Updated: 4/3/20: Added Paystand’s $20 million fundraising from February.
Finovate alums raised more than $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2020, matching their best, first quarter performance to date from two years ago. In some ways, this year’s haul is even more impressive in that Q1 of 2020 featured half the horses as Q1 of 2018.
It is hard to not be aware of the shadow that the current coronavirus pandemic is casting over funding prospects for fintech ahead of the second quarter of the year. With regard to Finovate alums in specific, the $1.8 billion in funding they brought in for Q2 2019 would be a hard mark to beat in any year – let alone one with the sort of historic challenges we are facing in 2020.
Previous Quarterly Comparisons
- Q1 2019: $468 million raised by 20 alums
- Q1 2018: $1.3 billion raised by 26 alums
- Q1 2017: $230 million raised by 20 alums
- Q1 2016: $656 million raised by 32 alums
Far and away, the $500 million raised by Revolut was the biggest fundraising of the quarter by our alums. But the nine-digit investments picked up by Tradeshift, Flywire, and Tink would put these companies at the top of any of our quarterly equity investment lists in recent years, as well. And with only a baker’s dozen of alums getting funding this quarter, it is no surprise that the top ten equity investments shown below comprise the vast majority of the quarter’s total at $1.2 billion or more than 99%.
Top Equity Investments
- Revolut: $500 million
- Tradeshift: $240 million
- Flywire: $120 million
- Tink: $100 million
- Thought Machine: $83 million
- Currencycloud: $80 million
- Fenergo: $80 million
- Lendio: $55 million
- Arkose Labs: $22 million
- Trusona: $20 milllion
Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q1 2020.
January: More than $440 million raised by four alums
- Currencycloud: $80 million – post
- Tink: $100 million – news
- Tradeshift: $240 million – post
- Trusona: $20 million – post
February: More than $775 million raised by five alums
- Fenergo: $80 million – post
- Flywire: $120 million – post
- Lendio: $55 million – post
- Paystand: $20 million – post
- Revolut: $500 million – post
March: More than $117 million raised by five alums
- AlphaPoint: $5.6 million – post
- Agora Services: $2 million – post
- Arkose Labs: $22 million – post
- Eigen Technologies: $5 million – post
- Thought Machine: $83 million – post
If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the first quarter of 2020 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.