Funding

CrowdFlower Closes on a $10 Million Round Led by Microsoft

CrowdFlower Closes on a $10 Million Round Led by Microsoft
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: CrowdFlower, Funding

CrowdFlowerHomepage

Data collection and cleaning platform CrowdFlower closed on $10 million in funding led by Microsoft Ventures. Also participating in the Series D round are Canvas Ventures and Trinity Ventures.

CrowdFlower’s funding now totals $38 million. The company will use the funds to speed adoption of CrowdFlower AI. 

The company gave a Best of Show-winning presentation at FinovateFall 2014 where it demonstrated how its on-demand workforce cleans and labels financial transaction data. Banks upload their data, define their task, and launch their job. CrowdFlower’s taskforce steps in to do what a computer can’t. The crowdsourced workforce completes micro-jobs to fill in holes in incorrect or incomplete data. The company leverages this effort in its recently launched CrowdFlower AI that combines human intelligence with machine learning to create what the company calls, Human-in-the-Loop, a product that uses active learning to make machine learning more viable.lukas_biewald

In a blog post, company CEO and founder Lukas Biewald (pictured right) says, “There are always places where algorithms struggle … . We’ve made it easy to automatically identify where machine learning is struggling and send them back to CrowdFlower jobs for humans to label.”

Founded in 2009, the San Francisco-based company’s customers include LinkedIn, Intuit, Flickr, and eBay.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Fintech Fundings: 30 Companies Raise $390 Million Week Ending May 13

Fintech Fundings: 30 Companies Raise $390 Million Week Ending May 13
By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

money 500 eurosTotal fundings in second quarter hit $8 billion as 30 more companies raised $390 million the second week of May. Nearly half of that ($188 million) was debt earmarked for Avant’s U.K. subsidiary.

The deals were widely dispersed around the world, with only 4 of the 30 headquartered in California. London beat that this week with 5, followed by 3 in NYC, and 2 each from Chicago, Florida and Germany.

The total number of deals YTD stands at 494, nearly double last year’s 266. Total dollars raised YTD is now $14.7 billion, more than twice the $6.7 billion raised during the same period a year ago.

Notable raises included Finovate alum Tagit which brought in nearly $9 million to supercharge its mobile application development platform.

——-

Fintech deals by size from 7 May to 13 May, 2016:

Avant (AvantCredit U.K.)
Consumer alt-lender
Latest round: $188 million Debt (for AvantCredit U.K.)
Total raised: $1.92 billion ($654 million Equity, $1.26 billion Debt)
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumer, credit, loans, underwriting, lending
Source: Crunchbase

Bridge2Solutions
Incentive & rewards systems for financial institutions
Latest round: $35 million Series A
Total raised: $35 million
HQ: Daytona Beach, Florida
Tags: Consumer, enterprise, rewards, payments gamification, employees, human resources, loyalty, retention
Source: Crunchbase

Capital Float
Working capital financing
Latest round: $25 million Series B
Total raised: $41 million
HQ: Bangalore, India
Tags: SMB, lending, financing, commercial loans, invoice financing, factoring
Source: Crunchbase

Wincor Nixdorf (AEVI subsidiary)
Payments technology
Latest round: $23 million Post-IPO Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Germany
Tags: Enterprise, cashless payments
Source: FT Partners

orderbird
iPad POS system for the hospitality industry
Latest round: $22.8 million Series C
Total raised: $37 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: SMB, payments, mobile, merchants, acquiring, security, credit/debit cards
Source: Crunchbase

Simplee
Healthcare finance platform 
Latest round: $20 million
Total raised: $37.8 million
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: SMB, patient finance, billing, payments, insurance, credit, underwriting, B2B2C
Source: Crunchbase

AutoFi
Auto financing platform
Latest round: $17 million
Total raised: $17 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: B2B2C, SMB, consumer, lending, auto loan, vehicle credit, underwriting, secured, captive financing, lead gen
Source: FT Partners

EuroCCP
Equities clearing  
Latest round: $16 million (from Euronext)
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Tags: B2B, enterprise, trading software, investing services, back office
Source: FT Partners

Tagit
Mobile financial applications
Latest round: $8.75 million
Total raised: $8.75 million
HQ: Singapore
Tags: Enterprise, banking, mobile application development, developers, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

