2020 Review: Top 10 funding rounds this quarter
FinTech Futures has collected some of the biggest headline-grabbing funding and investment rounds raised this quarter.
FinTech Futures has collected some of the biggest headline-grabbing funding and investment rounds raised this quarter.
1) Revolut bags $500m from TCV to drive daily account usage
The challenger closed its round of mammoth funding, which boosted the bank’s valuation to $5.5 billion, right behind its US challenger counterpart Chime ($5.8 billion).
The UK-founded bank has landed its $500 million Series D with the help of leading investor Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), the early backer of Airbnb, Spotify and Netflix.
2) Crypto start-up Bakkt lands $300m Series B from Microsoft and PayU
Bakkt, a digital asset services start-up, has landed an impressive $300 million Series B with backing from big names such as Microsoft’s venture capital arm M12 and Netherlands-headquartered fintech PayU.
Other investors in its funding round include Boston Consulting Group, Goldfinch Partners, CMT Digital, Pantera Capital and Bakkt’s parent firm Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
3) Aussie challenger Xinja lands $255m from Emirates’ World Investments
Xinja, an Australian neobank, has landed a notably large $255 million (AUD 433 million) capital injection from Emirates’ World Investments (WI), an investment group based in Dubai.
With an immediate initial investment of $94 million, Xinja will then receive the remaining $161 million over a period of 24 months as it grows.
4) Flywire secures unicorn status with $120 million Series E funding round
Payments processing firm Flywire has received $120 million in funding in a Series E funding round led by Goldman Sachs and announced the acquisition of healthcare technology firm Simplee.
The funding pushes Flywire past the billion-dollar mark and into unicorn status. The firm has raised a total of $260 million to date.
5) Qonto raises $115m round led by Tencent
Qonto, the Paris-based challenger bank targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and freelancers in Europe, has raised $115 million (€103.7 million) in a Series C funding round led by Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent and DST Global.
Dubbed the largest funding round ever for a French fintech by Qonto’s head of compliance Jean-Eloi Rateau, it follows just a few days after Tencent’s investment in fellow French mobile payments start-up Lydia.
6) Small business lender iwoca raises €100m for German loan growth
iwoca, the small business lender, has landed €100 million ($109 million) in fresh funding from Insight Investment – one of the world’s largest asset management companies – to finance new loans to businesses across Germany.
Last year, the UK-founded lender doubled its headcount in Germany from 50 to 100, and it also made a promise to house at least 100 employees in the UK’s northern city Leeds by 2023, suggesting a significant amount of the capital will also go to internal expansion.
7) Thought Machine completes $83m Series B funding round
Cloud core banking firm Thought Machine has closed a Series B funding round worth $83 million.
Thought Machine’s existing investors (Lloyds Banking Group, IQ Capital, Backed and Playfair Capital) participated in the round. IQ Capital contributed $19 million from scale up fund.
8) API provider Currencycloud raises $80m in Series E funding
Currencycloud, the application programme interface (API) builder powering UK neobanks such as Revolut and Starling Bank, has raised $80 million in a Series E funding round co-led by Visa and SAP’s venture arm Sapphire.
The fintech is looking to expand beyond its firm market presence in Europe to take on further-afield markets in Asia.
9) Fenergo gains $80m investment from ABN Amro, DXC Technology
Regulatory compliance and lifecycle management firm Fenergo has secured $80 million in funding and a post-money valuation of $800 million, with investment from ABN Amro and DXC Technology.
It plans to use the funding to continue building out its product portfolio and to provide a stable base from which it can launch mergers and acquisitions.
10) Starling Bank raises £60m from existing investors Merian and JTC
Starling Bank has raised £60 million in funding and is giving the shares to its 800 employees. The UK challenger secured backing from existing investors Merian Global Investors and JTC.
This brings the neobank’s total funds so far to £323 million. The capital raise follows two funding rounds last year led by Merian – also the backer of TransferWise and Klarna – which came to £105 million. The latest investment will be used by Starling to fuel “rapid expansion” and “disrupt[ion]” of the UK’s incumbent banking space with “genuine competition”.
