Funding

Icon Solutions Lands New Investment from Citi

Icon Solutions Lands New Investment from Citi
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Icon Solutions
  • Icon Solutions received a strategic investment from Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions.
  • The amount of the recent investment, as well as the amount of the company’s 2020 funding round, are undisclosed.
  • Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions also announced it will expand its use of Icon Solutions’ Icon Payments Framework (IPF) to enhance its ecosystem.

Payments technology and consultancy services company Icon Solutions recently announced it received a new funding installment from Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS).

This marks Icon Solutions’ second funding round since it was founded in 2009. Prior to this round, the company received a Corporate Round in 2020 that was led by JP Morgan Chase. The amounts of both today’s round and the company’s 2020 round were undisclosed.

Citi TTS holds banking licenses in over 90 countries and manages a global network with membership in over 270 clearing systems. Clients use Citi TTS to make payments in 145 currencies. As a key part of today’s partnership, Citi TTS will expand its use of the Icon Payments Framework (IPF) to enhance this ecosystem. Icon Solutions’ IPF is a low-code based framework that enables banks to develop their own payment processing solution.

“We are on a journey to unlock the full potential of the Citi network and respond to the need for a streamlined and efficient payment processing system,” said Citi TTS Head of Payments Debopama Sen. “Through this relationship, we are removing platform complexity across our multiple products by following a process of ‘de-platforming’ common business services and creating reusable and extensible services that can be orchestrated using the IPF framework.”

Part of this “de-platforming” will help Citi remain flexible and accelerate its ability to respond to changes in infrastructure, regulation, and evolving customer expectations. “Our new approach will empower our engineering teams to respond quicker and more efficiently to industry developments, such as ISO 20022, and deliver high-quality innovation and functionality for our clients,” Sen added.

Icon Solutions delivers payment and technology solutions to banks and financial services organizations across the globe, including BNP Paribas, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, and HSBC. The company’s payments platform, IPF, is used by Tier 1 banks to help them accelerate their payments transformation and roll out instant payments around the world.

Photo by Declan Sun on Unsplash

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SumUp Scores $306 Million in Equity and Debt to Power Global Expansion

SumUp Scores $306 Million in Equity and Debt to Power Global Expansion
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, SumUp
  • SumUp has raised $306 million (€285 million) in combined equity and debt funding.
  • The round was led by Sixth Street Growth. Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital, and Liquidity Capital also participated in the investment.
  • The funding round does not change SumUp’s valuation which, as of June 2022, stood at $8.5 billion (€8 billion).

London-based fintech SumUp has secured $306 million (€285 million) in growth funding. The round was led by Sixth Street Growth and featured participation from Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital, and Liquidity Capital. The company will use the funding, which includes a combination of equity and debt, to support international expansion.

The round reportedly does not change the company’s most recent June 2022 valuation of $8.5 billion (€8 billion). It follows SumUp’s announcement of a $100 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital earlier this year.

In a statement, SumUp CFO Hermione McKee credited the merchants on the company’s platform – more than four million strong – for the company’s growth. “(It) is a direct result of the success of the traders we serve and would not be possible without the unwavering trust and support of the investor community,” McKee said. “This funding gives us additional firepower to pursue growth opportunities and accelerate products that empower small businesses.”

Founded in 2012, SumUp provides businesses of all sizes with affordable payment products and financial services. The company won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in 2013, and has since grown into a major payment solutions and point of sale systems provider active in 36 markets around the world. These markets include Australia, where SumUp launched in August.

More recently, the company introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone for SumUp customers in both the U.K. and the Netherlands. This enables SumUp merchants to accept all types of contactless payments using only an iPhone and the SumUp iOS app. No additional hardware is required. SumUp sees the offering as ideal for new and smaller merchants looking to potentially scale their businesses and broaden payment options for customers. SumUp Senior Strategic Growth Manager Giovanni Barbieri underscored the technology’s ability to support financial inclusion. “I am especially pleased with the exceptional functionality of the product and the fact (that) it lowers barriers to entry, with the potential to fuel entrepreneurship.”