TechBureau
Blockchain technology 
Latest round: $6.2 million
Total raised: $6.2 million
HQ: Osaka, Japan
Tags: SMB, blockchain, distributed database, payments, crypto-currency, bitcoin
Source: FT Partners

WealthBar
Online financial adviser
Latest round: $5.5 million
Total raised: $5.5 million
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tags: Consumer, investing, robo-adviser, ETF, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

Healthcare Interactive
Healthcare & insurance technology
Latest round: $3.4 million Series A
Total raised: $11.8 million
HQ: Glenwood, Maryland
Tags: Enterprise, healthcare, payments, insurance
Source: FT Partners

Tandem
Digital bank
Latest round: $3.4 million Equity Crowdfunding ($95 million valuation)
Total raised: $34.8 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, banking, payments, deposits, loans, debit card
Source: Crunchbase

AppZen
Expense report automation 
Latest round: $2.9 million
Total raised: $3.0 million
HQ: Sunnyvale, California
Tags: SMB, accounting, bookkeeping, expense reporting, compliance, fraud protection
Source: Crunchbase

Sure
Mobile on-demand insurance 
Latest round: $2.6 million Seed
Total raised: $2.6 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Consumer, travel insurance, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Inkassogram
Debt collection platform 
Latest round: $2.45 million
Total raised: $2.45 million
HQ: Sweden
Tags: SMB, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, billing, payments, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Fluent
Blockchain B2B network 
Latest round: $1.65 million Seed
Total raised: $2.5 million
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: SMB, payments, blockchain, crypto-currency, bitcoin, payments
Source: Crunchbase

AccessPay
Online payments & cash management for small businesses
Latest round: $1.45 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, payments, accounting, treasury management, commercial banking
Source: Crunchbase

FattMerchant
Payment processor
Latest round: $1.4 million
Total raised: $2.25 million
HQ: Orlando, Florida
Tags: SMB, payments, mobile, merchants, acquiring, security, credit/debit cards
Source: Crunchbase

StoreHub
Mobile point-of-sale solution
Latest round: $850,000 Seed
Total raised: $850,000
HQ: Petaling, Malaysia
Tags: SMB, payments, mobile, merchants, acquiring, credit/debit cards, mobile, POS
Source: Crunchbase

Bridge Financial Technology
Back-office platform for financial advisers 
Latest round: $722,000
Total raised: $722,000
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Advisors, B2B2C, investing, trading, wealth management
Source: Crunchbase

Selequity
Online commercial real estate investing platform 
Latest round: $590,000 Seed
Total raised: $590,000
HQ: St. Louis, Missouri
Tags: SMB, investors, commercial mortgage, P2P lending, credit, underwriting, real estate
Source: Crunchbase

Cushion
Financial & time management service for freelancers
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Brooklyn, New York
Tags: SMB, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, billing, payments, invoicing, PFM
Source: Crunchbase

Olivia
AI-powered financial assistant 
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, personal finance, mobile, artificial intelligence, customer service, chatbot
Source: Crunchbase

Shares.com
Asset crowdfunding platform
Latest round: $300,000 Angel
Total raised: $300,000
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, collectibiles, investing, asset-based lending, artwork
Source: Crunchbase

PaySur
Bitcoin exchange 
Latest round: $275,000
Total raised: $275,000
HQ: Leon, Mexico
Tags: Consumer, payments, cryptocurrency, bitcoin, blockchain, remittances
Source: Crunchbase

DebitShield
Online debit card security
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, security, payments, direct debit, online billpay
Source: Crunchbase

FairCent
Marketplace lender
Latest round: Undisclosed Series A
Total raised: $4.25 million (before the Series A)
HQ: Haryana, India
Tags: Consumer, lending, P2P, person-to-person, credit, lending, investing
Source: Crunchbase

iBondis
Marketplace lender to small businesses
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, P2P lending, crowdfunding, commercial loans, person-to-person, credit, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Savesta
Stealth personal finance 
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Bellevue, Washington
Tags: Consumer, personal finance, PFM
Source: Crunchbase

—–
Image licensed from Shutterstock

 

 

 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

NICE Funding! CallVU Raises $3 Million

NICE Funding! CallVU Raises $3 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: CallVU, Funding, Fundings, NICE Systems

CallVU_homepage_June2016

In a round led by Liberty Global Ventures and featuring the participation of fellow Finovate alum NICE Systems, CallVU has raised $3 million in new funding. The investment is the second major capital infusion for the digital engagement platform developer since its undisclosed seed round in 2012.

