Funding

Investing App Stash Raises $146 Million

Investing App Stash Raises $146 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Stash
  • Investing app Stash has raised $146 million in Series H funding. The oversubscribed round was led by Goodwater Capital.
  • Stash will use the funds to drive subscriber growth, accelerate product innovation, and enhance the firm’s AI capabilities.
  • Founded in 2015, New York-based Stash made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2017.

Investing platform Stash secured $146 million in Series H funding. The oversubscribed round was led by Goodwater Capital and featured participation from existing investors Union Square Ventures, StepStone Group, Serengeti, and the University of Illinois Foundation. Funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc, were also involved in the round.

The investment will help the New York-based fintech bring its financial guidance to a broader range of customers and boost the firm’s investment in AI to enhance its advisory capabilities.

“This new funding is a resounding vote of confidence in Stash’s vision for the future of personal finance,” Stash Co-Founder and Co-CEO Ed Robinson said. “For a decade, Stash has helped millions take control of their financial futures. Now, we’re doubling down—transforming how people save, invest, and build long-term wealth with AI-powered intelligence at the core. We’re just getting started.”

The centerpiece of Stash’s growth strategy is Money Coach AI, the company’s advanced financial guidance platform. Money Coach AI converts investing strategies into real-time, personalized recommendations for investors. Stash reports that the offering already has 2.2 million users who have put Money Coach AI to work helping select their first investments, generating personalized diversification suggestions, and more. Further, Stash notes that one in four Money Coach AI customers have taken proactive steps—making an investment, depositing funds, diversifying, or initiating Auto-Stash automatic payments—within 10 minutes of interaction with the platform.

“For too long, financial advice has been out of reach for everyday people. Stash’s mission has always been to change that,” Co-Founder and Co-CEO Brandon Krieg said. “Now, by leveraging the power of AI, Stash is helping people take control of their money, understand their options, build real wealth, and secure their financial future, no matter where they’re starting from.”

Celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year, Stash made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2017. At the conference, the company unveiled its low-fee, self-directed Roth IRA accounts as part of its Stash Retire offering. Today, Stash has 1.3 million paying subscribers and $4.3 billion in assets under management. The company’s funding announcement follows the launch of its Learn & Earn initiative, which offers users short, actionable financial lessons combined with stock rewards and personalized next-step guidance. Stash also reported recently that the platform has added the AIS ETF from Jon McNeill and Adam Patti VistaShares. The exchange-traded fund provides exposure to 80 public stocks that reflect the entire AI supply chain, from chip manufacturers and data centers to storage and high-voltage electrical equipment providers.

“For our community of Stashers this means participating in the AI revolution the Stash way—regularly investing small amounts into a diversified portfolio for long-term growth,” Krieg noted in a LinkedIn post last month. “Tech advances should create opportunities for all of us, not just the privileged few. The AIS ETF is one other way we’re making that happen, letting our community build wealth by being part of the AI supercycle.”

Photo by Yashowardhan Singh on Unsplash

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Trust & Will Raised $4.5 Million from Credit Union Collective Curql

Trust & Will Raised $4.5 Million from Credit Union Collective Curql
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Credit Unions, Funding, Trust & Will
  • Digital estate planning company Trust & Will raised $4.5 in funding from credit union collective Curql.
  • The investment takes the company’s Series C round total to $32 million.
  • San Diego, California-based Trust & Will won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023 in New York.

Digital estate planning innovator Trust & Will secured an investment of $4.5 million from collaborative credit union ecosystem, Curql. The funding adds to the company’s Series C funding round, announced last month, bringing the total raised to $32 million.

“This partnership with Curql is incredibly meaningful, not just strategically, but personally,” Trust & Will CEO and Founder Cody Barbo said. “Curql represents a network of mission-driven credit unions committed to innovation, member service, and values that deeply align with ours. From our first credit union partnership in 2018 to today, we’ve seen the power of integrating estate planning into holistic financial wellness. This investment validates the work we’ve done and accelerates our ability to scale solutions that directly benefit millions of credit union members.”

Trust & Will will use the capital to expand estate planning access. Since inception in 2017, Trust & Will has helped more than one million Americans begin legacy planning. The San Diego, California-based company offers secure, attorney-approved online solutions to empower users to build wills, trusts, healthcare directives, and other critical estate planning documents—all in compliance with state-specific regulations. Trust & Will’s platform supports more than 17,000 financial advisors, as well as 150+ enterprise partners and financial institutions.