This spring, SumUp launched its multi-product subscription offering, SumUp One. The new solution amalgamates the company’s product suite in a single, unified solution for merchants. SumUp One initially launched in Italy and the U.K.

Photo by Humphrey Muleba

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Scalable Capital Raises $64.7 Million

Scalable Capital Raises $64.7 Million
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Scalable Capital
  • Scalable Capital received $64.7 million (€60 million) in a venture round led by Balderton Capital.
  • The new funds boost Scalable Capital’s total funding to $352 million (€326 million).
  • Scalable Capital is facing new competition, with U.S.-based stock brokerage app Robinhood entering the market this fall.

Digital investment platform Scalable Capital landed some capital of its own this week. The broker and roboadvisor announced it received $64.7 million (€60 million) in a venture round led by Balderton Capital.

The round, which saw participation from HV Capital’s new growth fund and existing investors, is an extension of the company’s 2021 Series E fund. Today’s investment boosts Scalable Capital’s Series E Round to $227 million (€210 million) and brings its total funds to $352 million (€326 million).

According to TechCrunch, Scalable Capital’s valuation with the new round sits at $1.4 billion, the same valuation the company held at its 2021 Series E round.

The Germany-based company will use today’s investment to grow its investment platform and to “capitalize on its position as a leading provider of easy and cost effective investing solutions for retail clients.”

Founded in 2014, Scalable Capital has a mission to empower everyone to become an investor. The company, which is active in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK., has 600,000+ users who currently hold $17.3 billion (€16 billion) in stocks, ETFs, derivatives, bonds, commodities and crypto on its platform. The fintech’s cost for brokerage range from free to $5.39 (€4.99) per month. For users who prefer an automated approach, Scalable Capital also has a roboadvisor offering that has a varied fee structure based on the client’s holdings.

Earlier this year, Scalable Capital launched Credit, a tool that offers users access to secured loans in the Scalable Brokerage product. Residents of Germany can buy additional securities or withdraw a personal loan without having to liquidate existing positions.

As part of today’s fundng announcement, Balderton Capital General Partner Rana Yared will join Scalable Capital’s board. “Scalable’s one-stop, digital-first, wealth building and generating platform brings a suite of top-class financial products to individuals across Europe, and is unparalleled in the market. We’ve been impressed by Erik, Florian, and team’s vision and execution to date and are delighted to be supporting them in this next chapter.”

Scalable Capital recently began facing new competition in the European wealthtech market, as U.S. stock brokerage app Robinhood launched operations in the U.K. Today, the California-based company unveiled it will offer crypto trading for its European Union-based users.

Photo by Monstera Production

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AML Specialist Refine Intelligence Raises $13 Million in Seed Funding to Fuel Global Growth

AML Specialist Refine Intelligence Raises $13 Million in Seed Funding to Fuel Global Growth
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Refine Intelligence
  • Financial crime and AML specialist Refine Intelligence has raised $13 million in funding.
  • The round was led by Glilot Capital Partners and Fin Capital. The capital will be used to fuel international expansion.
  • Refine Intelligence made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope earlier this year in London.

Financial crime solution provider Refine Intelligence has secured an investment of $13 million. The funding round was led by Glilot Capital Partners of Tel Aviv, Israel, and FinCapital of San Francisco, California. Also participating in the round were SYN Ventures and Ground Up Ventures, among others. The company, which made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope in London, will use the capital to help fuel international expansion.

“Banks used to have a superpower: knowing their customers’ life stories so they could provide personalized financial service,” Refine Intelligence CEO Uri Rivner said. “With banking increasingly done online and a significant drop in face-to-face interactions, banks’ understanding of customer behavior is limited.”

