Fintech Fundings: 29 Companies Raise $350 Million Week Ending Jan 29; Full Month Tops $4 Billion

Money_circuitFor the third time in that past four weeks a fintech funding record has fallen. This week it was number of companies, beating the total funded two weeks ago by one. As you may recall, last week we set the new mark (by a large margin) for the highest weekly dollar total with $2.7 billion.

All told, last week 29 fintech companies worldwide brought in $352 million, including Finovate alum PinDrop Security, which added $75 million for its voice biometrics tools to fight fraud.

In January, fintech companies raised $4 billion in equity and debt worldwide, almost four times the $780 million raised during January 2015. And the number of deals is up 70% (104 compared to 61 in 2015).

Here are the fintech deals by size from 23 Jan to 29 Jan 2016:

Nexara Holdings
Mortgage startup with two brands: NewFI & Bluestream Lending
Latest round: $100 million Series
Total raised: $100 million
HQ: Emeryville, California
Tags: Consumer, credit, mortgage, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

Pindrop Security
Anti-fraud technology for financial institutions and others
Latest round: $75 million Series C
Total raised: $122 million
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, fraud, voice biometrics, security, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Cadre
Real estate investing platform
Latest round: $50 million Series B
Total raised: $68.3 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, advisors, real estate, mortgage, investing, wealth management
Source: FT Partners

Bayut
UAE real estate portal
Latest round: $20 million Series C
Total raised: $29 Million
HQ: Dubai, UAE
Tags: Consumer, home buying, renting, mortgage, real estate
Source: Crunchbase

College Ave Student Loans
Student loan lender
Latest round: $20 million
Total raised: $40 million
HQ: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Tags: Consumer, credit, youth market, underwriting, lending, loans, FirstTrust Bank (loan originator)
Source: Crunchbase

The Zebra
Car insurance price comparison
Latest round: $17 million Series A
Total raised: $23.03 million
HQ: Austin, Texas
Tags: Consumer, insurance, automobile insurance, price comparison, lead gen, discovery, quotes
Source: Crunchbase

PitchBook
Investment information
Latest round: $10 million Series B
Total raised: Unkown
HQ: Seattle, Washington
Tags: SMB, advisors, enterprise, investing, trading, wealth management
Source: FT Partners

Sprinklebit
Social investing platform
Latest round: $10 million Series A
Total raised: $13.7 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, investing, trading, social media
Source: Crunchbase

Sonovate
Contract financing and management services for professional recruitment firms
Latest round: $7.1 Million Series
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: SMB, credit, receivables financing, management
Source: FT Partners

Bench
Online bookkeeping service
Latest round: $6.75 million Series
Total raised: $23.5 Million
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Tags: SMB, bookkeeping, accounting, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Wave Accounting
Online accounting & invoicing
Latest round: $6.3 million
Total raised: $6.3 million
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tags: SMB, bookkeeping, accounting, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Cumulus Funding
Consumer alt-lender
Latest round: $5.9 million Series
Total raised: $6.75 million
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Tags: Consumer, credit, underwriting, loans, lending
Source: FT Partners

Kurtosys
Client reporting and information management for financial services
Latest round: $5.2 million Series
Total raised: $25.6 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Enterprise, advisors, wealth management, hosting
Source: FT Partners

Smartika
Social lending platform
Latest round: $4.9 million
Total raised: $4.9 million
HQ: Milan, Italy
Tags: Consumer, credit, person-to-person, marketplace lender, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Vestorly
Content management for financial services
Latest round: $4.1 million Series A
Total raised: $4.1 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Enterprise, content, investing
Source: FT Partners

Dopay
Electronic payroll system 
Latest round: $2.4 million Series A
Total raised: $8.0 million
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: B2B2C, SMB, payments, payroll, human resources, underbanked, unbanked, Barclays Accelerator
Source: Crunchbase

Insurify
Car insurance comparison site
Latest round: $2 million Seed
Total raised: $2 million
HQ: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tags: Consumer, insurance, automobile, car insurance, lead gen, price comparison, discovery
Source: Crunchbase

