Funding

Dutch Neobank Bunq Earns $1.8 Billion Valuation with Latest Fundraising

Dutch Neobank Bunq Earns $1.8 Billion Valuation with Latest Fundraising
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Dutch neobank bunq raised an additional $49.3 million (€44.5 million) in growth capital.
  • The investment takes the firm’s total capital raised this year to $111 million (€100 million). bunq’s valuation stands at $1.8 billion (€1.65 billion).
  • Founded in 2012, bunq has nine million customers and $5 billion (€4.5 billion) in customer deposits

Netherlands-based bunq, the second-largest neobank in the European Union, has earned a valuation of $1.8 billion (€1.65 billion). The new valuation comes as the firm locked in an additional $49.3 million (€44.5 million) in growth capital. Current investors Pollen Street Capital, bunq Chief Information Officer Raymond Kasiman, and bunq founder and CEO Ali Niknam participated in the round. bunq has secured a total of $111 million (€100 million) funding this year alone.

“It’s been a truly magical year for bunq; we’re rapidly expanding and have seen massive deposit growth,” Niknam said. “With more and more people entrusting their money to us, we’re convinced that we should double down on our momentum and cement the way forward for future growth.”

bunq was founded in 2012, and offers banking, savings, payments, cards, and other financial services. The neobank specializes in serving “digital nomads”: individuals who live and work in more than one country. This strategy has helped bunq reach nine million customers and $5 billion (€4.5 billion) in customer deposits. Compare this with 5.4 million customers and €1 billion in customer deposits just two years ago. bunq primarily serves banking customers in Europe. Nevertheless, the company has begun the process of securing a banking license in the U.S.

In 2021, bunq received an investment of $213 million (€193 million). At the time, the fundraising was the largest Series A round raised by a European fintech. In the final quarter of 2022, bunq announced its first net profit. The company expects to achieve a full year of profitability this year.

“I’m incredibly proud that, just a decade since our inception, bunq’s service-oriented business model has proven to be profitable,” Niknam said in February. “Truly aligning our user-centered philosophy with financial success, we were able to build a business that’s only successful as long as our users are happy.”

bunq also announced a set of new enhancements this month. The company now gives customers up to 2% back on card spending on public transportation. Cardholders can also take advantage of 1% cashback for purchases at restaurants and bars. Bunq now enables users to save in multiple currencies, with interest paid out weekly. And with climate change top of mind for many of its customers, bunq has added carbon footprint tracking.

Check out our conversation with bunq Chief of Staff to the CEO Bianca Zwart from earlier this year at FinovateEurope. Zwart explained the company’s origins and its unique business model. She also discussed bunq’s goal of becoming the “global neobank for digital nomads and international people and businesses.”

Photo by Marko Zirdum

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Five Reasons to Look for a Fintech Funding Rebound in the Second Half of 2023

Five Reasons to Look for a Fintech Funding Rebound in the Second Half of 2023
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Funding, List series

Stocks might be soaring over the summer. But the headlines of late have been filled with dour reflections over fintech investment in the first half of 2023. The first half of the year – and the second quarter in particular – have been tough on fintechs seeking funding. But here are five reasons why fintech funding in the second half of 2023 – and beyond – is likely to be better than the first half.

The first half was pretty bad

One of the reasons why the second half of the year might see higher levels of fundraising in fintech is because the first half has set a fairly low bar. In its analysis of H1 fintech investment this year, S&P Global Market Intelligence noted that Q2 2023 was the “slowest quarter on record over the past two and a half years” in terms of deal count. In the U.S., H1 funding was down 28% from the previous year. Declines in the U.K. were even more severe, with H1 2023 trailing H1 2022 by a whopping 83%.

S&P Global Market Intelligence was careful to add that while the slowdown in investment impacted the first half significantly, the declines began late last year rather than at the beginning of this year. And while the report writers expressed anxiety over the continued low deal count, the report did note approvingly overall deal value growth, the potential for a stabilization in interest rates, and the underlying robustness of digital trends in financial services as factors that support a recovery in the second half of 2023.

About that recession

Despite layoffs in the tech sector and high-profile tremors in the banking industry like the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the widely anticipated recession – and its accompanying 5%+ unemployment rates – has yet to occur in the U.S. or Europe. As economic confidence grows, and the date for a potential economic slowdown gets pushed further into the future by economists, investors are likely to feel more comfortable putting capital at risk.

