BlackFin Tech weekly — September 11th, 2023
Every Monday, we publish a short digest which sums up last week’s Fintech activity
Hey, Fintech friends! We hope you're all doing well.
As always, a big thanks for reading our weekly newsletter. Let’s dive into the latest news:
In the past week, we saw 15 deals in Europe for a total amount of €96.9m raised officially with three deals in the UK, two deals in Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and Spain and one deal in Norway and Croatia.
Congratulations to Blackfin’s portfolio company Akur8 on its $25m funding round. Akur8 is transforming insurance pricing with its advanced dynamic technology. The funding came from new investor FinTLV ventures and existing investor BlackFin Capital Partners. We’re super proud to have supported Akur8 in its journey since 2020. Following this, Gentwo and its platform specializing 5in the securitization of both bankable and non-bankable assets raised a $15m Series A round led by Point72 Ventures.
Finally, London-based Tradeteq which also offers securitization-as-a-service technology, raised a $12.5m Series A + led by MS&AD Ventures joined by Interlock Partners.
Let’s dive in
Akur8 has secured $25 million in its latest funding round, increasing its total funding to over $60 million, with participation from new investor FinTLV, alongside existing investors Guidewire Software, Inc., and BlackFin Capital Partners.
The funding will enable Akur8 to accelerate its efforts in revolutionizing insurance pricing and expanding its footprint in key markets such as the US and APAC, offering advanced pricing solutions to property and casualty (P&C) and health carriers.
Akur8, known for its Transparent AI-based insurance pricing platform, aims to provide speed and accuracy to insurers without compromising auditability or control in the pricing process.
The company's upcoming in-person event in Tel Aviv, in collaboration with FinTLV, is part of the InsurTech Israel 2023 Global Summit and will facilitate collaboration with 120 actuaries from Israel's insurance industry.
Read more
GenTwo, a Swiss-based B2B fintech platform specializing in the securitization of both bankable and non-bankable assets, has successfully closed a $15 million Series A funding round, with US-based venture capital firm Point72 Ventures leading the investment.
The raise positions GenTwo to intensify its international expansion efforts and to bolster the development of its financial engineering platform, further enhancing its capabilities.
GenTwo's network serves as a gateway, granting investors access to previously uncharted territory encompassing alternative and non-bankable assets such as real estate, digital assets, and fine art. This platform empowers investment professionals to efficiently securitize assets and investment strategies, transforming them into bankable securities.
Boasting a track record of serving over 250 clients spanning 26 countries, GenTwo has successfully launched more than 1,200 investment products, with over $3 billion in assets under service (AUS).
Tradeteq, another provider of securitisation-as-a-service technology, has successfully concluded a $12.5 million A Plus funding round, with US-based MS&AD Ventures taking the lead with Interlock Partners also making contributions to the round.
Tradeteq's workflow automation and securitisation-as-a-service transforms private credit into tradable financial instruments to enable wider investor uptake. Real-time processing and standardised repackaging of assets reduces friction costs and results in higher investment yields.
To date, Tradeteq facilitated the issuance of more than $ 2.75 billion worth of notes.
In addition to this week’s fundraising activity, M&A activities in Europe where relatively quiet, but one is worth mentioning:
Friday Finance, a startup focused on digitizing financial processes for small and medium-sized businesses, unexpectedly closed its operations despite substantial funding and expansion plans. They have sold parts of their business to competitor Pliant, primarily shifting their focus to corporate credit card services, marking the end of Friday Finance's brand presence. This decision was driven by market challenges and a changing business landscape, with both founder teams collaborating on this strategic move to streamline their product offerings.
And finally, here are the news that caught our eye last week:
X Expands Financial Ambitions with Money Transmitter Licenses in Seven US States. Formerly known as Twitter, X secures money transmitter licenses in seven US states to fulfill Elon Musk's vision of transforming the platform into a comprehensive financial super app, including handling payments, debit cards, and bank accounts.
Germany's BaFin experiences a cyberattack, underscoring the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures in the financial sector, as cyber threats continue to evolve and grow, affecting financial institutions' integrity and customer trust.
Adyen Secures UK Banking License Following Temporary Approval. Dutch payment technology firm Adyen obtains a UK banking license, strengthening its foothold in the UK market, with a focus on serving small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) through embedded finance offerings.
SWIFT Partners with Leading Banks to Pioneer Blockchain Interoperability Pilot. SWIFT successfully concludes a blockchain interoperability pilot, simplifying access to multiple blockchain networks for financial institutions, enabling tokenization, and fostering greater blockchain adoption in the financial industry.
Have a great week & see you soon!