Joining the round were AfterDox Angel Investment Group and 2B Angels. Tuval Lava, CallVU’s president and chairman of the board, said the funds would help the company improve its technology and grow internationally. “The fact that such a distinguished group of leading international investors have made such a commitment to CallVU illustrates the potential they see in the field of mobile digital engagement in general and in CallVU in particular,” Lava said.

CallVU_stage_FS2016

Pictured (left to right): Amitai Ratzon, VP global sales, and Assaf Frenkel, VP, product & marketing, demonstrated the CallVU Mobile Digital Engagement platform at FinovateSpring 2015 in San Jose.

In partnering with NICE Systems, CallVU plans to develop a “joint go-to-market approach” that will help the company expand. The plan includes new offices around the world and hiring sales, product management, software development, and marketing talent. To this end, NICE Systems EVP for Corporate Development Eran Liron highlighted the multiple use-cases for CallVU’s technology. “CallVU Mobile Digital Engagement platform helps financial service organizations and telecom operators, as well as health, travel, and retail companies, advance their digital transformation and contact centers’ optimization strategies a step further,” Liron said.

Lead investor, Liberty Global Ventures, is the investment arm of global cable-giant Liberty Global. The fund invests in both early- and late-stage companies, typically committing $2 million to $20 million, and operates in 14 countries. Liberty Global Ventures’ portfolio features 29 startups (as of December 31, 2015) working in wireless HD video delivery, virtual video technology, and interactive commerce and merchandising, among other fields.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, CallVu demoed its Mobile Digital Engagement solution at FinovateSpring 2016. The company was named a Cool Vendor in CRM Customer Service and Support in Gartner’s 2016 report. CallVU was featured in our look at fintech in Israel last week. Ori Faran is CEO.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

BRIDGEi2i Closes Series A Funding Round

BRIDGEi2i Closes Series A Funding Round
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: BRIDGEi2i, Funding

Bridgei2iHomepage

Just a few days after celebrating its fifth birthday, BRIDGEi2i Analytics Solutions landed its first round of funding, pulling in an undisclosed amount of Series A growth capital from India-based Edelweiss Private Equity.

CEO Prithvijit Roy states the company will use the funds to, “accelerate the development of our machine-learning-based business applications along with significant expansion of our consulting teams across the United States and India.”

Pranav Parikh, head of private equity and VC funds at Edelweiss, says he is impressed with how BRIDGEi2i has “transform[ed] large enterprises through their impact-driven approach” since launching in 2011. Edelweiss now owns a minority stake in BRIDGEi2i and Parikh will join the Bangalore-based startup’s board of directors.

BRIDGEi2i was founded by former General Electric and Hewlett Packard executives who had a vision to offer data-driven insights to enterprises. Using big data, the company generates actionable insights about sales data and customer behavior to help manage risk and operations. The company’s customers include 10 of the Fortune 100, representing sectors in technology, manufacturing, financial services, insurance, and retail.

At FinovateAsia 2013, BRIDGEi2i launched Surveyi2i, a cloud-based platform to help easily view and analyze survey data. Surveyi2i offers quick insights into survey results without requiring help from a data scientist. Recently, BRIDGEi2i was featured in Dataquest for helping a Fortune 100 company save $300,000 on reporting costs. Late last year, the company was ranked 115 out of 500 AsiaPac businesses on the Deloitte Technology Fast500 for 2015.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Featurespace Falls on a Fresh $9 Million in Funding

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Featurespace, Funding

FeaturespaceHomepage

Behavioral analytics company Featurespace has raised $9 million in funding in a round led by U.S.-based TTV Capital.

The venture round, which elevates Featurespace’s funding to $16.4 million, was augmented by support from existing investors Imperial Innovations Group; Nesta; Cambridge Angels; and Cambridge Capital Group. The U.K.-based company plans to use the round to further expand into the U.S. market after striking recent deals with TSYS and an unnamed U.S. bank.

TTV Capital’s Managing Partner Gardiner Garrard says the funding round “is the first time we’ve invested in a mainland U.K. company, and reflects our support of Featurespace’s transformative fraud-detection capabilities.”