In addition to the potential for moderation on the interest rate front mentioned above, S&P Global Market Intelligence also highlighted the fact that many venture capitalists remain “flush with cash.” According to Pitchbook, the money available for investment by venture capital is at an all-time high of more than $279 billion for U.S.-based funds alone. That capital will only remain on the sidelines for so long.

Curbed enthusiasm

The popular embrace of emergent GenerativeAI solutions helped give the technology industry writ large a boost at a time when the focus was on shrinking workforces and a sense of stagnation in terms of post-smartphone innovation. At the same time, the strong but relatively muted response to Apple’s metaverse-manifesting VisionPro suggests that market for innovation is still strong, but it may be a little more sober than it’s been in awhile.

This could be a particular benefit for fintech companies where the solutions and services are geared toward clear human challenges in a way that some other areas of technology are not (more on this later). As investors return to the market in search of promising startups, those companies in industries with proven ways of using enabling technologies like automation and machine learning could see early interest.

More tech layoffs, More tech companies

It can be a delicate point. But in the same way that companies like Facebook and YouTube emerged from the wreckage of the dot.com bust, and Airbnb and Uber (and Finovate!) were born out of the ashes of the Great Financial Crisis, one door closing in the economy often signifies the opening of another. The talent that is leaving some of the biggest and most successful technology companies in history is likely to go on to launch and staff the next round of big, successful technology companies. Savvy investors know this, and will be watching to see who ends up where, and what they are up to.

Work the problem, people

One thing that I appreciate about Finovate conferences – and all similar events, to be honest – is that they are a live, in-person reminder that there are people – many of them younger than you and me – who are enthusiastically pursuing solutions to problems in their lives, the lives of their friends and loved ones, as well as the communities they belong to and care about. They tend to not have a lot of time for fear, doubt, or lamentations about what can’t be done. Instead they are more likely to embrace the old motto: lead, follow, or get out of the way.

As long as there individuals who need help sending money to relatives overseas, families struggling to save for the future, businesses looking for ways to make their services both more profitable and available to more customers, there will be fintech innovators building solutions for them. And few people know that better than the investors whose vision and commitment has help make and will continue to help make those solutions possible.

Photo by The Lazy Artist Gallery

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Ten Alums Raised More Than $209 Million in Q2 2023

Ten Alums Raised More Than $209 Million in Q2 2023
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, David's column, Funding, Fundings, Quarterly Funding

Do any of these headlines sound familiar?

“Global fintech funding nearly halves to $23B in H1 2023”

“North American Startup Funding Fell Across All Stages in Q2”

“Most Active Investors Pare Dealmaking in First Half of 2023”

These are some of the recent headlines from sources such as Crunchbase News and S&P Global Market Intelligence. While there was some real enthusiasm around Generative AI as the summer began, the reality is that technology investors remain cautious in the face of inflationary fears, higher interest rates, and a number of high-profile blowups in some of the more speculative areas of technology. This challenge has been especially acute in fintech. Not only have concerns over COVID-era overinvestment and “malinvestment” been loud in this space, but also fintech has more direct exposure to some of the economic discontents mentioned above.

The retrenchment in fintech funding was in evidence during Q2 2023 for our Finovate alums, as well. Over the quarter, ten alums raised more than $209 million. This makes Q2 2023 one of the lowest quarters in terms of equity capital raised by our alums in many years. Note that two of the nine alums that reported receiving investment dollars in April, May, and June – Agent IQ and EverC – did not disclose the amounts of their fundings. Nevertheless, this quarter’s total is a clear reflection of the relative tepid investment climate across technology writ large.

Previous quarterly comparisons

  • Q2 2022: More than $984 million raised by eight alums
  • Q2 2021: More than $2.8 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q2 2020: More than $975 million raised by 15 alums
  • Q2 2019: More than $1.8 billion raised by 29 alums
  • Q2 2018: More than $1.5 billion raised by 26 alums

The biggest fundraising alum of the quarter was NYMBUS. The company enables financial institutions to digitally transform their operations through a variety of solutions including SmartCore, SmartPayments, and its standalone digital bank alternative, SmartLaunch. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, NYBUS made its most recent Finovate appearance at FinovateFall 2019.