The company will also leverage the funds to launch a credit union service organization or CUSO that is designed to serve credit union members nationwide. Trust & Will has been a friend to the credit union industry from the beginning, announcing its first credit union partnership in 2018. Today, the company counts more than 200 credit unions among its partners.

“Forming a CUSO is a natural next step,” Barbo explained. “Over the past several years, we’ve built trust and traction with more than 200 credit union partners. Establishing a CUSO allows us to deepen those relationships, tailor our offerings, and collaborate in a structure credit unions are familiar and comfortable with. This isn’t just about scalability, it’s about alignment. A CUSO enables shared investment, shared values, and shared outcomes.”

Curql is a collaborative ecosystem consisting of more than 130 credit unions who jointly invest in fintechs with a goal of bringing innovative new technologies and solutions to credit union members. Launched in 2020, Curql includes former founders, operators, and leaders from both the fintech and investment worlds. The collective’s flagship—Curql Fund I—invests in firms that develop financial services technology that “revolutionizes and innovates” the way people deal with their finances.

Nick Evens, President and CEO of Curql, underscored Trust & Will’s innovation, calling the firm “the rare fintech that’s both mission-aligned and market proven.” He added:

“Estate planning is one of the most overlooked components of financial wellness, yet it touches everyone. What impressed us was not just their growth or technology, but their understanding of the credit union ethos. They’re not just selling a service; they’re providing peace of mind, generational planning, and value that strengthens the member relationship. That’s the kind of value that makes a difference.”

Trust & Will’s funding announcement and CUSO launch come at a pivotal time for credit unions. These membership-based financial institutions continue to grow—topping 143 million total members as of the end of 2024—but from technological change to policy uncertainty, credit unions are facing new challenges to attract new members and better engage current members.

“Credit unions are navigating a lot: rapid digital transformation, increasing member expectations, and pressure to stay competitive while remaining values-driven,” Evens said. “At Curql, our role is to be the bridge; to identify, invest in, and help scale fintech solutions that address those challenges. Whether it’s digital estate planning, cybersecurity, or fraud prevention, our job is to help credit unions deliver the tools their members want today and tomorrow, without compromising who they are—doing it with the speed and relevance of today’s market demands.”

For more from Evens on the state of credit unions today, check out his recent podcast interview with Finovate VP and podcast host, Greg Palmer.

Trust & Will won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2023 in New York. At the conference, the company showed how its platform provides easy-to-use solutions to help individuals create their estate plans, as well as access affordable, online probate services. More recently, Trust & Will introduced Delegate Access for Trust & Will Advisors. This enhancement will enable advisors to grant trusted assistants the ability to manage tasks on the advisor’s behalf. Delegate Access promotes seamless collaboration, improves client communications, and helps advisors save time. Also this month, Trust & Will announced that they have been selected to join Moderne Ventures’ 2025 Passport Class. A strategic venture capital and growth equity firm, Moderne Ventures offers a six-month industry immersion program—the Moderne Passport Program—that provides “education, exposure, insight, and relationships to drive customer growth.” Trust & Will was one of six companies selected for this year’s cohort.

“2025 is a big year for us,” Barbo said. “With this new capital, we’re focused on expanding our enterprise offering, continuing to grow our partner network, and investing in the tools that make estate planning even more intuitive and accessible for consumers and advisors alike. Expect to see deeper integrations with financial institutions, more personalization for users, and continued leadership in bringing trust, transparency, and simplicity to an area of finance that has long been overlooked.”

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

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Thunes Raises $150 Million for US Expansion

Thunes Raises $150 Million for US Expansion
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding, TransferTo
  • Thunes raised $150 million in Series D funding from Apis Partners and Vitruvian Partners.
  • The funds more than double its previous 2023 round.
  • Thunes plans to use the funding to fuel US growth, drive AI innovation, and expand interoperability with the digital asset ecosystem, positioning itself against competitors like Wise and Airwallex.

Cross-border payments company Thunes has raised $150 million in Series D funding. The investment comes from private equity firms Apis Partners and Vitruvian Partners.

The new funding is not only Thunes’ largest round to date, but it is also more than double the $72 million the company landed in 2023. The company will use today’s funds to fuel its US expansion. Thunes has obtained licenses in all 50 US states, subject to regulatory approval. Establishing a strong footprint in the US will open up new opportunities to serve fintechs, e-commerce platforms, and financial institutions seeking faster global transaction capabilities.