At FinovateEurope 2016 Featurespace launched its ARIC Engine which monitors user behavior and leverages machine learning to determine suspicious, inconsistent transactions.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Fintech Fundings: 26 Companies Raised $270 Million Week Ending May 6

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

Money_circuitSecond quarter’s funding pace remained strong with 26 companies raising $267 million—$55 million of that was Debt—the first week of May. The deals were widely dispersed around the world, with only 4 of the 26 companies hanging their shingles in California, although those four did account for half the dollar value.

The total number of deals YTD stands at 464, nearly double last year’s 252. Total dollars raised YTD is now $14.3 billion, more than twice the $6.6 billion raised during the same period a year ago.

Two Finovate alums scored big rounds:

——-

Fintech deals by size from 30 April to 6 May 2016:

VTS
Commercial real estate leasing and asset-management platform
Latest round: $55 million Series C
Total raised: $87.7 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, enterprise, commerical real estate, commerical mortgage, asset management
Source: Crunchbase

MobiKwik
Mobile wallet
Latest round: $50 million Series C
Total raised: $86.9 million
HQ: Gurgaon, India
Tags: Consumer, payments, banking, mobile, telecom top-ups, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Intacct
Digital banking company
Latest round: $40 million Debt (Silcon Valley Bank)
Total raised: $125.8 million (includes $85 million Debt)
HQ: San Jose, California
Tags: SMB, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, billing, payments, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Varo Money
Digital bank
Latest round: $27.4 million Private Equity
Total raised: $27.4 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, deposits, payments, debit card, banking, mobile
Source: Crunchbase, WSJ

Zooz
Payments technology
Latest round: $24 million
Total raised: $40.5 million
HQ: Kefar Sava, Israel
Tags: SMB, payments, mobile, merchants, acquiring, security, credit/debit cards, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Net Element
Mobile payments
Latest round: $20 million Post-IPO Equity ($5 mil) and Debt ($15 mil)
Total raised: Unknown (NASDAQ: NETE)
HQ: Miami, Florida
Tags: Consumer, payments, brands: TOT Group, Unified Payments, Aptito, TOT Money
Source: Crunchbase

Azimo
Digital banking company
Latest round: $15 million
Total raised: $46.6 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, payments, peer-to-peer P2P funds transfers, remittances, FX, Rakuten (invester), Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Bench
Online bookkeeping service
Latest round: $15 million
Total raised: $54.5 million
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tags: SMB, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, billing, payments, invoicing, omnichannel
Source: Crunchbase

Passport
Payments for transportation and parking
Latest round: $8 million Series B
Total raised: $17 million
HQ: Charlotte, North Carolina
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, payments, mobile, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

YieldStreet
Marketplace lender
Latest round: $3.7 million Seed
Total raised: $3.7 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, advisers, SMB, lending, credit, underwriting, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer loan marketplace, investing, P2P
Source: Crunchbase

Love Will Inc.
Blockchain-based financial applications
Latest round: $2.51 million
Total raised: $2.61 million
HQ: St. Louis, Missouri
Tags: Consumer, payments, blockchain, crypto-currency, bitcoin, peer-to-peer funds transfers, remittances
Source: Crunchbase

Earny
Purchase protection tool for cardholders
Latest round: $1.2 million Seed
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: Santa Monica, California
Tags: Consumer, lending, credit, underwriting, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer loan marketplace, investing, P2P
Source: Crunchbase

BrightFlag
Invoice analytics
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $1.47 million
HQ: Dublin, Ireland
Tags: SMB, accounting, accounts receivables, billpay, analytics, machine learning
Source: Crunchbase

T2P (iBaht)
Prepaid debit card
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: $1.1 million
HQ: Bangkok, Thailand
Tags: Consumer, payments, debit cards, prepaid
Source: Crunchbase

Monera
Personal finance portal
Latest round: $550,000
Total raised: $550,000
HQ: Copenhagen, Denmark
Tags: Consumer, price comparisons, insurance, mortgage, banking, lead gen, discovery, quotes
Source: Crunchbase

Dynamis Software
Sales tools for health insurance brokers
Latest round: $520,000
Total raised: $2.62 million
HQ: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Tags: SMB, enterprise, healthcare, health insurance, CDHC plans, sales, marketing
Source: FT Partners

Active.ai
Banking and wealth-management platform
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: India
Accelerator: Kstart
Tags: Banks, advisers, banking, wealth management, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Affordplan
Payments plan for emergency health services
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: New Delhi, India
Accelerator: Kstart
Tags: Healthcare providers, payments, credit, short-term loans, payments plans, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