Top Equity Investments

  • NYMBUS: $70 million
  • PayNearMe: $45 million
  • BioCatch: $40 million

Other big alumni fundraisers in Q2 2023 were PayNearMe and BioCatch, which raised $45 million and $40 million, respectively. PayNearMe is a three-time Finovate Best of Show winner, making its Finovate debut back in 2010. The Santa Clara, California based fintech offers a cash payments platform that facilitates online purchases and billpay.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, BioCatch demoed its technology at FinovateFall in 2014. Since then, the behavioral biometrics innovator has grown into a major player in the advanced fraud protection industry. The firm continuously protects more than five billion sessions per month and serves more than 250 million users around the world. In 2022, BioCatch prevented more than $2 billion in fraud losses.

Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q2 2023.

April: More than $35 million raised by three alums

  • EverC: undisclosed – post
  • Stratyfy: $10 million – post
  • Tyfone: $25 million – post

May: More than $127 million raised by five alums

  • Agent IQ: undisclosed – post
  • BioCatch: $40 million – post
  • Cable: $11 million – post
  • Kognitos: $6.75 million – post
  • NYMBUS: $70 million – post

June: More than $47 million raised by two alums

  • PayNearMe: $45 million – post
  • StockRepublic: $2.81 million – post

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the second 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 Reynaldo #brigworkz Brigantty

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StockRepublic Raises $2.81 Million for Social Trading Platform

StockRepublic Raises $2.81 Million for Social Trading Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, StockRepublic
  • StockRepublic has raised $2.81 million (SEK 30 million).
  • The round was led by Avanza subsidiary Placera Media, which contributed $1.4 million (SEK 15 million).
  • The relationship between Placera Media and StockRepublic began at the start of this year when StockRepublic helped Placera Media operate and modernize its stock forum.

B2B social trading platform StockRepublic has raised $2.81 million (SEK 30 million) this week. The new investment is more than double the company’s existing funding and brings its total to $5.2 million (SEK 55.6 million).

Leading the round is Avanza’s subsidiary Placera Media, which contributed $1.4 million (SEK 15 million). The remaining $1.4 million (SEK 15 million) comes from existing investors and business angels.

Founded in 1999, Avanza is one of Sweden’s largest financial websites. The firm’s media subsidiary, Placera Media, covers news and updates on equities, funds, and savings. The company publishes articles, produces podcasts, and launches several TV segments each week.

StockRepublic’s partnership with Placera Media began earlier this year. The social trading company operated and modernized Placera Media’s stock forum. Today’s strategic partnership between the two will help StockRepublic ramp up hiring, further develop its service offering, and continue its expansion.

“We are very proud to have Sweden’s leading savings platform on board, both as customers and investors,” said StockRepublic CEO Fabian Grapengiesser. “StockRepublic has previously raised capital from customers, so it is a proven and successful model for us. This collaboration brings Avanza closer to us in a very positive way and allows us to continue to develop Avanza’s platform with exciting new services.”

Sweden-based StockRepublic was founded in 2018 and demoed its technology at FinovateEurope earlier this year.. The company’s platform offers customized apps and APIs to help banks and financial services providers increase customer engagement. Specifically, StockRepublic’s technology allows investors to leverage the experience and knowledge of other investors and, in turn, share their success. The company’s platform is currently available in six markets. Commerzbank is among its clients.

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Open Payments Gateway Volt Raises $60 Million to Fuel Asia Pacific Expansion

Open Payments Gateway Volt Raises $60 Million to Fuel Asia Pacific Expansion
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • London-based open payments gateway Volt has raised $60 million in Series B funding.
  • IVP led the round, which featured participation from both new and existing investors.
  • Volt will use the capital to power its expansion into the Asia Pacific region, the Americas, and Australia later this year.

Volt, an open payments gateway based in London, has raised $60 million in Series B funding. IVP led the round, which also featured participation from CommerzVentures, EQT Ventures, Augmentum Fintech, and Fuel Ventures. The investment comes as the company announced plans for an expansion into the Asia Pacific region and the Americas.

The investment also takes Volt’s total equity funding to more than $87 million. New valuation information was not immediately available.

Founded in 2019, Volt currently operates in Europe, the U.K., and Brazil. The company connects more than 5,000 banks, bringing together a generation of account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure to a single point of access. Volt’s aggregation model offers a wide-ranging open payments reach and maximizes the speed, security, and resilience of transactions. Volt’s product suite includes Checkout, a unified ommichannel commerce experience; Circuit Breaker, a dedicated fraud prevention solution, Fuzebox, a real-time payments control center for notifications and reporting; Connect, a cash cycle management solution and real-time orchestration engine; Verify, an account ownership authentication tool; and Transformer, a solution to help consumers transition to account-to-account payments.