To this end, Rivner explained, Refine Intelligence helps banks better identify the false alarms that can be inadvertently triggered by otherwise legitimate customer activity. This strategy of helping banks “catch the good guys,” as Refine Intelligence puts it, enables financial fraud teams to focus on truly suspicious behavior.

The list of transactions that most often trigger false alarms is fairly alarming in its own right. According to Refine Intelligence, 64% of all AML alerts come from just five scenarios: payments for cash-intensive workers, gift giving or receiving, automobile purchases or sales, and payment for construction projects. Devoting resources to the false alarms that plague these transactions is a time-consuming and inefficient process that Refine Intelligence helps eliminate for banks.

Founded in 2033, Refine Intelligence made its Finovate debut earlier this year at FinovateEurope in London. At the conference, the company demoed its Life Story Analytics solution. An anti-money laundering solution “designed for real life,” Life Story Analytics leverages AI to identify the “life story” behind any alert issued by the transaction monitoring system. The technology automatically explains the issue with the transaction in question to the fraud monitoring team. This enables teams to clear alerts faster, provide full explainability to regulators, lower caseload, and improve overall risk management. Refine Intelligence says the technology has produced a 90% reduction in time and resources devoted to managing alerts.

In addition to the company’s recent funding, Refine Intelligence was recognized this summer in the AI FinTech100. The roster highlights companies in financial services that are innovating in the field of AI.

Read our Finovate Global interview with Refine Intelligence CEO Uri Rivner. Long time fintech fans may recall that Uri Rivner previously founded behavioral biometrics company and Finovate alum, BioCatch.

Looking to demo your latest fintech innovation? Applications are now being accepted for demoing companies at FinovateEurope in London, February 27 and 28, 2024. Visit our FinovateEurope hub for more!

Photo by Manel and Sean

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Enfuce Lands $9.2 Million Investment

Enfuce Lands $9.2 Million Investment
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Enfuce closed a $9.2 million follow-on investment, adding to the $49 million it received in 2021.
  • Vitruvian Partners led the round, which saw contributions from existing investor Maki.vc and new contributor Visa.
  • Enfuce will use the funds to prepare for growth in the enterprise segment, as well as expand into more European markets.

Card issuing and payments processing innovator Enfuce recently announced it received a $9.2 million (€8.5 million) follow-on investment. The new funds are added to the Finnish company’s $49 million (€45 million) Series C round in 2021 and bring Enfuce’s total funding to $67 million (€62 million).

Leading today’s follow-on round is Vitruvian Partners. Existing investor Maki.vc, along with new contributor Visa, also participated.

Commenting on the new investor, Enfuce Co-founder and Co-CEO Monika Liikamaa said, “Visa’s trust isn’t just a validation of  our business, it’s a testament to our significant growth during challenging economic times. With Visa’s investment, we will continue to bring our bold vision of shaping the future of embedded finance to life.” Enfuce Co-founder and Co-CEO Denise Johansson added, “This investment represents more than mere financial backing for us. It’s the continuation of an extensive and productive partnership between Visa and Enfuce.”

Enfuce was founded in 2016 with the intent to offer a cloud-based processing system that could allow any business to start issuing payment cards. In addition to payment card issuing, the company also offers digital wallets, fraud and dispute managements, card program analytics, and more. Enfuce processes $2.2 billion (nearly €2 billion) in transactions annually for clients including Pleo, OKQ8 and Memo Bank.

Enfuce will use today’s follow-on investment to prepare for its next area of growth, the enterprise segment. Additionally, the company plans to expand across European markets including Benelux, Germany, and France.

The rise in banking-as-a-service (BaaS) tools, such as the ones provided by Enfuce, offers businesses across a range of industries access to financial infrastructure. Integrating financial services into non-financial platforms not only enhances the customer experience but it also offers businesses new revenue streams. As we enter into 2024, BaaS and embedded finance solutions are set to rise. However, as regulators begin to take notice and find new risk factors, adoption of this trend will likely be cautious.