PoshBerry
Blockchain-based loyalty wallet
Latest round: $250,000 Seed
Total raised: $250,000
HQ: Glarus, Switzerland
Tags: Enterprise (B2B2C), payments, loyalty, debit/credit cards, rewards, blockchain, crypto-currency
Source: Crunchbase

PFITR (Public Funds Investment Tracking and Report)
Porftfolio management for institutional investors
Latest round: $200,000 Convertible Note
Total raised: $1.02 million
HQ: St. Louis, Missouri
Accelerator: VC Fintech Accelerator (Little Rock, Arkansas)
Tags: Investing
Source: Crunchbase

TruckPay
Payment services in the construction industry
Latest round: $200,000 Convertible Note
Total raised: $200,000
HQ: Tenafly, New Jersey
Tags: SMB, payments, logistics, merchants
Source: Crunchbase

Bonop
Micropayments
Latest round: $58,000 Seed
Total raised: $58,000
HQ: Marbella, Spain
Tags: Consumer, payments, content
Source: Crunchbase

Digitzs
Payments provider for digital services
Latest round: Not disclosed Seed
Total raised: $2.55 million
HQ: Santa Monica, California
Tags: SMB, merchants, payments, point-of-sale, mobile, credit/debit card aquiring
Source: Crunchbase

EPG (Easy Payment Gateway)
Payment management 
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: $1.8 million
HQ: Gibraltar
Tags: SMB, merchants, payments, point-of-sale, mobile, credit/debit card aquiring
Source: Crunchbase

Hishab Ltd. 
Voice-based mobile POS
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Tags: SMB, merchants, payments, point-of-sale, mobile, credit/debit card aquiring
Source: Crunchbase

Paylike
Payment platform
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unkonwn
HQ: Aarhus, Denmark
Tags: SMB, merchants, payments, point-of-sale, mobile, credit/debit card aquiring mobile, APIs, developers
Source: Crunchbase

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Dashlane’s $22.5 Million in New Funding Comes with a Strategic Partner

Dashlane’s $22.5 Million in New Funding Comes with a Strategic Partner
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Dashlane, Funding

DashlaneHomepage2016.2

Password-management company Dashlane closed on $22.5 million in a round led by TransUnion, which has joined the company as a strategic partner. Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, and Rho Ventures also contributed to today’s round, which brings Dashlane’s total funding to $52.5 million since its 2009 launch.

CEO Emmanuel Schalit says of the milestone: “This new round of funding—combined with the strategic relationship with TransUnion—will strengthen our ability to achieve our vision by giving us the capital to accelerate our roadmap, as well as the ability to further integrate new and powerful services for our users.”

The strategic partnership with TransUnion comes at a time when consumers are at an increasingly high risk for account breaches. Together with TransUnion, Dashlane will create integrated services focused on credit monitoring, identity and fraud protection, credit information, and breaches. Additionally, Dashlane will use TransUnion as a channel partner to expand its distribution across the globe.

President of TransUnion Consumer Interactive, John Danaher, says, “We feel TransUnion, with its vast array of credit- and identity-protection services and its global consumer reach, can help accelerate Dashlane’s growth even further.” Danaher will join Dashlane’s advisory board along with Carl Pascarella, former CEO of Visa.

Dashlane, which presented at FinovateEurope 2013, has focused primarily on the direct-to-consumer market, helping more than 5 million consumers in 150 countries manage their identities. However, the company has recently broadened its focus to partner with banks. The New York-based company is currently working with the largest bank in Mexico, Banamex, and will announce more partnerships with large banks and payment networks this year.

TransUnion took the stage at FinovateSpring 2010 to demo ZenDough, an interactive tool that displays an organization’s finances and credit scores in an easy-to-read visual.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

TransferWise Lands $26 Million, Crossing into Unicorn Territory

TransferWise Lands $26 Million, Crossing into Unicorn Territory
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, TransferWise

Foreign Exchange platform TransferWise, which announced geographic expansions last month, today reports an expansion of a different nature. The London-based company pulled in $26 million, bringing its total funding to $117 million and burgeoning its valuation to $1.1 billion (according to TechCrunch), thereby making it a fintech unicorn.

The round, which the company plans to use to fuel future growth, was led by Baillie Gifford. Existing investors, which include Andreessen Horowitz and Sir Richard Branson, also participated.