IVP Partner Angela Zhu praised Volt as “well positioned to redefine the future of payments on a global scale.” Zhu explained: “as over 70 countries, including the U.S., transition to RTP systems, merchants are experiencing the immense benefits of instant, secure, and cost-effective A2A payments.”

In addition to its expansion plans for Asia Pacific and the Americas, Volt is also planning to enter the Australian market later this year. The company will also use the new capital to build out its acceptance network and global reach, as well as enhance its product suite to include cash management. Volt also announced that it will “significantly” bolster its product and engineering teams.

“Testament to our progress and our vision for real-time payments everywhere, we’re thrilled to be working with our new partners at IVP, joining their portfolio of leading global brands” Volt CEO Tom Greenwood said. “We’re staying focused, and humble, as we embark on this next chapter.”

Volt’s funding and expansion news comes just days after Volt announced that it secured approval as a Shopify open banking partner. Also this month, Volt teamed up with SEPAexpress to offer Request to Pay services across Europe, and partnered with Worldpay from FIS to help merchants take advantage of open banking.

Photo by SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS

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Canadian Wealth Management Startup OneVest Raises $17 Million in Series A

Canadian Wealth Management Startup OneVest Raises $17 Million in Series A
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Canadian wealth-as-a-service platform OneVest raised $12.8 million (CAD $17 million) in Series A funding this week.
  • The company’s technology provides financial institutions with a modular, scalable solution that enables them to launch new wealth management services in weeks.
  • The funding takes OneVest’s total capital raised to $18 million (CAD $24 million).

OneVest, a wealth-as-a-service platform for financial institutions, raised $12.8 million (CAD $17 million) in Series A funding this week. The investment takes the Calgary, Canada-based company’s total capital raised to $18 million (CAD $24 million). OneVest will use the funding to accelerate growth and expand into the U.S. market. The capital will also enable the company to add to its team in multiple areas, including enterprise sales, business operations, product, and engineering.

OMERS Ventures led the round. Existing investors Luge Capital, Panache Ventures, AAF Management, and FJ Labs participated, as well. The Series A also featured new investors Fin Capital, Pivot Investment Partners, and Deloitte Ventures.

“We’ve built OneVest as a durable, highly scalable platform that can shape the future of wealth management,” OneVest co-founder and CEO Amar Ahluwalia explained. He underscored the challenge of delivering “exceptional” financial experiences while meeting the expectations of customers, financial advisors, and regulators alike. “The ability to implement a modern service with all the required compliance requirements built in, is compelling,” Ahluwalia said.

Financial institutions can integrate and configure the different components of the platform based on the needs of their customers. The solution provides intuitive interfaces for investors and advisors, data aggregation, a reliable book of record, and a comprehensive portfolio management engine. Institutions can leverage the platform to automate and streamline administrative and middle office operations, as well. The technology is designed to enable banks and other FIs to launch customized, wealth management offerings in weeks, rather than years.

Ahluwalia, Jakob Pizzera (COO), and Nathan Di Lucca (CTO) founded OneVest in 2021. The company provides solutions for fintechs, banks and credit unions, wealth managers, insurance companies, dealers and custodians, and asset managers.

Photo by Juman Salem

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Mitigram Raises $11 Million for its Global Trade Financing Platform

Mitigram Raises $11 Million for its Global Trade Financing Platform
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding, Fundings
  • Global trade financing platform Mitigram landed $11 million in funding.
  • The investment will bring Mitigram’s total funding to $38 million.
  • Mitigram will use the funding to scale its operations via software-as-a-service offerings.

Digital global trade financing platform Mitigram announced today it received $11 million in funding, boosting its total raised to $38 million.

The company will use the funds to scale its operations via software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings and add competitive advantage by scaling its network. “The lack of connectivity is trade finance’s biggest cost,” said Mitigram’s Interim CEO Malin Bäcklund. “Around 4 billion paper documents are manually generated, checked and transported in trade each year, which creates the perfect storm for high operating costs and a spiraling lack of control. At Mitigram, we are passionate about closing the gap that is estimated to cost the industry $4 trillion in total each year. This new funding round will allow us to continue doing exactly that.”

