June: More than $47 million raised by two alums

  • PayNearMe: $45 million – post
  • StockRepublic: $2.81 million – post

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the second quarter of 2023 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Reynaldo #brigworkz Brigantty

Mitigram Raises $11 Million for its Global Trade Financing Platform

Mitigram Raises $11 Million for its Global Trade Financing Platform
  • Global trade financing platform Mitigram landed $11 million in funding.
  • The investment will bring Mitigram’s total funding to $38 million.
  • Mitigram will use the funding to scale its operations via software-as-a-service offerings.

Digital global trade financing platform Mitigram announced today it received $11 million in funding, boosting its total raised to $38 million.

The company will use the funds to scale its operations via software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings and add competitive advantage by scaling its network. “The lack of connectivity is trade finance’s biggest cost,” said Mitigram’s Interim CEO Malin Bäcklund. “Around 4 billion paper documents are manually generated, checked and transported in trade each year, which creates the perfect storm for high operating costs and a spiraling lack of control. At Mitigram, we are passionate about closing the gap that is estimated to cost the industry $4 trillion in total each year. This new funding round will allow us to continue doing exactly that.”

Mitigram was founded in 2014, creating a digital exchange in global trade financing. The company offers three main products:

  • MitiSquare, which helps companies assess risks, capacity, and pricing from partner banks in global trade financing.
  • MitiManager, which allows organizations to view, manage, and structure all trade financing data.
  • MitiGateway, which digitizes origination records and manages the end customer experience.

Among the company’s clients are Louis Dreyfus Company, Bridgestone, Vale, Ericsson, ArcelorMittal, Trafigura, Siemens Healthineers, and over 150 banks.

As part of today’s announcement Mitigram CEO Milena Torciano is stepping down, but will remain on the company’s board of directors. Bäcklund, who currently serves as CEO of Moor Holding, will act as interim CEO until a replacement is found.

“We founded Mitigram with the mission to open up a closed market, and to streamline and augment global trade and I am incredibly proud of the tremendous growth that we have achieved since I joined six years ago,” said Torciano. “Today, we are trusted by more than 300 multinational corporations, leading commodity traders and financial institutions, and have facilitated $100+ billion in flows currently across 185 markets. This investment is an excellent opportunity to further build on the strong foundations we have established, and to deliver best practice for digitalized trade finance.”


Photo by Mikhail Nilov

More Than $453 Million Raised by Thirteen Alums in Q1 2023

More Than $453 Million Raised by Thirteen Alums in Q1 2023

Thirteen Finovate alums raised more than $453 million in funding in the first quarter of 2023. Q1 of this year topped last year’s first quarter total but fell short of the massive amount of capital raised by a sizable number of Finovate alums in the first quarter of 2021.

Previous quarterly comparisons

  • Q1 2022: $365 million raised by 11 alums
  • Q1 2021: $3.3 billion raised by 26 alums
  • Q1 2020: $1.3 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q1 2019: $468 million raised by 20 alums

The biggest fundraising of the first three months of the year was the $250 million raised by long-time Finovate alum eToro. Also noteworthy was the $92 million secured by Zopa in February.

Top Equity Investments from Q1 2023

  • eToro: $250 million
  • Zopa: $92 million
  • SESAMm: $37 million
  • LeapXpert: $22 million
  • Hawk AI: $17 million
  • Stratyfy: $10 million
  • DirectID: $9.5 million
  • NYMBUS: $9 million
  • Connect Earth: $5.6 million
  • QuantConnect: $1.5 million

Our top equity investments for Q1 2023 reveal a major range in funding from eToro’s $250 million to the $1.5 million raised by QuantConnect. Given the number of alums receiving funding in the first quarter, it is no surprise that the top 10 equity investments in Q1 make up the vast majority of all alum funding for the quarter. Also worth noting was the fact that eToro’s $250 million represents more than 50% of the top 10 equity investment total.


Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q1 2023.

January: More than $18 million raised by three alums

February: More than $101 million raised by two alums

March: More than $333 million raised by eight alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the first quarter of 2023 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


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finway Raises $10 Million for its Business Financial Management Tool

finway Raises $10 Million for its Business Financial Management Tool
  • Business financial management (BFM) company finway received $10 million in Series A funding.
  • The investment, which was led by Capital 49, brings the Germany-based company’s total funds to $12.6 million.
  • finway’s BFM tools target the 80% of SMBs in the European Union that have not fully digitized their financial processes.

German fintech finway closed a $10 million (€9.2 million) Series A round this week. The funds bring the company’s total funding to $12.6 million since it was founded in 2019.

Leading today’s investment is early-stage investor Capital 49. New investor Force Over Mass also contributed, as well as existing investors btov Partners and 10x Group.

finway will use today’s funds to advance the development of its business financial management (BFM) platform. The company offers the 23 million SMBs in the European Union a BFM tool that replaces manual tasks with digital workflows. Eighty percent of these SMBs have not digitized their financial processes. finway’s platform– which offers invoicing, accounting, spend, and travel expense management tools all in a single place– seeks to change that.

“We are thrilled by the support of ambitious, successful investors who see the potential of fintech in B2B,” said finway Co-founder and Co-CEO Jennifer Dussileck. “The need for efficient and automated spend management has never been greater, as cost control becomes more of a priority due to ongoing economic challenges. This is the time for finway to continue growing and proceed with our vision of productive, smooth, and hassle-free finance processes in every SMB.”

Over the past five years, the number of SaaS-based BFM tools on the market has grown, and the tools themselves have developed rapidly. The advent of technologies such as cloud computing and machine learning offer businesses access to a wide range of tools to help them manage their finances more effectively. In addition to providing businesses with greater visibility into their finances, these tools also offer real-time insights, allowing organizations to make data-driven decisions quickly. Many, including Brex and Ramp, go a step further by offering businesses corporate credit cards and business bank accounts.