At FinovateEurope 2013, TransferWise co-founders Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann stood up in front of an audience of bankers with a decidedly non-bank-friendly message. There, the company announced its mission to reduce foreign exchange fees by circumventing financial institutions. Today, the company transfers $750 million each month on its platform.

TransferWise employs a workforce of more than 600 across its offices in United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, where a separate money-transfer license is required for all 50 states. The company recently received heat after one of its U.S. banking partners was scrutinized by regulators for “unsafe and unsound banking practices,” though co-founder Hinrikus states that he is confident TransferWise is in compliance.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Fintech Fundings: 114 Companies Raised $7.3 Billion in April

By Jim Bruene Posted on
Categories: Funding

money_tree_newThe month of April ended on busy note as 29 companies raised $427 million in the final week (ending April 29). That brought the total raised in April to $7.3 billion, which would have been a record year anytime before 2014.

The previous weekly totals in April:

The total number of deals YTD stands at 438, almost double last year’s 238. Total dollars raised YTD stands at $14.0 billion, 2.5x the $5.6 billion raised during the same period a year ago.

This week, seven deals did not reveal the amount raised including Finovate alum BlueVine which added Citigroup to the $40 million round originally closed last year.

——-

Fintech deals by size from 23 April to 29 April 2016:

Mosaic
Marketplace lender for residential solor projects
Latest round: $200 million Private Equity
Total raised: $224.9 million
HQ: Oakland, California
Tags: Consumer, lending, credit, underwriting, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer loan marketplace, clean energy, investing, P2P
Source: Crunchbase

Nubank
Digital banking company
Latest round: $56 million Debt (from Goldman Sachs)
Total raised: $154.3 million ($98.3 million Equity, $56 million Debt)
HQ: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Tags: Consumer, deposits, payments, prepaid, debit card, banking, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Remitly
International payments service
Latest round: $38.5 million Series C
Total raised: $61.5 million
HQ: Seattle, Washington
Tags: Consumer, SMB, remittances, payments, FX, international funds transfers
Source: Crunchbase

bitFlyer
Japanese Bitcoin exchange
Latest round: $27 million Series C
Total raised: $34.4 million
HQ: Tokyo, Japan
Tags: Consumer, payments, bitcoin, blockchain, cyrpto-currency
Source: Crunchbase

Trov
On-demand insurance
Latest round: $25.5 million Series C
Total raised: $37.8 million
HQ: Danville, California
Tags: Consumer, insurance, object insurance, mobile, risk management
Source: FT Partners

SunFunder
Crowdfunding platform for investing in solar projects
Latest round: $17 million Debt
Total raised: $22.82 million ($5.82 milllion Equity, $17 million Debt)
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, investors, advisers, crowdfunding, equity, clean energy
Source: Crunchbase

E la Carte
Mobile ordering & payments for restuarants
Latest round: $15 million Debt
Total raised: $67.5 million ($52.5 million Equity, $15 million Debt)
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: SMB, B2B2C, payments, point of sale, acquiring, credit/debit cards, merchants
Source: Crunchbase

TranServ
SmartPay payments platform for enterprises
Latest round: $15 million Series C
Total raised: $15+ million
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Enterprise, B2B2C, payments, merchants, APIs, developers
Source: Crunchbase

Lendix
Marketplace small business lending platform
Latest round: $13.5 million Series B
Total raised: $27.1 million
HQ: Paris, France
Tags: SMB, lending, credit, underwriting, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer loan marketplace, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Savedo
Deposit price comparison site
Latest round: $5.6 million Series A
Total raised: $5.6 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: Consumer, deposits, investments, price comparison, discovery, investing, lead gen
Source: Crunchbase

GoHenry
Prepaid debit for youth (18 and under)
Latest round: $3.58 million Equity Crowdfunding (Crowdcube)
Total raised: $3.58 million
HQ: Lymigton, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, youth, debit card, mobile, spending, controls, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Bitso
Mexican Bitcoin exchange
Latest round: $1.85 million
Total raised: $1.85 million
HQ: Mexico City, Mexico
Tags: Consumer, payments, blockchain, virtual currency, crypto-currency, remittances
Source: Crunchbase

ID Global Solutions
Payment security technology
Latest round: $1.55 million
Total raised: $1.55 million
HQ: Longwood, Florida
Tags: SMB, merchants, security, payments, POS, credit/debit cards, authorization
Source: Crunchbase