Mitigram was founded in 2014, creating a digital exchange in global trade financing. The company offers three main products:

  • MitiSquare, which helps companies assess risks, capacity, and pricing from partner banks in global trade financing.
  • MitiManager, which allows organizations to view, manage, and structure all trade financing data.
  • MitiGateway, which digitizes origination records and manages the end customer experience.

Among the company’s clients are Louis Dreyfus Company, Bridgestone, Vale, Ericsson, ArcelorMittal, Trafigura, Siemens Healthineers, and over 150 banks.

As part of today’s announcement Mitigram CEO Milena Torciano is stepping down, but will remain on the company’s board of directors. Bäcklund, who currently serves as CEO of Moor Holding, will act as interim CEO until a replacement is found.

“We founded Mitigram with the mission to open up a closed market, and to streamline and augment global trade and I am incredibly proud of the tremendous growth that we have achieved since I joined six years ago,” said Torciano. “Today, we are trusted by more than 300 multinational corporations, leading commodity traders and financial institutions, and have facilitated $100+ billion in flows currently across 185 markets. This investment is an excellent opportunity to further build on the strong foundations we have established, and to deliver best practice for digitalized trade finance.”

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

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Three-Time Finovate Best of Show Winner PayNearMe Raises $45 Million in New Funding

Three-Time Finovate Best of Show Winner PayNearMe Raises $45 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, PayNearMe
  • Santa Clara, California-based fintech PayNearMe has raised $45 million in Series D funding.
  • The round was led by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). The investment takes PayNearMe’s total equity capital to more than $118 million.
  • PayNearMe has won Finovate Best of Show awards on three different occasions.

PayNearMe, a fintech that has won Best of Show at Finovate conferences on three separate occasions, has secured $45 million in Series D funding.

The round was led by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). True Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, August Capital, DNS Capital, Invicta Management, and H. Barton Asset Management also participated.

Fresh valuation data was not immediately available. The company’s latest investment takes the firm’s total equity capital to more than $118 million, according to Crunchbase. The funding will enable the company to accelerate growth and further development of its payments platform.

“Our growth has continued to accelerate as we serve the needs of more and larger clients,” PayNearMe CEO Danny Shader said. “This investment enables us to deploy additional resources to increase the rate of innovation for our clients, allowing us to support the increasing demand for frictionless payments in new and existing vertical markets by developing features that deliver value across the full payment experience.”

Founded in 2009, PayNearMe facilitates cash, debit, credit, ACH, and mobile payments – including both Apple Pay and Google Pay – for thousands of businesses and organizations across the U.S. PayNearMe clients benefit from access to payments data which enables them to increase operational efficiency and produce new revenue streams by building “hyper-personalized” experiences for their customers. QIC Partner Matt Diestel underscored this opportunity, noting in a statement that “payments data is the next emerging opportunity for businesses”. Diestel added that “PayNearMe is enabling its clients to access that data and leverage it as a strategic asset.”

PayNearMe won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2010, and went on to take home top honors twice again within the following three years. Earlier this year, the company announced that U.S.-based iGaming operator Maverick Gaming had chosen PayNearMe’s MoneyLine platform to expand the number of payment types it can offer.

Also this spring, PayNearMe announced a partnership with Allied Business Systems, and a collaboration with Lottery Now – which, like Maverick Gaming, is also deploying PayNearMe’s MoneyLine platform. Note that the technology won “Best Consumer Payments Platform” at the FinTech Breakthrough Awards for a fourth year in a row.

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Bankers Helping Bankers Fund Invests in Digital Customer Engagement Specialist Agent IQ

Bankers Helping Bankers Fund Invests in Digital Customer Engagement Specialist Agent IQ
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Agent IQ, Alumni News, Daily news, Funding
  • Agent IQ secured a strategic investment from the Bankers Helping Bankers Fund (BHB Fund).
  • The digital customer engagement innovator demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2022 in New York.
  • The BHB fund launched in 2022 to give community banks wider exposure to a range of innovative fintechs.

Terms were not disclosed. But the Bankers Helping Bankers Fund (BHB Fund) made a strategic investment in digital customer engagement solutions provider Agent IQ this week. The capital adds to the $18.5 million in equity funding Agent IQ has raised via previous seed and Series A rounds.

“This investment is representative of Agent IQ’s commitment to helping FI’s foster deep and meaningful customer relationships while also meeting the digital demands of today’s customers,” Agent IQ CEO and co-founder Slaven Bilac said in a statement.

Agent IQ offers an AI-enabled solution, Lynq, that improves communication between financial institutions and their customers. The platform enables customers to make basic queries, such as requesting a routing number, as well as more sophisticated requests, such as help in depositing a check. Lynq also allows customers to speak with a human agent at any point in time during the engagement. Via a “banker carousel” with brief bios and profile pictures, Lynq customers can choose and engage with a personal banker to quickly find the human assistance they need.

FIs using Agent IQ’s technology have reported a reduction in call center volume of 29%. Additionally, these customers also have noted that Lynq’s configurable, self-service technology is handling more than 80% of incoming conversations.

Left to right: Soren Bested (COO) and Matt Phipps (CMO) of Agent IQ at FinovateFall 2022.

“Our team looks forward to empowering more community banks with data-driven technology and the ability to allow relationship banking to thrive in the digital world,” Bilac added. “We are excited to be a part of the BHB Fund as the organization is helping more community banks overcome their shared challenges, operate more efficiently, and discover new sources of income.”

The BHB fund launched in 2022. Latitude38 Venture Partners manages the fund in partnership with IBAT Services, Inc. and banking market intelligence and advisory firm, FedFis. IBAT Services is a subsidiary of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT). The goal of the fund is two-fold. First, the fund seeks to give community banks exposure to a range of fintech investments capable of boosting growth, improving efficiencies, and enhancing competitiveness. Second, the fund offers the potential for outsized venture capital returns uncorrelated to traditional bank operations.

Latitude38 Venture Partners Managing Partner Richard Leggett praised Agent IQ as an ideal fit for the fund’s investment thesis. In a statement, Leggett noted that it was important for community banks to leverage technology to drive digital engagement. Agent IQ, which most recently demoed its platform at FinovateFall last year, offers technology that does just that.

Agent IQ’s funding news comes in the wake of a major new hire. In April, Agent IQ appointed fintech veteran Ruthann Paulin Glyman as EVP, Head of Partnerships and Strategic Alliances. Glyman brings with her more than 15 years of financial services industry experience to the job. Previous to her move to Agent IQ, Glyman was Director of Sales at Array, another Finovate alum.

Agent IQ is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company was founded in 2015.

Photo by Daria Obymaha

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Banking Technology Innovator NYMBUS Raises $70 Million in Series D Funding

Banking Technology Innovator NYMBUS Raises $70 Million in Series D Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, NYMBUS
  • Banking technology company Nymbus raised $70 million in Series D funding.
  • The round was led by Insight Partners. ConnectOne Bank and PeoplesBank also participated.
  • Nymbus introduced itself to Finovate audiences at FinDEVrNewYork in 2016. The company most recently demoed its technology at FinovateFall 2019.

Banking technology company NYMBUS has secured $70 million in new funding. The Series D round was led by Insight Partners, and featured participation from ConnectOne Bank and PeoplesBank. The Banc Fund Company and Mendon Venture Partners also participated.

The investment takes the company’s total capital raised to more than $199 million. Valuation information was not immediately available. Nymbus will use the additional capital to support expansion and further development of its core system and product portfolio.

“This latest round of financing positions the company to double down on our mission of bringing new thinking to financial institutions to help them thrive in an ever-evolving market,” Nymbus CEO and Chairman Jeffrey Kendall said. “These strategic investments are a testament to the confidence in Nymbus’ ability to transform the financial services industry by modernizing outdated legacy systems with proven technology and business models that result in growth for our current and future clients.”

Nymbus helps financial institutions successfully undergo digital transformation and offer new digital experiences to their customers. Solutions like Nymbus’ SmartLaunch enable financial institutions to launch a fully-operational digital bank in as few as 90 days. FIs can take advantage of these deployments without having to undergo a major transformation or calling in additional human resources. The company’s SmartCore, SmartDigital, and SmartPayments solutions provide financial institutions with modern core, payments, and digital banking solutions, respectively.

Among these institutions taking advantage of Nymbus’ technology is Arizona-based Vantage West Credit Union. The $2.6 billion financial institution partnered with Nymbus to launch a new niche financial brand in April. The previous month, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union worked with Nymbus to launch a pair of standalone digital brands – AlumniFi and Collegiate. AlumniFi provides financial wellness, debt management, and charitable donation tools to MSU alums. Collegiate brings digital banking services to MSU students, faculty, and staff.