ClaimKit
Insurance claim management
Latest round: $1.8 million
Total raised: $2.36 million
HQ: Overland Park, Kansas
Tags: Enterprise, insurance claim processing
Source: FT Partners

AlgoMerchant
Investment portal
Latest round: $1.3 million Seed
Total raised: $1.3 million
HQ: Singapore
Tags: Consumer, investing, lead gen, wealth management, discovery, advisors
Source: Crunchbase

Jewel Paymentech 
Risk management for payment acquirers 
Latest round: $1 million
Total raised: $1 million
HQ: Singapore
Tags: SMB, enterprise, security, fraud management, acquirers, merchants, payments
Source: Crunchbase

YoPay
Digital payments
Latest round: $550,000 Seed
Total raised: 550,000
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, merchants, credit/debit card acquiring, payments
Source: Crunchbase

bitFlyer
Japanese bitcoin exchange
Latest round: $420,000
Total raised: $7.36 million
HQ: Japan
Tags: Consumer, SMB, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, virtual currency, blockchain
Source: Crunchbase

SatoshiPay
Bitcoin nanopayments
Latest round: $390,000
Total raised: $630,000
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Consumer, payments, micro-payments, content, virtual currency
Source: Crunchbase

Billecta
Online invoicing 
Latest round: $140,000
Total raised: $140,000
HQ: Sweden
Tags:SMB, bookkeeping, accounting, invoicing
Source: Crunchbase

Finova Financial
Online vehicle-secured lending
Latest round: $125,000 Seed
Total raised: $125,000
HQ: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Tags: Consumer, credit, automobile lending, alt-lender, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

C2FO
Working capital finance
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: $85 million in prior rounds
HQ: Fairway, Kansas
Tags: SMB, enterprise, credit, receivables financing, trade finance, factoring, underwriting, Citibank (investor)
Source: FT Partners

CreditNation
Loan comparison site
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Delhi, India
Tags: Consumer, credit, lead gen, price comparison, loans, discovery, lending
Source: Crunchbase

Truebill
Recurring payments management
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, payments, personal financial management, billpay, recurring bills, PFM, Ycombinator
Source: Crunchbase

True Potential
Wealth management technology
Latest round: Undisclosed Private Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: London, England, UK
Tags: Advisors, consumer, wealth management, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Finovate Alums Are Top Tech Startup Fundraisers in Four States

Finovate Alums Are Top Tech Startup Fundraisers in Four States

TheUSofStartups_infographic

An interesting infographic from CB Insights reveals four Finovate/FinDEVr alums to be the most well-funded tech startups in their respective states.

“Using CB Insights data, we analyzed the most well-funded startups by state, based on disclosed equity funding,” read the CB Insights blog accompanying the map. The survey did not include debt funding and companies that had to have raised at least $5 million. The survey also excluded Alaska or Hawaii, which had no qualifying startups.

Avalara_FinDEVr2015_logoAvalara (Washington State)

CashStar_Grayscale_Logo_No_TagCashStar (Maine)

edo_Interactive_logoedo Interactive (Tennessee)

 

Kabbage_logoKabbage (Georgia)

For more on funding for Finovate alums, check out our funding year-in-review, Finovate Alums Raise More than $3 Billion in 2015.

Finovate Alums Raise More Than $3 Billion in 2015

Finovate Alums Raise More Than $3 Billion in 2015

moneybag_goldcoinsMaybe it’s passé to say another year was a “banner year” for investment in fintech. But there is no better way to describe the more than $3 billion in funding raised by Finovate alums in 2015.

We previewed our alum funding for 2015 a few weeks ago with a look at investment in European-based alums. Now we present the numbers for the entire world.

Finovate alums by year

Highlights from 2015

  • Worldwide, 116 Finovate alums raised $3.1 billion
  • Credit Karma raised the largest amount of capital, pulling in $175 million in June. Kabbage came in second with $135 million in October.
  • April may be poetry’s cruelest month, but for Finovate alums, it was the most lucrative with $400 million raised by 15 companies. January was a close second, with $340 million raised by 14 companies.
  • April was also the biggest month for number of deals with 15. January, May, and July were a close second with 14 deals each.

