Funding deals, Founders and Investors, & Movers and Shakers #34
FUNDING
Financing solutions startup, 🇮🇳 Progcap raised $30 million in primary equity capital as part of its Series C investment round led by existing investors, Tiger Global Management, and new investor Creation Investments. Link here.
Attempting to enhance the open banking system, London-based fintech 🇬🇧 Crezco has announced it has raised £3 million in seed funding. Link here.
Robo advisor 🇺🇸 Betterment has reached a Unicorn-level valuation of $1.3 billion after securing $160 million in growth capital comprised of a $60 million Series F equity round and a $100 million credit facility. Link here.
🇺🇸 Deel, a startup that develops payroll tools to help companies hire remote workers internationally, is in discussions to raise a new round of funding at a valuation of $5.5 billion, said four people with direct knowledge of the round. Link here.
🇮🇳 CredAvenue has raised $90 million in a Series A funding round, led by Sequoia Capital and co-led by others such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, TVS Capital Funds and Lightrock India. Link here.
Just six months after raising $3.3 million in seed funding, Mexico City-based 🇲🇽 Higo announced it has raised $23 million in a Series A round led by Accel. Link here.
MELI Kaszek Pioneer Corp, a SPAC created by 🇦🇷 Mercado Libre and KASZEK, completed its IPO, raising $287M in a highly sought-after capital raise that was several times oversubscribed. Link here.
🇺🇸 Zero Hash, a leading digital assets infrastructure company that provides the turnkey solution for platforms to buy, sell, receive, send, earn and reward digital assets, announced $35 million in new Series C funding. Link here.
🇵🇰 QisstPay, Pakistan's first and fastest-growing buy now pay later platform (BNPL), announced that they have raised $15M across its seed & pre-seed rounds with a mix of equity and debt. Link here.
🇺🇸 Vareto, a startup aiming to help companies conduct more forward-looking financial planning and analysis, is coming out of stealth today with $24 million in total funding. Link here.
🇬🇧 GP Bullhound announced that Fund V has closed oversubscribed at the hard cap of €300m. Link here.
🇺🇸 Alloy, which has built an identity operating system for banks and FinTechs, announced Thursday that it has raised $100 million at a $1.35 billion valuation. Link here.
Focusing on improving international money transfers, 🇬🇧 TransferGo, has announced that it has secured $50 million in a Series C funding round. Link here.
Nordic neo insurer 🇸🇪 Hedvig has closed a $45m Series B funding round led by Anthemis Group. Link here.
🇮🇳 Capital Float raised $50 million in a new investment following a strong growth in recent quarters. Link here.
🇹🇭 Ascend Money has achieved a valuation of $1.5 billion following a $150 million fundraise, making it the country’s first fintech unicorn. Link here.
🇺🇸 Rize, a fintech-as-a-service company that provides services to other firms, announced an $11.4 million Series A yesterday morning. Link here.
Money management app 🇬🇧 Chip wants to raise £100 million over the next 24 months, beginning with a crowdfunding round on Crowdcube. Link here.
FOUNDERS & INVESTORS
London is firmly at the beating heart of the tech-forward financial world. “It’s got the unique combination of a financial-services heritage, with 300 of the world’s banking headquarters based here, plus progressive policy-makers who support fintech innovation,” Venture-capital investor Eileen Burbidge tells TIME in a detailed article on how the British capital became a global center for Fintech and what U.S. hubs can learn from it. Link here.
Analysts at 🇺🇸 Wells Fargo predict that over 100,000 banking jobs could be displaced by technology over the next five years. Link here.
A trio of Spotify alums has launched a new angel syndicate in Berlin — the latest example of talent from the first generation of European tech successes backing newer companies. Link here.
Chilean wellness and insurance platform 🇨🇱 Betterfly announced the acquisition of Kunder Group and Xerpay for an undisclosed amount. Link here.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS:
🇬🇧 SumUp, a global leader in digital payments and based in London, today announces a new CEO Europe, Michael Schrezenmaier. Link here.
🇺🇸 Jeeves, the fintech that’s been raising back-to-back rounds from notable investors all summer and growing at what would adequately be described as an insane pace, makes another headline. Link here.
The payments provider 🇬🇧 GoCardless has appointed Ben Knight as head of environmental sustainability and Lena T. as director of diversity and inclusion to strengthen its ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) pledge. Link here.
OPPORTUNITIES:
🇧🇷 Nubank has almost 700 vacancies open in the technology area. One of the largest financial services platforms in the world, it has more than 40 million customers in Brazil alone and people can already sign up for different opportunities for different levels of experience within the company. Link here.
Banking technology vendor 🇺🇸 Fiserv is to move to a new campus in New Jersey, adding approximately 2000 new jobs to its existing presence. Link here.
🇺🇸 Visa is to build a new office hub in the fintech-savvy city of Atlanta, tapping into the city's entrepreneurial spirit and local talent pool. Link here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.