Photo by Anna Shvets

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Founders Series: Five Conversations on Funding Strategies for Fintech Startups

Founders Series: Five Conversations on Funding Strategies for Fintech Startups
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Interview

The Fintech Founders series, presented by our sister publication Fintech Futures, features fintech and financial services veterans sharing their insights and experiences on a range of topics important to businesses in our industry.

Today we share five conversations on fintech funding featuring our panel our fintech experts. As part of our Funding Series of discussions, our panelists talk about issues such as: bootstrapping versus external funding, finding the right investment partners, the importance of producing significant growth, as well as tips for entrepreneurs and surprises our panelists encountered in their own journeys in fintech and financial services.

Our Fintech Founders panelists:

Our five conversations:

Acquiring Funding – Bootstrapping vs External

Ideal Investors – Finding the Right Partnership

Funding Strategy – Producing Significant Growth

Tips & Surprises – From Founder’s Experiences

Rewind & Fast Forward – Managing & Predicting

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International Money Transfer Company Paysend Raises $65 Million in Funding

International Money Transfer Company Paysend Raises $65 Million in Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, PaySend
  • Money transfer company Paysend has raised $65 million in funding. The round featured a strategic investment from partner Mastercard.
  • The investment adds to Paysend’s $125 million Series B round, which closed in 2021.
  • Paysend made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope in London in 2016.

International money transfer company Paysend has secured $65 million in funding. The round included a strategic investment from Mastercard, which announced a partnership with Paysend earlier this year. That alliance helped enhance cross-border payments for SMEs by way of its Open Payments Network (OPN).

Existing investors Infravia Growth Capital, One Peak, and Hermes GPE Innovation Fund also participated in the round. This week’s investment follows the company’s $125 million Series B round, which closed in 2021.

A Finovate alum since its debut at FinovateEurope in London in 2016, Paysend provides fund transfers to more than 170 countries. The company’s platform ensures transparency by displaying currency rates, transfer fees, and the receivable amount before each transfer. Paysend users can make transfers via bank cards, accounts, and even mobile numbers. Money transfers are certified by Visa, Mastercard, China UnionPay, and are PCI DSS certified, as well.

“This significant investment is a testament to the strength of Paysend’s vision,” Paysend CEO and co-founder Ronnie Millar said, “to build the best-in-class cross border solutions for businesses and consumers, making money transfer simple for everyone.”

Paysend’s funding news comes just days after the company announced a partnership with CalQRisk. The company offers a governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) solution that Paysend will use to enhance its current risk management processes. In October, Paysend teamed up with fellow Finovate alum Western Union. This partnership provided Western Union customers with a new direct to card payout option.

Paysend is headquartered in London, U.K. The company entered the Israeli market this summer after partnering with Israel-based fintech Okoora.

Photo by Luis Quintero

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Canadian Fintech Peloton Technologies Secures $2 Million in Seed Funding

Canadian Fintech Peloton Technologies Secures $2 Million in Seed Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Canadian fintech Peloton Technologies has raised CAD $2 million in seed funding.
  • The funds will help the company meet its growth objectives. The investment also serves as a “precursor” to a “larger capital raise” next year.
  • Founded in 2011, Peloton Technologies offers a platform that enables small businesses to simplify payment workflows.

Victoria, Canada-based fintech Peloton Technologies has landed $1.5 million (CAD $2 million) in seed funding. The investment will help fuel the company’s growth as it seeks to simplify payment workflows for small and medium-sized businesses.

Peloton did not disclose the names of the investors. The company did say that members of the investing team have joined Peloton Technologies’ advisory board. The seed funding comes four months after the company secured $1.5 million (CAD $2 million) from the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan). The funding from PacifiCan was the second investment Peloton received from the agency. The company picked up CAD $500,000 in funding from PacifiCan’s Business Scale Up and Productivity (BSP) program in 2022 ($367k in today’s dollars).