Alum funding by month

December

November

October

September

Mergers & Acquisitions: Prosper signals Move into PFM with $30 Million Acquisition of BillGuard.

August

Mergers & Acquisitions: FutureAdvisor acquired by BlackRock.

July

June

May

Honorable mention: Zenefits raises $500 million (company founded by serial entrepreneur Parker Conrad, founder of alums SigFig and Wikinvest).

April

Mergers & Acquisitions: SaveUp purchased by Chicago-area entrepreneur, Paul J. Bart; Early Warning acquires Authentify

March

Mergers & Acquisitions: Multi-Factor Authentication Specialist Toopher Acquired by Salesforce; ReadyforZero Acquired by Avant in cash and stock deal; printer-giant Lexmark to acquire Kofax for $1 billion; LearnVest acquired by Northwestern Mutual for more than $250 million.

February

Mergers & Acquisitions: Samsung acquisition of LoopPay puts Apple Pay on notice.

January

Mergers & Acquisitions: Akimbo Financial acquired by Payment Data Systems.


*New alum; funds raised prior to Finovate appearance.

Funding that companies received before they first appeared at Finovate was not counted in overall totals.

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected].

Pindrop Raises $75 Million for Phone-printing Authentication

Pindrop Raises $75 Million for Phone-printing Authentication

PindropHomepage

Voice-fraud prevention and authentication startup Pindrop closed a $75 million funding round. This installment brings the company’s total funding to $122 million since its founding in 2011.

Google Capital, a new investor to the Georgia-based company, led the Series C round. Additional contributors include GV, another new backer, and existing financiers Andreessen Horowitz, IVP, Citi Ventures and Felicis Ventures.

Pindrop works with three of the top-four largest U.S. banks to authenticate their calls using phone-printing technology that analyzes and assigns risk to the caller. The technology helps a bank’s call center answer key questions:

  • Where does the call originate?
  • Is it a trusted number?
  • Does the caller’s voice sound as it should?
  • What device is the caller using?
  • Should the person’s attempt be blocked?

Pindrop will use the new funds to fuel international expansion. The company already has a small office in the United Kingdom, an area in which, according to Fortune, phone-fraud rates are fourfold higher than those in the United States. Pindrop is also in the midst of expanding to Latin America and plans to extend operations into Asia Pacific later this year.

PindropCEOIn a release today, the company notes highlights from 2105:

  • Saved tens of millions of dollars for enterprise customers
  • Tripled revenue in the last year
  • Doubled its customer base in the last year, including adding two of the top-three U.S. banks
  • Protected 360+ million calls

Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan (pictured) debuted the company’s Fraud Detection System at FinovateFall 2012.

Fintech Fundings: 23 Companies Raise $2.7 Billion Week Ending Jan 22

Fintech Fundings: 23 Companies Raise $2.7 Billion Week Ending Jan 22

money_yuanLast week, we set the record for most fintech deals in a single week with 28. This week, we established a new mark (by a large margin) for the highest weekly dollar total with $2.7 billion. The previous record was $1.6 billion the third week of August 2015. These are mind-boggling numbers. Imagine this: Your company, JD.com, raises $1 billion, and you are not even the biggest deal, as Chinese rival Lufax brings in $1.2 billion the very same week.

All told, 23 fintech companies worldwide brought in $2.733 billion. That included four Finovate alums who raised a total of more than $190 million:

Year-to-date, fintech companies have raised $3.5 billion in equity and debt worldwide, almost six times the $680 million raised during the first three weeks of 2015. And the number of deals is up 67% (75 compared to 45 in 2015).

