BlackFin Tech weekly — July 24th, 2023
Every Monday, we publish a short digest which sums up last week’s Fintech activity.
Hello Fintech Folks!
With summer approaching, there's been a noticeable dip in fintech activity. But don't worry, we're still there to keep you updated on the latest fundings. Let’s dive in right now!
Last week we saw 8 deals in Europe for a total amount of 134m€ raised with 4 deals in the UK, 2 in France and one in Lithuania and Portugal.
Congratulations Tractable, which helps insurance companies rapidly process claims with AI, on its $65m Series E round led by SoftBank, followed by London-based climate intelligence startup, Sylvera, that raised a $57m Series B led by Balderton Capital, with participation from existing investors .
And finally, Stoik, the Paris-based cyber-insurtech company raised an $8.5m Series A Extension round from Munich Re and Opera Tech Ventures.
Let’s dive in
Tractable
Tractable raised a $65 million (at a flat $1B valuation) Series E led by Softbank with participation of existing investors Insight Partners and Georgian.
Tractable uses AI to streamline the insurance claims and damage assessment process. The AI technology allows for real-time assessment of conditions and provides accurate repair estimates based on images captured via smartphone. The system has been adopted by a variety of leading P&C insurers, as well as automotive and property companies.
Tractable currently processes some $7 billion in claims annually through its platform, partnering with insurance giants like Aviva, Geico and Admiral and others.
The newly secured funding will propel Tractable’s growth across both the automotive and property ecosystems. The aim is to apply its innovative AI technology to vehicles and properties in need of repair, protection, recycling, or sale, optimising the end-user experience with instant, comprehensive and integrated assessments.
Sylvera
Sylvera raised a $57 million Series B led by Balderton Capital, with participation from existing investors Index Ventures, Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures, Speedinvest, Seedcamp and LocalGlobe. New investors Fidelity Strategic Ventures, Bain & Company and 9Yards Capital are also joining the round.
Founded in 2020, Sylvera enables businesses and governments to invest in carbon credits while securely reporting on their impact. The company delivers ratings and statistics analysing climate action investments, including carbon credits, by combining technology with carbon measuring methodology. This allows organisations to confidently achieve their net zero goal and move towards societal net zero.
The Series B is being put towards expansion into the US market — where it’s opening a New York office and building up a local team to target its services at US financial services companies and the asset management industry.
Stoik
French cyber insurance specialist Stoïk has completed an extension of its Series A by €8.5 million, bringing the total round to nearly €20 million. Alven and Andreessen Horowitz put back in the pot while Munich Re and Opera Tech Ventures enter the capital, according to documents seen by Mind Fintech.
Stoïk is a wholesale broker that complements its insurance product with cybersecurity solutions, as can Coalition across the Atlantic.
The company claims 1,500 brokers using its platform, up from 200 in June 2022. In 2022, the insurtech MGA achieved more than 100,000 euros in turnover for a net loss of 3 million euros.
Congrats also to Ethena, Pivot, EbisBank, Facia and Spenfi for their fundraisings!
In addition to this week’s fundraising activity, we also observed the following M&A deal in Europe:
Smart Pension, a leading UK workplace pension provider, acquires Evolve Pensions and its Crystal Trust with over 128k members and £750m AUM. This supports Smart Pension's consolidation strategy and increases its AUM to £4bn. Evolve Pensions brings personalized pension solutions and a computer system called Keystone to drive better value and technology advancement in the industry.
And finally, here are the news that caught our eye last week:
Amazon is bringing its pat-by-palm system to all of its Whom Foods stores by the end of the year. Amazon One is a biometric technology that let users enter and pay for items at stores by placing a palm over a scanning device. Shoppers first have to connect their palm to a stored credit card. The company is increasingly marketing the technology to third parties.
Lloyds Banking Group has launched its new offering allowing customers to lease a car via their mobile banking apps. Through Lex Autolease, customers can research and review options that suit their budget, choose a customized leasing option and check their financial eligibility before locking down a contract. Customers can choose from over 4,000 car models, which includes 16% electric vehicles and 27% hybrid vehicles.
Deutsche Bank fined $186m by US Federal Reserve. The Fed says it found that Deutsche Bank made “insufficient remedial progress” in fixing its anti-money laundering controls after initially flagging concerns with the bank back in 2015 and 2017. In response to those accusations, Deutsche Bank says that they were committed to maintaining robust risk management programs with a special emphasis on Anti-Financial Crime and Compliance Control.
The Nasdaq has paused its plans to establish a crypto custody business due to regulatory challenges in the US. They have also decided to abandon the pursuit of license for their crypto activities. Despite the pause, Nasdaq says it remains committed to supporting the evolution of the digital asset ecosystem
Have a great week & see you next week!