“We’re thrilled with the response from the Private Investor community,” Peloton Technologies Executive Chair of the Board John MacKinlay said. “We have a world-class group of investors with deep background in payments, banking, risk management, compliance, accounting, IT architecture, and securities law.” MacKinlay added that the funding will also help Peloton Technologies execute its acquisition strategy; last month, Peloton announced the acquisition of KIS Payments, an ISO (Independent Sales Organization). MacKinlay also noted that this week’s fundraising was a “precursor” to a “larger capital raise” slated for the first half of 2024.

“We’ve spent a lot of time creating the most comprehensive solution for businesses and now it’s time to scale,” CEO Craig Attiwill said when the company acquired KIS Payments in October.

Founded in 2011, Peloton Technologies helps small and medium-sized businesses in Canada process payments, execute fund transfers, exchange currencies, and store payment data. Its platform also supports the integration of multiple payment methods across multiple financial institutions. Peloton’s proprietary technology ensures the secure storage of payment data, document management, email/SMS notifications, and scheduling, as well as providing a sophisticated rules engine.

Photo by SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS

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Apiture Garners $10 Million in Funding

Apiture Garners $10 Million in Funding
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Apiture, Daily news, Funding
  • Apiture received $10 million in funding, bringing its total raised to $79 million.
  • The round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price with participation from existing investors.
  • Apiture offers credit unions access to a digital banking platform that ties in partnerships with more than 300 fintechs.

Digital banking solutions provider Apiture landed a $10 million funding round this week. The Venture round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price with participation from existing investors Live Oak Bank, Truist Ventures, and Pinnacle Financial Partners. The fresh funds boost Apiture’s total funding to $79 million.

The Wilmington, North Carolina-based company will use the $10 million to accelerate product development initiatives. It will also expand its sales and marketing efforts for its Apiture Digital Banking Platform. Launched last year, the company’s Digital Banking Platform serves more than 300 banks and credit unions.

“Apiture is relentlessly focused on delivering best-in-class digital banking solutions through continuous innovation and integrations with best-of-breed fintechs,” said company CEO Chris Babcock. “This additional funding enables us to further accelerate development initiatives that will help our clients thrive in a highly competitive market.”

Founded in 2017, Apiture helps credit unions compete with larger banks and credit unions when it comes to digital banking experiences. The company’s solutions, which work with more than 40 cores, offer both consumer and commercial banking experiences, along with account opening, embedded banking, and data intelligence tools. Powering these capabilities are Apiture’s network of more than 200 pre-vetted fintech partners, including Glia, Deluxe, MX, Mambu, and DefenseStorm, which signed with Apiture earlier this month.

Photo by Francesco Gallarotti on Unsplash

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Cloud Payments Firm Volante Raises $66 Million in Strategic Funding

Cloud Payments Firm Volante Raises $66 Million in Strategic Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Cloud payments modernization specialist Volante Technologies raised $66 million in debt and equity financing.
  • The round was led by Sixth Street Growth. Wavecrest Growth Partners and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital also participated.
  • Volante Technologies will use the capital to accelerate its product roadmap, especially with regards to real-time payments solutions.

Cloud payments modernization company Volante Technologies has raised $66 million in combined debt and equity financing. The round was led by Sixth Street Growth. Wavecrest Growth Partners and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital also participated in the investment. Today’s funding brings the company’s total outside capital raised to $116 million.

Vijay Oddiraju, Volante Technologies CEO, said that the investment will help “accelerate” the company’s product roadmap. This includes the company’s initiatives in global real-time payments, the UK New Payments Architecture (NPA), as well as domestic and cross-border ISO 20022 modernization. Oddiraju added that the funding will help Volante Technologies bring its Payments-as-a-Service solution to mid-tier banks in the U.S. and Europe. Oddiraju pointed to FedNow Instant Payments, The Clearing House RTP, and SEPA Instant Payments as developments that are driving opportunity in and adoption of “modern payments technology.”