Here are the fintech deals by size from 16 Jan to 22 Jan 2016:

Lufax
Chinese P2P lender
Latest round: $1.22 billion Series B (at $18.5 billion valuation)
Total raised: $1.7 billion
HQ: Shanghai, China
Tags: Consumer, credit, person-to-person, marketplace lender, underwriting, investing, Ping Am (investor)
Source: Crunchbase, Crowdfund Insider

JD Finance
Financial subsidiary of JD.com (direct sales company)
Latest round: $1 billion at $7.1 billion valuation
Total raised: $1 billion
HQ: Chaoyang, China
Tags: Consumer, SMB, credit, deposits, mobile, banking
Source: Crunchbase

WeLab
Consumer alt-credit provider
Latest round: $160 million Series B
Total raised: $180 million
HQ: Hong Kong, China
Tags: Consumer, credit, mobile, underwriting, lending, ING Bank (investor)
Source: Crunchbase

LendUp
Payday loan alternative
Latest round: $150 million Series B (mix of equity/debt)
Total raised: $164 million (mix of equity/debt)
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Consumer, credit, lending, underwriting, mobile, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Digital Asset
Distributed ledger technology for financial services
Latest round: $50 million
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: New York City, New York
Tags: Enterprise, blockchain, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, database, securities trading, custody
FI investors: JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO, Santander, PNC, Citigroup
Source: FT Partners

BlueVine
Small-business invoice factoring
Latest round: $40 million Series C
Total raised: $64 million
HQ: Palo Alto, California
Tags: SMB, credit, factoring, accounts receivables financing, underwriting, commercial credit, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Blend Labs
Mortgage processing platform
Latest round: $40 million Series C
Total raised: $65 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Enterprise, mortgage banking/brokers, credit, home loans, process automation
Source: FT Partners

Zameen.com
Pakistani residential real estate portal
Latest round: $2o million Series C
Total raised: $29 million
HQ: Lahore, Pakistan
Tags: Consumer, real estate, lead gen, mortgage, home buying, agents
Source: Crunchbase

Housing.com (aka Locon Solutions)
Indian residential real estate portal
Latest round: $14.7 million Series
Total raised: $154.2 million
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Consumer, real estate, lead gen, mortgage, home buying, agents
Source: Crunchbase

Travelers Box
Kiosk to convert foreign coins and currency into gift cards
Latest round: $10 million Series
Total raised: $14.5 million
HQ: Istanbul, Turkey
Tags: Consumer, FX, hardware, gift cards
Source: Crunchbase

Neyber
Platform for employers to lend to employees
Latest round: $8.56 million Series
Total raised: $8.56 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, B2B2C, credit, underwriting, HR, employee benefits, loans
Source: Crunchbase

PayIt
Government mobile payment processor
Latest round: $4.5 million Series A
Total raised: $4.5 million
HQ: Kansas City, Missouri
Tags: Consumer, payments, tickets, B2G2C, merchants, acquiring, debit/credit cards
Source: Crunchbase

CapLinked
Cloud-based platform for coordinating asset sales, financings and M&A
Latest round: $3.5 million
Total raised: $9.4 million
HQ: Manhattan Beach, California
Tags: SMB, deals, investing, investment banking, advisers, Peter Thiel (investor)
Source: Crunchbase, American Banker

Solovis
Investment management platform for advisers
Latest round: $3.25 million
Total raised: $3.5 million
HQ: Birmingham, Alabama
Tags: Investment managers, wealth management, investing, insurance, family office
Source: Crunchbase

LoanHero
Point-of-sale financing
Latest round: $2.5 million Seed
Total raised: $4.6 million
HQ: La Jolla, California
Tags: Consumer, credit, POS, underwriting, loans, purchase financing, tablet
Source: Crunchbase

EasyPolicy
Indian insurance portal
Latest round: $2.2 million Seed
Total raised: $2.2 million
HQ: Uttar Pradesh, India
Tags: Consumer, insurance, lead gen, price comparison, car/auto, life
Source: Crunchbase

Linxo
Personal financial manager
Latest round: $2.18 million Seed
Total raised: $2.18 million
HQ: Aix-en-Provence, France
Tags: Consumer, personal finance management, PFM, spending, budgeting, mobile, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Cashforce
Enterprise cash management
Latest round: $1.1 million
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Herentals, Belgium
Tags: Enterprise, SMB, accounting, cash management, treasury, commercial banking
Source: Let’s Talk Payments

Fisdom
Mobile personal investing
Latest round: $500,000 Seed
Total raised: $500,000
HQ: Bangalore, India
Tags: Consumer, investing, savings, personal finance
Source: Crunchbase