“Thunes’ latest funding round is a clear validation of our strategy and our commitment to sustainable growth,” said Thunes CEO Floris de Kort. “Our performance, marked by a revenue run-rate of $150 million and positive EBITDA, demonstrates our ability to balance rapid expansion with financial prudence, even in a tumultuous market. This new capital enables us to extend our Direct Global Network, including in the United States, drive technological innovation, from Artificial Intelligence to digital asset ecosystem interoperability, and deliver superior value to the Members of our proprietary Network. In a challenging funding environment, our progress and resilience set a new industry standard.”

Thunes was founded in 2016 as TransferTo and rebranded to Thunes in 2019. The company offers a cross-border payments and collection network that supports 80 currencies, enables payments to 130 countries, and offers 320+ payment acceptance methods. Unlike traditional cross-border payments providers that often rely on correspondent banking networks, Thunes offers a direct, proprietary global network. This delivers faster, cheaper, and more transparent transactions and allows it to compete against players like Wise and Airwallex.

Among the company’s use cases are cross-border payments, business payments, virtual payments, and virtual account issuance. Headquartered in Singapore, Thunes also has offices in London, Paris, Shanghai, New York, Dubai, Nairobi, Arizona, and Barcelona.

The fundraise comes at a tough time in the venture capital climate, where funding rounds, especially of this size, have become increasingly rare. Thunes’ ability to secure $150 million highlights a warming investor climate, as well as increased interest in cross-border payment infrastructure.

“Thunes has revolutionized global cross-border payments by seamlessly integrating robust technology with a disciplined financial strategy that inspires confidence,” said Apis Partners Managing Partner & Co-Founder Matteo Stefanel. “The company’s impressive growth record and positive EBITDA performance, even in these unprecedented times, clearly underpin the trust of its Members and their ability to scale effectively. We have been closely monitoring Thunes’ remarkable journey and are consistently impressed by the team’s innovative approach, operational rigor, and strategic foresight. Thunes’ pursuit of excellence redefines industry standards and sets a high bar for reliability and performance in global payments. Lastly, we are especially proud of the work Thunes is doing in accelerating access to affordable financial services across the next billion users in emerging markets, and for Apis to play a small part in continuing this journey.”

Photo by Pixabay

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Tuition.io Lands Debt Funding from ORIX Corporation

Tuition.io Lands Debt Funding from ORIX Corporation
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Funding, Tuition.io

Student loan benefits platform Tuition.io has received an undisclosed amount of debt financing from ORIX Corporation USA’s Growth Capital business. This marks Tuition.io’s sixth investment, adding to its five equity rounds that total $15.2 million.

Tuition.io was founded in 2011 to help graduates pay off their student loans while giving businesses a strategic differentiator to improve hiring and employee retention. The company debuted as a direct-to-consumer offering to help student loan borrowers view, understand, and compare their debt and get customized restructuring plans. Today, Tuition.io enables businesses to provide student loan repayment assistance, 529 plan contributions, and tuition reimbursement through a single, customizable interface.

“Partnering with ORIX USA marks a significant milestone for Tuition.io as we expand our mission to make education benefits more accessible and impactful for employers and their workforces,” said Tuition.io COO and CFO Scott Simmons. “This investment enables us to accelerate innovation, reach more organizations, and empower employees with the resources they need to thrive in their careers. We’re excited about the opportunities ahead and the support of ORIX USA to help drive our vision forward.”

ORIX USA’s Growth Capital business was founded in 2001 and has since provided $2.7 billion in funding to 200 companies in a range of sectors from biotech to energy.

“We are excited to partner with Tuition.io as they continue to transform the way employers support their workforce through education benefits,” said ORIX USA’s Growth Capital Business Director Austin Szafranski. “With student debt remaining a critical issue for employees nationwide, Tuition.io’s platform provides a meaningful solution that helps companies attract and retain top talent. We look forward to supporting their growth and impact in the marketplace.”

Not only does ORIX USA Growth Capital’s investment signal a vote of confidence in student loan repayment technologies, but it also shows strong interest in workforce benefits. As traditional compensation packages evolve to meet modern employee needs, debt financing deals such as this one point to increasing investor confidence in HR tech solutions with long-term impact.

Photo by Pixabay

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Hawk Raises $56 Million in Series C Funding to Help Banks Fight Financial Crime

Hawk Raises $56 Million in Series C Funding to Help Banks Fight Financial Crime
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Hawk:AI
  • AI-powered anti-money laundering (AML) company Hawk has raised $56 million in Series C funding.
  • The investment will fuel product innovation for the Munich, Germany-based fintech, as well as power the company’s expansion plans.
  • Hawk made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022 in San Francisco. The company was founded in 2018.