ClearTax
Income tax service
Latest round: $1.3 million Seed
Total raised: $1.42 million
HQ: New Delhi, India
Tags: Consumer, SMB, accounting, bookkeeping,, tax returns, tax prep
Source: Crunchbase

Impact Health
Health insurance comparison site
Latest round: $1.3 million Seed
Total raised: $1.51 million
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Accelerator: TechStars
Tags: Consumer, insurance, healthcare, discover, price comparison, lead gen
Source: Crunchbase

Rooam
Payment system for bars and nightlife services
Latest round: $1.2 million Seed
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: Washington D.C.
Tags: Consumer, SMB, payments, merchants, point of sale, mobile, POS, restaurants, bars
Source: Crunchbase

DreamFunded
Private tech stock market to sell pre-IPO shares
Latest round: $1 million Equity Crowdfunding
Total raised: $1.2 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, investors, employees, HR benefits, stock exchange, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Kasisto
Virtual assistant banking services
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $ million
HQ: Burlingame, California
Tags: Enterprise, B2B2C, service, AI, DBS Bank (investor), mobile
Source: FT Partners

Impact Guru
Crowdfunding solution for nonprofits
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Mumbai, India
Accelerator/Incubator: Harvard iLab
Tags: Consumer, payments, crowdfunding, nonprofit, fundraising
Source: Crunchbase

Tramonex
International payment service for small businesses
Latest round: $365,000 Grant
Total raised: $ million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: SMB, payments, cross border, FX, remittances
Source: Crunchbase

CallforLoans
Personal loan comparison site
Latest round: $105,000 Seed
Total raised: $105,000
HQ: India
Tags: Consumer, lending, credit, underwriting, discovery, quotes, lead gen
Source: Crunchbase

Fundwise
Equity crowdfunding platform
Latest round: $34,000 Convertible Note
Total raised: $143,000
HQ: Tallinn, Estonia
Tags: SMB, equity, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer marketplace, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Almax Analytics
AI for capital markets news
Latest round: Undisclosed Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Investors, advisers, traders, investing, data analytics, information, news
Source: FT Partners

BlueVine
Invoice factoring
Latest round: Undisclosed
Total raised: $64 million
HQ: California
Tags: SMB, factoring, accounts receivables, trade finance, lending, credit, underwriting, Citibank (investor), Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Deposit Rates Exchange
Deposit rates information site
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Australia
Tags: Consumer, deposits, savings accounts, investing
Source: FT Partners

HireAthena
Accounting, payroll and HR platform for small businesses
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, human resoures, accounting, billing, payroll, invoicing, bookkeeping, insurance
Source: FT Partners

Nvstr
Social platform for investors
Latest round: Undisclosed Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, investors, social, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Parasail
Alt-lender for medical expenses
Latest round: Undisclosed Seed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, lending, credit, underwriting, healthcare, payments, insurance
Source: Crunchbase

Pariti Technologies
Mobile spending app 
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, mobile, spending, budgeting, PFM, personal finance
Source: FT Partners

 

 

 

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

New Investment in Personal Capital Takes Valuation to $500 Million

New Investment in Personal Capital Takes Valuation to $500 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, Personal Capital

PersonalCapital_homepage_May2016

Courtesy of a Series E round led by IGM Financial, digital wealth management giant Personal Capital picked up an investment of $50 million now, with another $25 million coming in 2017. The new capital takes the company’s valuation to $500 million.

Calling IGM Financial “the ideal investor,” Personal Capital CEO Bill Harris said his company would benefit from IGM Financial’s “expertise in financial advice and asset management.” Harris added that the partnership with IGM Financial would help his company meet the growing demand for Personal Capital’s digital wealth-management services.

PersonalCapital_stage_FS2014

Pictured (left to right): Personal Capital’s Jim Del Favero, chief product officer, and CFO Bill Harris demonstrated their platform’s One Click Investment Proposals at FinovateSpring 2014.

In the same statement, IGM President and CEO Jeff Carney praised Personal Capital’s veteran management. “We believe the financial advisory landscape will be enhanced by the type of service that Personal Capital provides,” Carney said. “We’re delighted to be backing the leader in digital wealth management.”

Personal Capital uses a hybrid approach of online technical tools and personalized advice to give average investors the same kind of service historically enjoyed by the high-net-worth clients. “Our approach allows people not only to manage their entire financial life through the mobile devices they carry in their pockets, but also to receive a level of personalized advice previously available only to the ultra-wealthy,” Harris explained. Personal Capital manages $2.4 billion in investments for more than a million investors.