IP Commerce
SMB accounting technology (CommerceSync)
Latest round: Undisclosed Series A
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Denver, Colorado
Tags: SMB, accounting, developers, ecommerce, financial management, payments, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Central Technology Services
Software and IT financing
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Tags: SMB, enterprise, commercial credit, asset financing
Source: FT Partners

EPS
Retail banking and ATM technology
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: $10 million (previously)
HQ: Mumbai, India
Tags: Financial institutions, B2B2C, deposits, banking, payments
Source: FT Partners

Precidian
Investment management
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Bedminster, New Jersey
Tags: Enterprise, mutual funds, ETFs, trading, advisers, wealth management, Legg Mason (investor)
Source: FT Partners

——–

Image licensed from 123rf.com

Linxo Raises €2 Million from Crédit Agricole

Linxo Raises €2 Million from Crédit Agricole

Linxo_homepage_Jan2016

French PFM innovator Linxo (a FinovateEurope 2011 alum) has raised €2 million in funding from new investor Crédit Agricole, and existing investor Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. Having raised €500,000 in 2013, the company’s total capital now stands at more than $2.6 million.

The investment will help strenghten Linxo’s position in France, as well as fund the company’s expansion into other European markets. Linxo also plans to add talent to both its technical and communications teams.

Linxo_stage_FEU2011

From left: Co-founders Hugues Pisapia, managing director, and CEO Bruno Van Haetsdaele demonstrated the Linxo platform at FinovateEurope 2011.

Bruno Van Haetsdaele and Hugues Pisapia, Linxo co-founders, said the investment was a show of confidence in their platform. “These investors confirm our development while leaving us the independence and autonomy to continue to grow rapidly,” said Van Haetsdaele. The pair says the trust of leading banking players showed a strong signal of confidence in the security of Linxo’s solution and the sustainability of their business model.

Linxo specializes in personal finance management and savings-optimization solutions for consumers. It’s the first account-aggregation service supported by French FIs. More than simply aggregating accounts, Linxo has opened up its platform to application developers looking to build features such as partner dashboards, rewards and offers programs, and more.

Linxo demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2011 in London. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France, Linxo employs seven and says its platform has been used by more than 850,000 businesses and individuals.

IP Commerce Closes Series A Round

IP Commerce Closes Series A Round

IPCommerceHomepage

This week, small business software company IP Commerce landed its first round of funding since it was founded in 2007. The amount was undisclosed.

Top-name investors contributed to the round:

  • First Data Ventures
  • Intel Capital
  • Meritage Funds
  • Camp One Ventures
  • Augury Capital Partners
  • Service Provider Capital

The company’s flagship product, Commerce Sync, helps its 7,000+ small business clients eliminate manual data entry by syncing sales information with their accounting platform. IP Commerce holds partnerships with Clover, Stripe, Square, Quickbooks, and Xero.

IP Commerce company will use the funds to expand its workforce and enhance the functionality of Commerce Sync.

First Data’s Peter Karpas, global head of SMB Solutions, has been appointed to IP Commerce’s board of directors.

IP Commerce is based in Denver. The company debuted its Multi-party Payments Commerce Playlist at FinovateSpring 2012.

LendUp Raises $150 Million in Series B, Expanded Credit Facility

LendUp Raises $150 Million in Series B, Expanded Credit Facility

LendUp_homepage_Jan2016

San Francisco-based alternative lender LendUp has raised $150 million in a combined Series B funding round and expanded credit facility.

The Series B, which involved participation from “almost all” of LendUp’s existing investors, was led by Susa Ventures and Data Collective. Victory Park Capital participated in the investment, as well as providing LendUp with a second credit facility. According to LendUp CEO Sasha Orloff, the expanded credit facility will help the company provide new “national products” and reach more customers.

LendUp_stage_FS2014

From left: LendUp Co-founder Sasha Orloff and CTO Jacob Rosenberg demonstrated their platform at FinovateSpring 2014.