“It’s no secret that technology is reshaping the future of money and banking, and finway is rising to the challenge by building a solution that automates financial processes and increases efficiency for SMBs,” said Airwallex and Capital 49 Co-founder Jack Zhang. “We are so excited to be leading the investment round, and strengthen the ecosystem that is aligned with our vision to reshape the future of financial services for modern businesses.”


Photo by Ketut Subiyanto

Finovate Alums Raised More Than $380 Million in Q4; $2.7 Billion in 2022

Finovate Alums Raised More Than $380 Million in Q4; $2.7 Billion in 2022

Finovate alums raised more than $2.7 billion in equity funding in 2022. The sum makes the $8.4 billion raised in 2021 seem all the more an outlier as our alumni funding levels return to those common in 2020 and before.

Previous Annual Comparisons

The fourth quarter of 2022 saw Finovate alums secure more than $380 million in funding. This amount recalls the relatively modest fundraising haul from Q4 2020, with a comparable number of alums raising capital.

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q4 2021: More than $1.2 billion raised by seven alums
  • Q4 2020: More than $472 million raised by 17 alums
  • Q4 2019: More than $876 million raised by 21 alums
  • Q4 2018: More than $800 million raised by 19 alums
  • Q4 2017: More than $730 million raised by 23 alums

Outsystems’ $228.4 million fundraising was easily the quarter’s standout investment. Also raising sizable amounts in the final three months of 2022 were Moneyhub, which raised more than $61 million over the course of the quarter, and Banyan, which secured $28 million in funding.

Top Quarterly Equity Investments

  • Outsystems: $228.4 million
  • Moneyhub: $61.6 million
  • Banyan: $28 million
  • Cinchy: $14.5 million
  • Buckzy: $14.5 million

Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q4 2022.

October 2022: More than $316 million raised by eight alums

November 2022: $13 million raised by two alums

December 2022: More than $52 million raised by five alums


If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the fourth quarter of 2022, and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Pixabay

Eight Alums Raise More Than $1 Billion in Q3 of 2022

Eight Alums Raise More Than $1 Billion in Q3 of 2022

2022 marks the fourth year in a row in which Finovate alums have raised $1 billion or more in equity funding in the third quarter. The number of alums reporting investments in Q3 this year was lower than in previous years, and much of the quarter’s lofty fundraising total comes from a single, sizable investment of $800 million in Klarna.

Also continuing a trend we’ve seen for the past few years is the relatively strong performance of August compared to other months in the third quarter. While more capital was invested our alums in July (again, credit to Klarna), August featured more alums receiving funding than any other month in Q3 this year.

Previous Quarterly Comparisons

  • Q3 2021: More than $1.1 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q3 2020: More than $1.2 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q3 2019: More than $1 billion raised by 21 alums
  • Q3 2018: More than $400 million raised by 19 alums
  • Q3 2017: More than $1 billion raised by 31 alums

Top Equity Investments for Q3 2022

The top equity investment of the quarter for Finovate alums this year was Klarna’s $800 million fundraising in July. In fact, at nearly 80% of the quarter’s total alum funding haul, Klarna’s investment was significantly larger than combined amount of the other six known alum investments in Q3.

While impressive in this context, the capital infusion did come with a reduction in Klarna’s valuation. According to Reuters, the Swedish e-commerce and payments innovator was valued at $6.7 billion in its July transaction, an 85% drop from its 2021 valuation of $46 billion.

Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q3 2022.

July 2022: $839 million raised by three alums

August 2022: More than $118 million raised by four alums

September 2022: $52 million raised by one alum

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the third quarter of 2022 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Pixabay

Eight Alums Raised More Than $984 Million in Q2 2022

Eight Alums Raised More Than $984 Million in Q2 2022

We may have missed an alum or two. But with the second quarter of 2022 in the books, here’s a look at our Finovate alumni funding for April, May, and June of this year.

As of our current count, eight Finovate alums have raised more than $984 million in Q2 of 2022. Of the eight alums that received funding in the quarter just ended, two – Allied Payment Network and Chekk – did not disclose the total amount of their investments.

Two of the quarter’s biggest investments were received in June, giving that month the lion’s share of capital raised by Finovate alums in the second quarter of the year.

Previous quarterly comparisons

  • Q2 2021: More than $2.8 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q2 2020: More than $975 million raised by 15 alums
  • Q2 2019: More than $1.8 billion raised by 29 alums
  • Q2 2018: More than $1.5 billion raised by 25 alums
  • Q2 2017: More than $726 million raised by 25 alums

As we noted last year around this time, it is not unusual for second quarters to produce more moderate funding numbers compared to other quarters. And, as with last year, April proved to be an especially “cruel” month for fintech funding – at least as measured by our alums – with only FinovateEurope alum and relative newcomer Crowdz reporting funding that month.

That said, this year’s Q2 haul surpassed that of two of the previous five second quarters – and with significantly fewer alums participating.

Top Equity Investments

  • SumUp: $624 million
  • ThoughtMachine: $160 million
  • Backbase: $122 million

The top equity investment for the quarter was far and away the $624 million raised by London-based e-commerce innovator SumUp. In fact, all three of the top equity investments in Q2 of 2022 were greater than the largest investment in the previous quarter. SumUp’s massive capital infusion rivals all Finovate alum investments since NuBank raised $750 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Backbase’s fundraising of $122 million was notable because it was the first time the company had sought outside capital in its nearly 20 years of existence.


Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q2 2022.

April: $10 million raised by one alum

May: More than $178 million raised by three alums

June: More than $796 million raised by four alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the second quarter of 2022 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Pixabay