Finovate alums raised more than $975 million in equity funding in the second quarter of 2020. The sum represents investments received by 15 companies that have demonstrated their technologies at our conferences, and includes three fundings in which the amount of the investment was not disclosed.
This year’s total is a retreat from the past two years’ totals, both in terms of amount raised and the number of alums reporting equity funding. In some respects, Q2 2020’s fundraising total “fills the gap” from the big jump in funding from Q2 2017 to Q2 2018.
Previous Quarterly Comparisons
- Q2 2019: More than $1.8 billion raised by 29 alums
- Q2 2018: More than $1.5 billion raised by 25 alums
- Q2 2017: More than $726 million raised by 25 alums
- Q2 2016: More than $510 million raised by 23 alums
While total investment for Q2 2020 was lower than it was in the previous year’s Q2s, it is notable that seven of the top ten fundings were investments between $150 million and $100 million. In many instances, one sizable investment will be responsible for a significant amount of a quarter’s investment total. Consider the boost Sofi’s $500 million funding provided in Q2 2019. The large sum sent that quarter’s total soaring to a new record Q2 high. By comparison, this year’s high number of low, nine-figure fundings comes across as a welcome shift in the distribution of VC wealth.
Top Ten Equity Investments for Q2 2020
- EVO Payments: $150 million
- Marqeta: $150 million
- BioCatch: $145 million
- AvidXchange: $128 million
- Stash: $112 million
- Onfido: $100 million
- Payfone: $100 million
- Featurespace: $37.4 million
- M1 Finance: $33 million
- Meniga: $9.4 million
It must be noted that, while venture capital investment has slowed somewhat in response to the COVID-19 crisis, merger and acquisition activity has been robust, relatively speaking. Among our alums alone, Q2 saw two major fintech acquisitions: Mastercard’s purchase of Finicity – valued as high as 1 $billion – and Personal Capital’s just-announced $825 million acquisition by Empower Retirement.
Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q2 2020.
April 2020: More than $638 million raised by six alums
- AvidXchange: $128 million – post
- BankBazaar: $3.8 million – post
- BioCatch: $145 million – post
- EVO Payments: $150 million – post
- Onfido: $100 million – post
- Stash: $112 million – post
May 2020: More than $187 million raised by three alums
June 2020: More than $150 million raised by six alums
- Id.me: $8.3 million – post
- Illuma Labs: undisclosed – post
- M1 Finance: $33 million – post
- Meniga: $9.4 million – post
- Payfone: $100 million – post
- Tink: undisclosed – news
If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the second 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.
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