Founded in 2011 and launched the following year, LendUp specializes in providing credit products to the millions of U.S. consumers who aren’t able to borrow from traditional banks. These products include the LendUp Ladder, an alternative to payday loans that helps borrowers rebuild their credit, and a new credit card business, the L Card, launched last year.

Named one of “30 Hot Fintech Startups to Watch” by Fox Business in June 2015, and earning a spot on AlwaysOn’s On Finance Top 100 in April 2015, LendUp demonstrated its platform at FinovateSpring 2014. The company has more than 130 employees and anticipates doubling staff by the end of the year.

Finovate’s European Alums Raised More Than $350 Million in 2015

Finovate’s European Alums Raised More Than $350 Million in 2015

Euros_purple

Nineteen Finovate alums headquartered in Europe raised $350 million in 2015.

From the $16,000 in seed money raised by U.K. startup, StockViews, to the €82 million investment received by Germany’s Kreditech, we’ve counted every euro, pound, and dollar that investors poured into our European alums. And whether the funding represented an initial infusion of capital or was part of a multi-stage Series E round, it is clear that investors are very interested in the fintech innovations of Europe.

Take a look for yourself at the “European Portfolio” from 2015 below, featuring Finovate alums from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

GermanFlagGermany

 

Ireland_FlagIreland

 

Netherlands_FlagThe Netherlands

 

 

Switzerland_Flag

 

Switzerland

 

 

UK_FlagUnited Kingdom


There’s still time to join us in London for FinovateEurope! Our two-day conference returns to Old Billingsgate Market Hall, February 9 and 10. Get your tickets today and save your spot.

 

 

BlueVine Raises $40 Million in Round Led by Menlo Ventures

BlueVine Raises $40 Million in Round Led by Menlo Ventures

BlueVine_homepage_Jan2016

BlueVine, a startup that provides financing for small businesses, has raked in $40 million in new funding. The Series C round, led by Menlo Ventures, featured participation from new investor, Rakuten, and boosts BlueVine’s total capital to more than $64 million.

In a post at the company blog, BlueVine founder, CEO Eyal Lifshitz, said the investment would help “bolster its management ranks” as well as drive new feature development and exploration of new verticals. “With this capital infusion,” Lifshitz said, “our team is excited to work with more SMB owners to solve their cash-flow challenges on a greater scale.” BlueVine also announced an expansion of its maximum credit line from $150,000 to $250,000.

BlueVine_stage_FF2014

From left: BlueVine VP of Operations Edward Castano and CEO Eyal Lifshitz demonstrated their platform at FinovateFall 2014 in New York.

BlueVine specializes in cloud-based “invoice financing,” also called “factoring.” The practice helps small- and medium-sized businesses manage cash flow and payment cycles by advancing cash against outstanding invoices via a simple, online solution. BlueVine enables SMEs to get paid on “day one” for invoices due in 15-90 days with credit lines starting at $5,000. BlueVine reported a 12-fold increase in funded invoices in 2015 and expects to fund more than $200 million in working capital in 2016. Tyler Sosin of Menlo Ventures praised the company for “bringing automation and a modern web experience to factoring, a massive market that has yet to be optimized by technology.”

Founded in July 2013 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, BlueVine demonstrated its technology at FinovateFall 2014. BlueVine’s approach to factoring was profiled by PYMNTS.com in September and, in February, the company was highlighted by Fast Company as one of “The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Money.”

Fintech Fundings: 28 Companies Raise $330 Million Week Ending Jan 15

HappyNewYear_MoneyThe year continues its blistering pace with 28 companies worldwide raising new funds this week, the biggest number since we began tracking in July 2014. In total, $332 million was invested with the majority being equity (only $19 million was identified as debt in public comments).

Four Finovate alums made up 40% of the weekly total:

Year-to-date fintech companies have raised $450 million in new equity, 67% more than the $270 million raised in the first half of January 2015. In addition, another $350 million in debt has been added to startups’ balance sheets this year, compared to zero in 2015. So the combined YTD debt and equity total of $800 million is triple the 2015 total. Finally, the number of deals is up 63% (52 compared to 32 in 2015).