In addition to management, Personal Capital offers investors free resources to help them manage their investments better. These solutions include a dashboard that lets investors see all their investment accounts in one place, as well as a Fee Analyzer and Investment Checkup. For fund management, Personal Capital charges a flat fee based on the percentage of assets managed, starting at 0.89% for the first million.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, Personal Capital demonstrated its technology at FinovateSpring 2014 and presented at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015. The company surpassed $2 billion in assets under management in March, and lowered its investment minimum from $100,000 to $25,000 back in November.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Tink Pulls in $10 Million to Launch Virtual Bank

Tink Pulls in $10 Million to Launch Virtual Bank
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Funding, Tink

TinkHomepage2016

The creators of Swedish PFM app Tink, Daniel Kjellén and Fredrik Hedberg (pictured below), have just closed on $10 million to launch a virtual bank. The Series B roundDaniel och Fredrik_Tink was led by Creades and SEB; ABN AMRO and Sunstone Capital also contributed. Combined with its Series A round in 2014, the company’s total funding is $14 million.

Tink will use the funds to expand internationally and launch a virtual bank, Tink 2.0. The virtual bank will allow users to transfer money, make payments, scan and approve bills, and manage their money across any account directly from within the Tink app. These new capabilities are made possible by Europe’s new Payment Service Directive (PSD2), approved in January, that opens Europe’s banking infrastructure by making their APIs available to third parties.

Fredrik Hedberg, founder and CTO of Tink, comments on the coming launch: “Ultimately, it’s about building a virtual bank, helping people with banking without being a bank. The consumer will not only get a better understanding, tips and advice on her finances, but also the ability to take action on it.” Founder and CEO Daniel Kjellén chimes says, “We think it should be easy to make smart financial decisions, and we want to contribute to a greater transparency in the industry, which will benefit both the consumer and the best banks. To get investors with such solid experience and the ability to develop partnerships with traditional banks is of course a huge asset for a company like Tink.”

TinkApp2

Tink differentiates itself in the PFM space by collecting two years of historical account data across all of a user’s bank accounts and payment cards. The company uses hands-off spending categorization and simplifies the user’s view of their income and expenses. The app suggests budget options, sends alerts, and offers a feed of the user’s own personal finance highlights.

Since launching the app in Sweden at FinovateEurope 2014, Tink now boasts more than 300,000 users and is currently running beta tests in 10 different European markets to prepare for the international launch later this year.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Tagit Locks in More than $8 Million in New Funding

Tagit Locks in More than $8 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, Fundings, Tagit

Tagit_homepage_May2016

Mobile technology solutions provider Tagit has raised $8.75 million (S$12 million) in funding from Japanese IT specialist, SRA Group. The investment will help both companies grow their market exposure in Asia. Tagit is headquartered in Singapore and was founded in 2004.

Tagit CEO Sandeep Bagaria said the investment would help speed growth in sectors like digital banking and “Smart City” technology. In addition to leveraging the partnership to pursue opportunities in Japan and North Asia, Tagit plans to use the financing to add to its staff in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Tagit_stage_FA2012

Pictured (left to right): CIO Parikshit Paspulati and CPO Neelima Subramanyam demonstrated Mobeix Open Platform at FinovateAsia 2012 in Singapore.

Tagit builds open-architecture, mobile banking and ecommerce platforms for FIs and other businesses. The company’s signature solution, Mobeix is a mobile middleware platform that helps migrate web-based services to the mobile environment. With customers including Axis Bank, Citibank India, Maybank Singapore, and the Royal Bank of Canada, Tagit demoed its technology at FinovateAsia 2012 in Singapore. Tagit was recognized as a “leader” by Forrester in their Q4 2015 Mobile Banking Solutions report, and was one of the first companies to be accredited by the Accreditation@IDA programme sponsored by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

Deal Street Asia’s analysis of the deal suggested that SRA Group’s investment in Tagit was part of a trend of Japanese companies preferring investment in Southeast Asia over China. The article cited a 2014 report that cited Japan as the second biggest investor in the 10 ASEAN nations for the previous three years, a sum that was triple the amount invested in China over the same time. The investment was made via SRA Group’s Singapore subsidiary, SRA IP Solutions (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook