Top 10 funding rounds in Q1 2021
The first few months of 2021 have seen several big funding rounds in the market, with cash flowing into a variety of firms hoping to disrupt the industry.
Sometimes the rounds can come so thick and fast that deals can pass you by. That’s why we’ve created a roundup of the largest deals this quarter.
Click each entry to be taken to the full story.
Some major deals have rolled in at the start of this year
1. India’s Udaan lands $280m in Series D funding
Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and payments firm, Udaan, has raised $280 million in funding through an extended Series D.
Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital make their debuts investing in Udaan. Existing backers Altimeter, DST Global, GGV Capital also took part.
The new funding is targeted at boosting Udaan’s presence in the market and improving its ability to serve small businesses. It valued the firm at $3 billion.
2. Mambu raises €110m to hit €1.7bn valuation
Berlin-based cloud banking platform Mambu raised €110 million in a round led by TCV, Tiger Holdings, and Arena Holdings.
Mambu says it will use the new funding to “accelerate its rapid growth” and deepen its footprint globally.
“When Mambu launched in 2011, we knew the future of banking would have to be built on agile and flexible technology,” said Eugene Danilkis, co-founder and CEO of Mambu.
“This latest funding round allows us to accelerate our mission.”
3. Stash lands $125m Series G ten months after last round
The New York investing firm Stash raised $125 million a few months after the close of its Series F round.
Its latest capital injection, led by PayActive backer Eldridge, enjoyed funding from both new and existing investors.
“We believe in tried and tested principles of regular, long-term, and balanced investing as the key to building wealth,” said Stash’s CEO and co-founder, Brandon Krieg.
4. Curve lands $95m as it reveals losses have quadrupled
Card consolidation fintech, Curve, filed a Series C worth $95 million in January. It accompanied that announcement with financial filings showing losses.
The value of the raise underwent several reductions, slipping from a speculated £120 million, to £76 million, to the final $95 million figure (£71 million).
5. M1 Finance completes $75m Series D funding round
Chicago-based M1 Finance raised $75 million in Series D funding a few months after closing a Series C worth $45 million.
The firm experienced rapid-fire funding, raking in more than $153 million in nine months.
Founded in April 2015, M1 Finance offers traditional banking, investing, and lending products.
It has three products: M1 Invest, its original investment product, M1 Borrow, which lets account holders borrow against their accounts, and M1 Spend, a checking account and debit card.
6. Indian fintech lender KreditBee boosts record Series C with extra $70m
KreditBee landed another $70 million in a Series C follow-on round. It had already raised $75 million in February through its holding entity, Finnov.
TPG-backed NewQuest Capital Partners and Motilal Oswal Private Equity co-led the $70 million capital injection.
They join initial Series C investors Mirae Asset Ventures, Alpine Capital, Indian business tycoon Azim Premji’s PremjiInvest, and Arkam Ventures.
7. Spectrum Equity invests $51m in OTC firm Quantile Technologies
Quantile Technologies, a portfolio optimisation firm based in the UK, received $51 million in investment from Spectrum Equity.
Quantile provides an optimisation engine designed to offer risk rebalancing to banks, hedge funds, and financial institutions.
Launched in 2017, it claims its client can reduce counterparty risk and increase returns. The firm says it has already eliminated $230 trillion in margins.
8. Low-code firm Genesis raises $45m in Series B funding round
Genesis landed $45 million in a Series B funding round led by Accel and featuring Citigroup.
New investors GV (once Google Ventures) and Salesforce Ventures joined the round, which included participation from Illuminate Financial and Tribeca Venture Partners.
Founded in 2012 by CEO, Stephen Murphy, and chief technology officer (CTO) James Harrison, Genesis had raised $4.8 million prior to its latest injection.
9. Stori raises $32.5m in Series B funding
Co-founded by Juan Villaseñor, Marlene Garayzar, Bin Chen and Camila Burne, Stori aims to empower consumers with access to digital financial services in Latin America.
Its currently focused on expanding access to credit cards for Mexico’s mass-middle and emerging-middle income populations.
The round brings the company’s total funding to $50 million to-date.
10. Nigerian challenger Kuda Bank raises $25m in Series A funding
Founded in 2017, Kuda bank calls itself “the bank of the free”. It offers a no-fee virtual account and accompanying debit card.
The round was the first time the Peter Thiel-backed Valar Ventures invested in an African start-up. The other backer in the fundraising was Target Global, an existing Kuda investor.
While Nigeria remains Kuda’s only live market, the challenger has plans to expand outwards.