Here are the deals by size from 9 Jan to 15 Jan 2016:

Starling
Startup digital bank
Latest round: $70 million
Total raised: $70 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, credit, deposits, mobile, banking
Source: Crunchbase

App Annie
Mobile analytics 
Latest round: $63 million Series E (mostly equity)
Total raised: $157 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: Mobile, app development, Silicon Valley Bank (lender), Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

Duanrong
Person-to-person lender
Latest round: $59 million Series B ($153 million valuation)
Total raised: $69 million
HQ: Bejing, China
Tags: Consumer, credit, lending, loans, underwriting, investing, P2P, person-to-person
Source: Crunchbase

Taulia
Financial supply chain management
Latest round: $46 million
Total raised: $136.7 million
HQ: San Francisco, California
Tags: SMB, invoicing, payments, accounts receivables, accounts payable, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

RealtyMogul
Online marketplace for real estate investing
Latest round: $18.4 million ($1.5 million equity, $16.9 million debt)
Total raised: $63.4 million (including $16.9 million debt)
HQ: Los Angeles, California
Tags: Consumer, SMB, credit, lending, loans, underwriting, investing, P2P, commercial mortgages, investment property, Finovate alum
Source: FT Partners

PolicyGenius
Person-to-person student loan lender
Latest round: $15 million Series B
Total raised: $21.05 million
HQ: Brooklyn, New York
Tags: Consumer, insurance (life, pet, renters, disability), quotes, lead gen
Source: Crunchbase

Ping++
Integrated payment processor
Latest round: $10 million Series B
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Shanghai, China
Tags: Enterprise, B2B2C, payments, mobile, SDK, API, developers, credit/debit cards
Source: Crunchbase

Mambu
SaaS banking platform
Latest round: $8.73 million Series B
Total raised: $13.1 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: Enterprise, digital banking platform, Finovate alum
Source: Finovate

FINCAD
Derivative risk management
Latest round: $7 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Tags: Enterprise, investing, trading, risk management, security, compliance
Source: Crunchbase

Symbiont
Blockchain technology for securities
Latest round: $7 million
Total raised: $7 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Enterprise, investing, cyrpto-currency, blockchain
Source: Crunchbase

FinanceFox
Mobile insurance brokerage
Latest round: $5.5 million
Total raised: $5.5 million
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Tags: Consumer, insurance, policy management, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Unwired
Mobile banking app developer for financial institutions
Latest round: $4.8 million
Total raised: $9.4 million
HQ: Austin, Texas
Tags: Enterprise, B2B2C, mobile banking, digital banking
Source: Crunchbase

Vericred
Health insurance information provider
Latest round: $3.1 million Seed
Total raised: $4.2 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: Consumer, insurance, health care, comparison shopping, API, developers
Source: FT Partners

Moneybox
Millennial saving & investing app
Latest round: $3 million Seed
Total raised: $3 million
HQ: London, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, savings, investing, youth
Source: Crunchbase

Questis
Financial coaching as an employee benefit
HQ: Charleston, South Carolina
Latest round: $2.8 million
Total raised: $6.3 million
Tags: Personal financial management, advice, PFM, retirement planning, employee benefits, insurance
Source: FT Partners

Coindrum
Exchange unwanted foreign coins for shopping vouchers
Latest round: $2 million
Total raised: $2 million
HQ: Dublin, Ireland
Tags: Consumer, payments, hardware
Source: Crunchbase

Lift Credit
Online consumer lending
Latest round: $1.8 million Debt
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Provo, Utah
Tags: Consumer, credit, lending, loans, underwriting
Source: Crunchbase

FI Navigator
Data analytics for financial services companies
Latest round: $1.5 million
Total raised: $1.5 million
HQ: Atlanta, Georgia
Tags: Enterprise, BI, metrics, analytics, big data
Source: Crunchbase

Minkasu
Mobile payments platform
Latest round: $1 million Seed
Total raised: $1.75 million
HQ: Milpitas, California
Tags: Consumer, payments, mobile, wallet
Source: Crunchbase

Investly
Person-to-person small biz lending platform
Latest round: $653,000
Total raised: $673,000
HQ: Tallinn, Estonia
Tags: SMB, credit, lending, loans, underwriting, investing, P2P, business loans, crowdfunding
Source: Crunchbase