Hawk , a company offering AI-powered anti-money laundering (AML), screening, and fraud prevention solutions, has secured $56 million in Series C funding. The fintech, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022, will use the capital to help Tier 1 banks leverage AI to fight financial crime. The investment adds to the more than $134 million the company has already raised.

“Every financial institution that wants to reduce compliance workloads and increase the accuracy of risk detection should be using AI to achieve those goals,” Hawk CEO Tobias Schweiger said. “The results are compelling—we’ve been able to increase alert accuracy to almost 90% in some cases, while significantly cutting false positives. We’re also uncovering twice as many previously undetected cases of ‘novel’ criminal activity.”

Hawk’s funding round was led by One Peak, which joined existing investors Macquarie Capital, Rabobank, BlackFin Capital Partners, Sands Capital, DN Capital, Picus, and Coalition.

Hawk’s technology empowers banks to move beyond traditional, rules-based anti-money laundering and fraud fighting methods that often produce a sizable number of false positives that require human review and intervention. This drives up the cost of fighting financial crime. Further, fraudsters are increasingly adept at circumventing and subverting rules-based AML and fraud detection strategies. To address this, Hawk puts AI-powered technology to work increasing the fraud detection accuracy to find more crime while keeping false positives low.

“AI is in our DNA at Hawk,” Schweiger said. “Our mission is to provide financial institutions with the technology, the expertise and the support that they need to realize the transformative impact that machine learning and generative AI can have across their anti-financial crime operations.”

With more than 80 customers around the world, Hawk boasts partners ranging from large Tier 1 banks to mid-market financial institutions and fintechs. Hawk’s latest investment will help bring continued product innovation to these firms, as well as support the company’s expansion plans.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, Hawk made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022 in San Francisco. At the conference, the company demonstrated its AI Surveillance Suite, which uses a combination of AI and traditional rules to identify anomalous behavior in real-time.

Hawk began this year with the launch of its Anti-Money Laundering AI Overlay, which enables banks to reduce false positives and detect novel crime without having to swap out the current AML systems. The solution, according to Hawk Chief Product Officer Wolfgang Berner, is “delivering prediction accuracy in excess of 85% (and) reducing false positives to less than 15%.” Berner underscored that the overlay achieved all of this via AI optimization “rather than a total system overhaul.”

In February, the company appointed Ben Pannier as Chief Technology Officer. Pannier comes to Hawk having held leadership positions at firms including Tide, Zalando, and PayU. That same month, Hawk was named to the Chartis 2025 Financial Crime and Compliance 50 for its real-time transaction monitoring technology.

Photo by Matthias Schröder on Unsplash

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WSECU Invests in AKUVO to Modernize Collections and Credit Risk Management

WSECU Invests in AKUVO to Modernize Collections and Credit Risk Management
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • AKUVO secured a new investment from Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU), adding to its $13 million in previously raised funds.
  • The investment will help AKUVO expand its cloud-native collections and credit risk solutions, enhancing efficiency and customer experience for banks, credit unions, and fintechs.
  • The move signals growing interest in modernizing collections technology across the financial services industry amid economic uncertainty and evolving consumer behavior.

Digital collections and credit risk platform AKUVO landed a new round of funding today. The Pennsylvania-based company received an undisclosed amount from Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU), a $5.2 billion credit union based in Olympia, Washington.

While the amount of the funding was undisclosed, it adds to the $13 million AKUVO has received since it was founded in 2019. Among the company’s other investors are VyStar Credit Union, Curql, Reseda Group, and Coastal Federal Credit Union.

AKUVO offers collections software to help banks and fintechs collect and manage their debt portfolios. The company’s tools include a standalone virtual collector and a collections platform with automated call and text reminders. AKUVO’s technology helps increase collections efficiency, improve the customer experience, anticipate delinquencies, and offer insight into future credit decisions.

“Our partnership with AKUVO supports our mission to improve the financial wellbeing of our members and the communities we serve,” said WSECU COO Paul Kirkbride. “This investment reflects a commitment and confidence in AKUVO as a company and technology provider. We believe that AKUVO’s platform will help us enhance collections strategies, improve efficiency, and deliver exceptional member experiences. We are excited to further contribute to the company’s long-term vision through this investment.”

Today’s funding comes from WSECU’s holding company, One Washington Financial, which will join AKUVO’s Advisory Board.

“We are honored to welcome WSECU as they join six credit unions and CURQL as an investor in AKUVO,” said AKUVO Founder and CEO Jay Mossman. “The commitment to innovation and member service aligns perfectly with our goals, and we look forward to a successful partnership that drives positive outcomes for both organizations.”

