ICYMI funding round-up: TomoCredit, Lightyear, X-Margin, Coinfirm & more
At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly ‘In Case You Missed It’ (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.
TomoCredit founders Kristy Kim and Dmitry Kashlev
TomoCredit, a San Francisco-based fintech firm based around credit, has raised $10 million in Series A funding.
The round was led by Kapor Capital and KB Investment, and comes on the back of a prior $7 million in seed funding raised earlier this year.
TomoCredit claims it can bring “millions of individuals” who lack a credit score into the financial system.
Applicants receive a Mastercard credit card with “zero fees” and an offer of 0% interest. The firm claims to have pre-approved more than 300,000 customers.
Lightyear, founded by ex-Wise duo Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer, has raised $8.5 million in a seed round.
Its new round included Mosaic Ventures, Taavet+Sten, Metaplanet’s Jaan Tallinn and early Monzo backer Eileen Burbidge.
This takes the total raised pre-launch to $10 million, after announcing its first funding round of $1.5 million from a cohort of angel investors.
“10 months ago Lightyear was just an idea, so we’re really excited to have raised a total of $10 million, hired a world-class team and to be launching the first iteration of our app,” says Martin Sokk, CEO.
Coinfirm has raised $8 million and added a new CEO
Coinfirm, a regtech start-up for digital currencies and blockchain ecosystems, has raised $8 million in a Series A funding round.
It says the investment will help it continue a “rapid growth trajectory” and strengthen its position in the EU.
The Series A was co-led by SIX Fintech Ventures, the corporate venture arm of SIX, and FiveT Fintech, with participation from MiddleGame Ventures.
Coinfirm also welcomes Mircea Mihaescu as its new CEO.
He says: “The Series A unlocks Coinfirm’s potential in the crypto compliance and analytics space as we expand in a fast-paced growth market.”
X-Margin, a credit and financial market risk fintech, has raised $8 million in Series A funding featuring Coinbase Ventures, HashKey Capital, and Spartan Group.
Existing investors that followed-on include Alameda Research Ventures, CMT Digital, CoinShares, DCG, GSR, and Polychain.
X-Margin claims it enables lenders of all sizes to operate a “scalable, data-driven lending business”. Using its X-Margin Credit platform, lenders can connect to borrowers and monitor real-time risk.
“We believe a provably neutral risk engine can scale automated credit extension,” says Darshan Vaidya, CEO.
Ascend founders Praveen Chekuri and Andrew Wynn
Insurance payments platform Ascend has raised $5.5 million in a seed funding round led by First Round Capital.
Susa Ventures, FirstMark Capital, and Box Group also participated in the round.
Ascend says its payments API automates insurance payments end-to-end and eliminates labour-intensive processes.
The firm says it intends to focus its new cash on product development and go-to-market initiatives as well as bringing in new team members.
“Today, insurance distributors and carriers aren’t enabled with modern technology leaving them stuck with pen and paper processes,” says founder and co-CEO, Andrew Wynn.
“Our mission is to modernise insurance’s financial infrastructure so that carriers and distributors can be successful.”
Financial security and investment app Peaks has raised €5 million in growth capital from Haerlem Capital and Rithmeester.
Launched in 2017, the Dutch fintech aims to help customers invest using their spare change, using “well diversified, sustainable” exchange-traded funds.
The firm now claims more than 130,000 users in both the Netherlands and Germany.
Co-founder and CEO, Tom Arends, says Peaks will use its new money to grow its user base and develop new products and services.
Amsterdam-based checkout platform Sprinque has landed €1.7 million from Volta Ventures, Force Over Mass, and a group of angel investors.
The fintech is founded by Manoj Tutika (CTO), Mark Holleman (CPO), and Juan Espinosa (CEO), who all met at Antler Amsterdam, which subsequently invested in Sprinque.
The firm says it has built a digital checkout infrastructure to make business transactions “as frictionless as ordering something from a consumer webshop”.
London-based technology firm Algbra has received investment from Lord Hammond, the former chancellor of the UK.
Algbra aims to help underserved customers with a new range of financial products. It was founded by chief executive Zeiad Idris and chief operating officer Fizel Nejabat, with a launch planned for 2022.
It promises customer accounts, foreign exchange, and remittances. Lord Hammond was part of a syndicate of investors, joining a group of backers which includes Alastair Lukies, chairman of the UK Fintech Alliance.