Volante helps financial institutions modernize payments. This enables them to focus on executing their business models, pursue new opportunities, and scale their operations. The company offers real-time/instant payments connectivity, embedded preprocessing that works with existing technology to enhance customer service, as well as U.S. wire payments. Volante’s low-code financial integration platform enables users to leverage visual modeling to integrate with and orchestrate workflows to build a variety of financial, transaction-based services.

Nari Ansari, Managing Director at Sixth Street Growth, praised both the the company’s PaaS and low-code payments platform as offering “a compelling value proposition.” Ansari added that it was a good time for Volante to look to scale its operations in order to take advantage of FIs that are “increasingly prioritizing both investment in payments modernization and partnerships with fintech companies.”

Founded in 2001, Volante Technologies is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company’s Payments-as-a-Service and low-code platform process millions of transactions and trillions in value every day. Four of the top five global corporate banks and two of the world’s largest card networks rely on Volante Technologies’ payments solutions.

Last month, the company was named to The IDC FinTech Rankings Top 100 for 2023. This marked the third year Volante had earned a spot in the IDC’s Fintech Top 100. In September, the company introduced new Chief Operating Officer David Weber.

Photo by Karol D

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Cybersecurity Firm Adlumin Raises $70 Million in Series B Funding

Cybersecurity Firm Adlumin Raises $70 Million in Series B Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Adlumin, Alumni News, Daily news, Funding
  • Cybersecurity company Adlumin has raised $70 million in Series B funding.
  • Adlumin offers a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) platform that provides enterprise-grade security to small and middle-market organizations.
  • Founded in 2016, Adlumin made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2019.

Washington, D.C.-based cybersecurity company Adlumin closed a $70 million Series B funding round last week. The company, which made its Finovate debut four years ago at FinovateFall, offers a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) platform that provides continuous threat detection and response. Adlumin’s technology also provides cybersecurity teams with the tools they need for threat hunting, incident response, vulnerability management, darknet exposure monitoring, and compliance support.

The investment was led by SYN Ventures. First In Ventures, Washington Harbour Partners, and BankTech Ventures also participated. The investment boosts Adlumin’s total equity funding raised since inception to $83 million.

Adlumin will use the capital to accelerate growth. The funding will also help the company meet the demand of the 200,000 middle market businesses in the U.S. for enterprise-grade cybersecurity technology. Adlumin enables businesses to leverage one license and one platform that serve as a command center for security operations. The platform enhances collaboration with service providers with pre-integrated solutions that augment the platform’s capabilities and enhance existing systems and processes.

Adlumin founder and CEO Robert Johnston underscored the importance of helping small and middle market organizations not just access the necessary technology, but also the necessary talent. “With a significant cybersecurity skills gap, hiring the right people is an expensive, challenging and sometimes impossible task for small and mid-sized organizations who are competing with big government and businesses for talent,” Johnston explained. “This is why empowering service providers – whose expertise can be multiplied across several organizations – will be essential to securing mid-market organizations, and why we built a platform that does exactly that.”

Adlumin’s platform also ensures visibility into the organization’s security posture. This transparency is complete and available in real-time. Adlumin’s customers can see why an alert was issued and how it was resolved; access investigation data, reporting, and threat intelligence on-demand; and more – whether they are running the platform themselves or having a third-party run it for them.

The company’s investment announcement after the launch of a pair of new security solutions for middle-market organizations. These new offerings were a subscription-based incident response service and no-cost warranty and discounted cyberinsurance policies. Earlier this month, Adlumin announced a partnership and integration with cloud native security pioneer Aqua Security. Over the summer, Adlumin announced a partnership with IT services provider MNJ Technologies.

Photo by Mark Stebnicki

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Eight Alums Raised More Than $293 Million in Q3 2023

Eight Alums Raised More Than $293 Million in Q3 2023
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: David's column, Funding, Fundings, Quarterly Funding

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

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