This funding represents a significant vote of confidence in AKUVO’s role in the future of collections and credit risk management. As financial institutions continue to navigate economic uncertainty and evolving consumer behaviors, the demand for more intelligent, automated, and customer-friendly collections solutions is growing. AKUVO’s ability to combine emerging technologies like AI, natural language processing, and machine learning into its platform positions it as a key player helping banks and fintechs modernize their debt management strategies.

More broadly, the investment signals a growing trend among credit unions and banks to prioritize innovation in traditionally overlooked areas like collections. Instead of treating collections solely as a back-end operation, institutions are increasingly viewing it as a strategic function that can impact customer experience, operational efficiency, and risk mitigation. As economic uncertainty persists, platforms like AKUVO that enable early intervention, personalized outreach, and data-driven insights will become essential tools for financial institutions seeking to maintain strong portfolio health and deepen member and customer loyalty.

Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash

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Plaid’s $575 Million Round Signals Strength Despite Valuation Drop and Delayed IPO

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Plaid
  • Plaid raised $575 million in a down round valuing the company at $6.1 billion, which is less than half its 2021 valuation.
  • The funding will support employee restricted stock units tax obligations and provide internal liquidity.
  • Plaid’s delayed IPO likely reflects US open banking uncertainty, as the CFPB finalizes its data access rule. Waiting for regulatory clarity and consumer awareness could position Plaid for a stronger public debut down the road.

Financial data network Plaid announced it has brought in $575 million in a round led by new investor Franklin Templeton, with existing investors NEA and Ribbit Capital, as well as new investors BlackRock and Fidelity, also contributing.

The Venture Round is a sale of common stock; Plaid has directly issued the new shares to raise capital. In a company blog post announcement, Plaid CEO and Co-Founder Zach Perret said that the funds will be used “to address employee tax withholding obligations related to the conversion of expiring restricted stock units (RSUs) to shares, and to offer some liquidity to our current team.”

While today’s funds increase Plaid’s total funding to $1.3 billion, the round revealed a decreased valuation for the California-based fintech. Once valued at $13.4 billion during fintech’s brief hype days of 2021, Plaid’s valuation is currently less than half that, at $6.1 billion.

In explaining the significant gap in valuation to the Financial Times, Perret said, “In 2025, tech multiples have massively compressed between the time that we raised last and today. What I will say is that the fundamentals of the business underneath are dramatically stronger than they were in 2021. Revenue is much higher.”

Plaid’s $575 million comes at a time of growth for the company. Not only did the fintech expand its product suite, but it also saw an increase in organizations building with its account connection tools. In 2024, Plaid boasted positive operating margins, saw a revenue increase of more than 25%, and experienced an increase in both the number companies and markets it serves. As a result, more than 1 in 2 Americans have used Plaid.

​If you are wondering when Plaid plans to IPO, you’re not alone. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that Plaid will not go public this year, but it plans to continue tracking towards a public listing. “An IPO is certainly a part of the longer-term plan. We have not attached a specific timeline to it,” Perret told the Financial Times. “As I’ve said in the past, it will not be this year.”

Plaid’s decision to hold off on an IPO may also be a strategic move given the evolving state of open banking in the US. Unlike regions such as the UK and EU, where open banking is well-established and governed by clear regulatory frameworks such as PSD2, the US market remains in flux. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is currently working toward finalizing its proposed Personal Financial Data Rights rule under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, but the lack of formalized standards has created uncertainty for data aggregators like Plaid.

By delaying its public debut, Plaid may be seeking to ride out regulatory headwinds and position itself on more solid ground once clearer guidelines are in place. In addition to regulatory clarity, Plaid may also benefit from a recognition and understanding from mainstream consumers, many of whom have never heard the term “open banking.” Once regulations go into effect, banks will slowly begin in educate consumers on the benefits of open banking, and the concept of the value that Plaid brings will come to light. This regulatory clarity, combined with consumer understanding, could improve investor confidence and support a stronger valuation when the company ultimately decides to go public.

Image courtesy David Clarke via Unsplash


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Atomic Raises $10 Million to Boost Innovation and Expansion

Atomic Raises $10 Million to Boost Innovation and Expansion
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Atomic FI, Daily news, Funding
  • Atomic has raised $10 million in a strategic round led by Capital One Ventures, Citi Ventures, and FNB Corporation, bringing its total funding to nearly $79 million.
  • Atomic provides APIs that connect payroll and HRIS systems to financial institutions, supporting services like direct deposit switching, income verification, and subscription management.
  • With backing from top banks and FNB as both an investor and a client, Atomic aims to fuel deposit growth and power the next wave of personalized, real-time financial services.