“Nymbus is empowering credit unions to deliver growth models with the people, process, and technology needed to deliver digital financial services that complement their core business,” Nymbus CUSO President John Janclaes said.

Photo by Susn Dybvik

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Obie Brings Home $25.5 Million to Bring Embedded Insurance to Real Estate Investors

Obie Brings Home $25.5 Million to Bring Embedded Insurance to Real Estate Investors
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Real estate-focused insurtech Obie announced it received $25.5 million in funding.
  • The Series B investment brings Obie’s total raised to $39 million since it was founded in 2017.
  • Obie’s embedded insurance tool helps change the way insurance for landlords and real estate investors is bought and sold.

Insurtech company Obie announced a Series B round today. The company will use the $25.5 million investment to help change the way insurance for landlords and real estate investors is bought and sold.

Today’s round brings Obie’s total equity raised to $39 million, following the $10.7 million the company raised in its 2021 Series A round. Battery Ventures led the investment, which also saw participation from Brick and Mortar VC, DivcoWest, and real estate funds and investor groups. 

“We’re excited to have the ongoing support of our investors as we continue to build insurance products that drive efficiency and change the way insurance is bought and sold,” said Obie Co-founder and CEO Ryan Letzeiser. “This funding supports the future of embedded insurance, as we expand our partnerships across industries and offer additional insurance products to clients.”

Obie was founded in 2017 to improve the way insurance was bought and sold in the real estate investing industry by launching an embedded insurance option. The company’s embedded insurance solutions underwrite investors by pulling more than 1,000 data points from multiple databases. Additionally, it creates a better user experience by offering instant, bindable quotes via its partner platforms, such as Baselane, Awning, and Marketplaces Homes.

Obie has grown 300% over the past two years. And with 18 million real estate investors across the U.S., the company expects to continue that trajectory. Earlier this month, Inc. Magazine named Obie to its 2023 Best Workplaces List.

Photo by Curtis Adams

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Generative AI-Powered Business Automation Specialist Kognitos Secures $6.75 Million

Generative AI-Powered Business Automation Specialist Kognitos Secures $6.75 Million
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Funding, Kognitos
  • Business automation specialist Kognitos raised $6.75 million in seed funding. The investment takes the company’s total capital to $9.35 million.
  • Kognitos leverages Generative AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to enable business users to build automations using “English as code.”
  • Kognitos made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring last year.

Here’s a funding announcement from a new alum that slipped beneath our radar. Business automation solution provider Kognitos raised $6.75 million in seed funding earlier this year. The round was led by Clear Ventures. Engineering Capital and Wipro Ventures, the corporate investment arm of Wipro, also participated. The investment takes Kognitos’ total funding to $9.35 million.

Kognitos will use the capital to expand its cloud-based Koncierge platform. The platform leverages an AI engine that interprets English as well as humans do. This enables businesses to build automations using natural language. Koncierge blends business data and logic with logic learning machine (LLM) technology to automate business processes at cloud scale.

“It’s time for computers to behave like humans, and humans to stop behaving like machines,” Kognitos founder and CEO Binny Gill said. He referred to the technology as an “unprecedented engine that runs English as Code.” He also noted that now “anyone can describe what they want to be automated, and their automation is generated – all in auditable English. That means no developers, no complex tools, no bots.”

Kognitos’ technology responds to two challenges. On the one hand there is a growing opportunity in business automation. On the other hand, there is a relative lack of skilled workers in the automation field. Kognitos’ solution tackles these issues with a combination of Generative AI and NLP to enable automation of a wide variety of processes from invoicing processing and insurance claims to credit card payment reconciliation. The ability to use natural language also gives Kognitos’ technology an advantage over many no code/low code solutions. This is because those technologies still require the involvement of IT and other service providers. Clear Ventures founder and General Partner Rajeev Madhavan underscored the value of avoiding this obligation. “Kognitos already has several customers using this capability in production,” Madhavan said, “saving significant time and resources in their businesses, without the need for developers.”

Founded in 2020, Kognitos made its Finovate debut last year at FinovateSpring 2022. At the conference, Gill and VP of Growth Jason Langone explained how its business automation solution helps all business users contribute to the company’s competitive advantage. By enabling them to build automations and microservices with NLP and Generative AI, Kognitos technology empowers users and helps remove obstacles and technical barriers-to-entry for a wide variety for businesses.

Kognitos is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Photo by Brett Sayles

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