CapitalPitch
Startup capital raising platform
Latest round: $600,000 Seed
Total raised: $600,000
HQ: Sydney, Australia
Tags: SMB, capital, crowdfunding, equity, investing
Source: Crunchbase

ResiModel
Multi-family lending management
Latest round: $500,000
Total raised: $1.4 million
HQ: New York City
Tags: SMB, enterprise, commercial lending, non-residential real estate, underwriting, investing
Source: Crunchbase

Charity Bank
Digital bank serving non-profits
Latest round: $364,000
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Tonbridge, England, United Kingdom
Tags: Consumer, non-profit, credit, deposits, savings accounts
Source: Crunchbase

TransferFast
Funds transfers between banks
Latest round: $164,000
Total raised: $164,000
HQ: Tallinn, Estonia
Tags: Consumer, payments, interbank transfers, banking
Source: Crunchbase

Sestertium
Person-to-person student loan lender
Latest round: $160,000
Total raised: $160,000
HQ: Udine, Italy
Tags: Consumer, investing, gamification, crowdsourcing
Source: FT Partners

Facepay
Mobile payments
Latest round: $50,000 Angel
Total raised: $150,000
HQ: California
Tags: Consumer, payments, mobile
Source: Crunchbase

Transaction Network Services (TSN)
Data communications for financial services firms
Latest round: Not disclosed Private Equity
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Reston, Virginia
Tags: Consumer, credit, lending, loans, underwriting, investing, P2P, student loans
Source: FT Partners

W.A.G. Payment Solutions (Eurowag)
Vehicle fleet payment solutions
Latest round: Not disclosed
Total raised: Unknown
HQ: Boston, Massachusetts
Tags: Consumer, credit, lending, loans, underwriting, investing, P2P, student loans
Source: FT Partners

Taulia Raises $46 Millon in Series E; Names New CFO

Taulia Raises $46 Millon in Series E; Names New CFO

Taulia_homepage_Jan2016

In a round led by Zouk Capital, financial supply-chain specialist Taulia has raised $46 million in new funding.

A number of unnamed, new strategic and institutional investors participated in the round, as well as all of Taulia’s existing institutional investors. The new infusion of capital takes the company’s total to more than $130 million.

Taulia CEO Cedric Bru said the investment would help “further accelerate (Taulia’s) rapid expansion,” and praised the “global experience” of his company’s investors. “We are in the best position to fuel the next stage of Taulia’s explosive growth,” he said.

Taulia_stage_FEU2015

Pictured (left to right): Taulia Director of European Marketing Matthew Stammers and Director of European Solutions Consulting Christophe Juvanon demonstrating Taulia Enhanced Discounting at FinovateEurope 2015.

Zouk Capital CEO Samer Salty praised Taulia’s ability to “streamline and strengthen” the financial supply chain. Salty called the company a “clear match” with his firm’s strategy of “backing high-growth companies that use technology to create efficiency.”

Taulia uses advanced e-invoicing, supplier management, and supplier financing to help connect companies like Coca-Cola Bottling, Hallmark, John Deere, and other Fortune 500 firms to their suppliers. Since inception, Taulia has processed more than $150 billion in transactions for 700,000 suppliers in more than 100 countries.

Recent headlines for the company include its partnership with KPMG, announced in December, and joining the OFS Portal community in November. In July, Taulia earned a spot in CIO Review’s 20 Most Promising Procurement Solution Providers for 2015.

Taulia also announced today that John Varughese had joined the company as its new Chief Financial Officer. Formerly of Perella Weinberg Partners, Varughese will be responsible for all finance, legal, and human resource operations at Taulia. Bru, who joined Taulia as CEO last April, praised Varughese’s “strategic leadership and significant entrepreneurial experience.”

“(Varughese) helped some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley succeed,” Bru added, “and we can’t wait to put his skills to work as an integral part of our leadership team.”

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, Taulia demonstrated Taulia Enhanced Discounting (TED) at FinovateEurope 2015. The company also has offices in London, Dusseldorf, and Sofia.