Financial connectivity fintech Atomic is the latest fintech basking in this year’s fintech spring. The Utah-based company announced it has raised $10 million, adding to its $68.6 million previously raised, bringing its total funding to almost $79 million.

Today’s strategic round comes from Capital One Ventures, Citi Ventures, and FNB Corporation, which join Atomic’s previous investors Greylock, Portage Ventures, ATX Venture Partners, Mercato Partners, and Core Innovation Capital.

Atomic, founded in 2019, aims to connect consumer data with modern financial solutions. The company partners with eight of the top 10 US financial institutions, along with many leading fintechs, to provide seamless access to a suite of services—including direct deposit switching, income and employment verification, payment method updates, and subscription management—through integrations with payroll systems, HRIS platforms, and merchants.

Atomic said the new funding will fuel both innovation and expansion. The company plans to deepen its investment in existing solutions while also accelerating the development of new products to better serve its financial institution and fintech partners.

“We’re excited to have these industry leaders join us on our mission to champion upward financial mobility,” said Atomic Co-founder and CEO Jordan Wright. “Together, we’re building the infrastructure that will drive the next generation of financial products and unlock deposit growth, as well as improved experiences for our customers and the customers that work with them.”

In addition to investing in Atomic, FNB is also a client of the fintech. FNB tapped Atomic to lower acquisition costs, increase lifetime value, and become consumers’ primary financial hub.

“Through our omnichannel Clicks-to-Bricks strategy and eStore, FNB is driven to remain a banking industry leader in client engagement and innovation. We will continue to invest in and develop creative technology solutions that bring the full array of banking products and services to our digital platform and branch system,” said FNB Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent J. Delie, Jr. “Our investment in Atomic is another investment in the future of banking. By integrating their solutions with eStore, we can offer our customers more personalized, real-time financial services that meet their needs in today’s fast-paced world.”

Atomic most recently demoed at FinovateSpring 2024, where the company showcased PayLink, a tool to simplify subscription management by allowing consumers to manage, modify, and optimize their recurring payments and subscriptions within their bank.

Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki

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Mercury Raises $300 Million, Boosts Valuation to $3.5 Billion

Mercury Raises $300 Million, Boosts Valuation to $3.5 Billion
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Mercury raised $300 million in Series C funding, bringing its total investment to $452 million and boosting its valuation to $3.5 billion.
  • The round, which was led by Sequoia Capital, includes both primary (growth) and secondary (stakeholder liquidity) funding.
  • Mercury differentiates itself by offering integrated digital banking solutions for startups and SMBs, positioning it as a direct competitor to Brex and Ramp.

Business banking fintech Mercury unveiled today that it closed a $300 million funding round, rocketing the company’s total raised to $452 million. The Series C investment round was led by new investor Sequoia Capital and saw participation from other new investors Spark Capital and Marathon, as well as existing investors Coatue, CRV, and Andreessen Horowitz.

The round includes both primary and secondary funding. This means that not only will the company have funds to use for growth, but it will allow early stakeholders the opportunity to cash out part of their investments. The investment also boosts Mercury’s valuation. The California-based company is now valued at $3.5 billion, which is more than double its 2021 valuation of $1.6 billion.

Mercury was founded in 2017 and has since focused on serving small businesses and investors. In 2022, the company launched its corporate card. Two years later, Mercury expanded once again to launch financial tools to help companies pay bills, send invoices, automate accounting, and manage employee expenses.

Today, the company helps more than 200K businesses and entrepreneurs access banking tools, credit cards, and software they need to manage their financial workflows. Among Mercury’s customers are startups like Linear, Phantom, and ElevenLabs, as well as venture capital firms and e-commerce companies like Cocolab and Bogey Bros.

When Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed in 2023, Mercury saw $2 billion in client deposits from entrepreneurs seeking an alternative banking option. Today, the digital bank retains 95% of those funds. In fact, Mercury’s handling of the SVB collapse was what gained it the attention of Sequoia, the lead new investor of today’s round.

“Mercury began with the vision that banking should do more than safely hold money – it should bring all the ways people and businesses use money into a single product that feels extraordinary to use,” said company CEO and Co-Founder Immad Akhund.

Along with its funding announcement, Mercury also unveiled key financial growth milestones, including:

  • Ten consecutive quarters of profitability based on both EBITDA and GAAP net-income
  • $500 million in revenue in 2024
  • 40% growth in customers year-over-year
  • $156 billion in annual transaction volume, up 64% year-over-year

Last year, Mercury introduced Mercury Personal, a digital bank account that offers a personal bank account for users who want self-serve banking and a high-quality product experience to optimize their personal finances. Mercury Personal is slated to launch later this year.

“Mercury is a disruptive company with a bold vision for the future of banking,” said Sequoia Capital Partner Sonya Huang. “It has been synonymous with banking for startups, but Mercury is built for nearly every business and is a real competitor to legacy banks. With its track record of profitability, innovation, operational excellence, and clear vision for what banking can become, I believe that Mercury has a chance to be a generational company at the intersection of financial services and software.”

Mercury sits in the same arena as competitors Brex and Ramp. However, Brex and Ramp have carved out niches through corporate credit cards and expense management solutions aimed at high-growth startups and larger enterprises, while Mercury differentiates itself by delivering more of a comprehensive digital banking solution with integrated financial management software tailored to early-stage startups and entrepreneurs.

Photo by Andy Hermawan on Unsplash

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BaaS Provider Synctera Secures $15 Million in Funding

BaaS Provider Synctera Secures $15 Million in Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Funding, Synctera
  • BaaS platform Synctera secured $15 million in funding in a round co-led by Fin Capital and Diagram Ventures.
  • The investment takes Synctera’s total funding to date to $94 million.
  • Headquartered in Palo Alto, California and founded in 2020, Synctera made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall 2024.

Banking and payments platform Synctera has raised $15 million in funding. The round was co-led by Fin Capital and Diagram Ventures, and featured participation from existing investors First & Main, Evolution, and True Equity.

The investment takes Synctera’s total capital raised to date to $94 million. The firm indicated that the additional capital will help fuel its current expansion plans, including better serving its growing customer base. “This is a vote of confidence that enables us to continue to drive scalable growth and excellence for our customers and community of banks,” Synctera Co-Founder and CEO Peter Hazlehurst said.

Synctera’s banking and payments platform provides companies with the tools they need in order to build and scale a variety of innovative financial services products: from bank accounts to card programs to money movement services. The company’s technology also enables sponsor banks to better manage compliant partnerships with fintechs.

Synctera’s funding announcement comes just days after the company announced inking a deal with its largest customer to date: Bolt. A fintech that specializes in one-click online checkouts, Bolt—supported by its bank partner, Midland States Bank—will soon offer new financial services to consumers courtesy of its new relationship with Synctera.

“Bolt has always been incredibly driven to deliver the absolute best online checkout experience for consumers of some of the largest brands on the planet,” Bolt Founder and CEO Ryan Breslow said. “We’re excited to partner with Synctera to arm brands with more ways to engage with their customers.”

Additionally, Synctera recently announced a new partnership with fellow Finovate alum Hawk. The alliance will integrate Hawk’s AML and CFT technology into Synctera’s platform, strengthening Synctera’s status as a category leader in risk management and compliance.

“The reason we built Hawk was because we wanted to combine AML and fraud use cases in one platform. Native, Explained AI, and our capability to handle (the) largest volume in real-time position us well to support Synctera’s growth plans, which we love to be a part of,” Hawk Co-Founder and CEO Tobias Schweiger said.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California and founded in 2020, Synctera made its Finovate debut last September at FinovateFall 2024 in New York. At the conference, the company demomstrated how its platform gives banks an end-to-end solution to start or scale a compliant Banking-as-a-Service program.

Photo by MART PRODUCTION

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FutureVault Secures $3 Million in Equity Funding

FutureVault Secures $3 Million in Equity Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni profile, Funding, FutureVault

AI-powered digital vault provider FutureVault has raised $3 million in equity capital. The funding boosts the fintech’s total capital raised to $31 million, and will be used to accelerate the development of new product functionality, continue innovating in the use of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs), drive additional advancements in workflow automation, and strengthen the company’s position as the pioneer of Client Life Management Vault solutions.

“We are grateful for the confidence our existing and new shareholders have in our enormous business opportunity,” said FutureVault CEO Daniel Kenny. Company founder and executive chairman G. Scott Paterson added, “The aggregation of critical documents into a digital vault, when coupled with AI, is changing the face of financial services, advice delivery, and client engagement.”

Digital vaults play a key role in the modern technology stack for companies in financial services and wealth management. In the same way that physical vaults store and protect valuable assets—such as cash, jewelry, and important documents—digital vaults safeguard valuable digital assets, such as files and documentation. Digital vault technology enables firms to better organize, manage, store, and deliver client-facing documents, onboard and retrain customers, attract talent, manage compliance and audit readiness, and ultimately enhance engagement with both new and existing clients.

FutureVault’s platform leverages AI to provide document summaries, keyword extraction and expiration date recognition, contextualized action items and more. Users can extract structured and unstructured data to power workflows and enterprise-wide intelligence. The platform provides secure document exchange and helps firms maintain data security and compliance via better recordkeeping governance and streamlined audits.

“Digital vault platforms are becoming the next iteration and the future of secure document management by providing firms (and their advisors) accountability, efficiency, structure, compliance, and protection—all areas that enable organizations to scale document management practices across the many levels of their organization, and most importantly, to extend and enhance the value proposition delivered to their clients,” FutureVault CMO Kristian Borghesan said.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, FutureVault made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2016 in New York. Today, the company boasts more than 150,000 client vault accounts, 4,000+ partner professionals, and more than $600 billion in assets under management of partner firms. FutureVault serves investment dealers, RIAs and advisors, family offices, banks and credit unions, insurance companies, accounting firms, and more.

FutureVault began the year by teaming up with Canadian wealth compliance technology provider PortfolioAid. The partnership combines PortfolioAid’s wealth compliance technology with FutureVault’s Client Life Management Vault and Digital Vault to establish a new benchmark for digital document management, compliance transparency, and an enhanced client value proposition.

“Data embedded within documents is worth more than raw data,” FutureVault CEO Daniel Kenny said. “With FutureVault’s AI-powered Digital Vault construct, we’re enabling enterprises, advisors and their clients to tap into this data like never before—driving unprecedented advisor-client engagement and streamlining operational workflows. Our partnership with Sam Webster and the team at PortfolioAid will materially transform the modern wealth enterprise’s ability to deliver a more personalized, seamless, and compliant client experience.”

Photo by Ehtiram Mammadov

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Swap Raises $40 Million for eCommerce Logistics Network

Swap Raises $40 Million for eCommerce Logistics Network
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Swap raised $40 million in Series B funding, boosting its total raised to $49 million.
  • ICONIQ Growth led the round, which will help Swap expand into the US, EU, Australia, and Canada while launching new products like Swap Inventory to optimize restocking and avoid inventory issues.
  • Swap’s unified platform will become even more essential to ecommerce companies as trade disruptions and rising shipping costs threaten cross-border commerce.

Ecommerce inventory management platform Swap received a $40 million investment this week. The Series B round was led by ICONIQ Growth and saw participation from previous investors Cherry Ventures, QED Investors, and 9900 Capital. The investment brings Swap’s total funding to $49 million since it was founded in 2021.

Swap manages a global network that helps ecommerce companies with shipping, returns, inventory management, and cross-border commerce. By combining everything companies need into one place, Swap offers an all-in-one ecommerce operating system that helps companies simplify their operations, save money, and see all the metrics they need on a single dashboard.

Swap will use today’s funds to accelerate its expansion into the US and EU, and kickstart operations in new regions, including Australia and Canada. The company also plans to expand into new verticals such as beauty, home goods, and consumer technology; grow its team; and launch new products, including Swap Inventory. Swap Inventory provides customers with pricing modeling and AI-driven recommendations around inventory restocking and replenishment to avoid overstocks and stockouts.

“From the beginning, we’ve set out to create a new category that is a platform-level solution across all of a brand’s operations,” said Swap Co-Founder and CEO Sam Atkinson. “This funding cements us as the only e-commerce operating system that can enable inventory solutions, cross-border growth, returns management, and shipping and logistics in a way genuinely tailored to a brand’s needs.”

Swap’s funding comes at a time when cross-border commerce is vulnerable to disruptions from the emerging trade war, shifting global policies, and rising shipping costs. For ecommerce companies, streamlining logistics and maintaining efficient inventory management across multiple geographies is critical, especially as brands look to scale internationally.

By offering an end-to-end operating system, Swap is positioning itself to help brands navigate these challenges. By combining inventory intelligence, flexible shipping options, and seamless returns management, Swap helps ecommerce businesses adapt quickly to volatile global supply chain pressures.

“As cross-border commerce becomes increasingly complex, we have seen Swap emerge as a valuable partner for direct-to-consumer brands by unifying fragmented global e-commerce operations into a cohesive platform,” said ICONIQ Growth General Partner Seth Pierrepont. “We believe the company is well positioned to be a leading software enabler of global e-commerce and are excited to support them on this journey.”

Photo by Tiger Lily

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