The latest funding deals and a few trends we're tracking. Ideas on what else would be helpful?
Our latest funding report includes 30+ FinTech deals, but we also want to take a peek at deals not yet on your radar. Venture funding may be a leading indicator of future partnerships or hiring, but itβs a lagging indicator of sub-sectors and trends.Β
The venture capital machine Techstars recently invested in a staggering 120 startups, of which 18 are working in FinTech.Β
Demo day is a lagging indicator. Get 'em while they're hot πππ
On a mission to solve the 1.6 trillion dollar student debt crisis, refinancing student loans with debt-free income share agreements.
Sub-sector: Lending
HQ: Tampa, FL, USA
Digital Experience Platform for Banks and Financial Institutions to fast track their digital journeys.
Sub-sector: Core Technology
HQ: Dublin, CA, USA
Digital Financial Services For International Students.
Sub-sector: Lending
HQ: Hyderabad, India
Replaces conventional card payment terminals.
Sub-sector: Payments
HQ: London, UK
Neobank for the global diaspora.
Sub-sector: Digital Banking
HQ: London, England, GB
Enables organizations to quickly verify and pay out funds to people in financial hardship.
Sub-sector: Personal Finance
HQ: London, England, GB
Building relationships powered by equity investments.
Sub-sector: Personal Finance/Capital Markets Venn
HQ: Chicago, IL, USA
Go beyond the paycheck for your team, with the best financial support available.
Sub-sector: Personal Finance
HQ: London, England, GB
Building better financial and career services for people in healthcare, starting with income share agreements for student financing.
Sub-sector: Personal Finance/Capital Markets Venn
HQ: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
A data platform that enables financial advisors and asset managers to understand non-financial values of their clients, and align assets accordingly.
Sub-sector: Wealth Management
HQ: Los Angeles, CA, USA
A flexible data & analytics platform that automates the development, deployment, and support of enterprise DS and ML applications.
Sub-sector: Core Technologies
HQ: Old Tappan, NJ, USA
A CRM and fundraising platform for non-profits so that they can run their operations more effectively.
Sub-sector: Payments
HQ: Richmond, VA, USA
A platform for enterprise product teams to explore, test, procure, and integrate 3rd party AI algorithms.
Sub-sector: Capital Markets
HQ: New York, NY, USA
Machine learning to produce the next generation of financial data for the bond market.
Sub-sector: Capital Markets
HQ: Toronto, ON, CA
A tax preparation software and practice management platform for CPA firms that utilizes AI to create tax returns and accurate, real-time estimates.
Sub-sector: Business Intelligence
HQ: Rapid City, SD, USA
A platform for corporations to do Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting, data management and analytics.
Sub-sector: Business Intelligence
HQ: London, England, GB
A financial wellness app that creates personalized payment plans for individuals who want to free themselves of credit card debt.
Sub-sector: Personal Finance
HQ: Brooklyn, USA
Q1 FinTech Deals
Q1 Capital Raised (M)
Q2 FinTech Deals
Q2 Capital Raised (M)
Q3 FinTech Deals
Q3 Capital Raised (M)
Q4 FinTech Deals
Q4 Capital Raised (M)
2020 FinTech Deals
2020 Capital Raised (M)
2019 FinTech Deals
2019 Capital Raised (M)
US FINTECH ECOSYSTEM IN 2020
LEADING SECTORS BY STATE
CALIFORNIA
- Payments/Billing (15.54%)
- InsurTech (10.26%)
- Capital Markets (9.53%)
NEW YORK
- Wealth Management (12.44%)
- Capital Markets (11.14%)
- InsurTech (9.84%)
MASSACHUSETTS
- InsurTech (21.69%)
- Personal Finance (12.05%)
- Business Intelligence (9.64%)
HOW TRENDS ARE EVOLVING [2020 vs 2019]
2019 | 2020 | Variation | |
---|---|---|---|
Mortgage/Real estate | 6.06% (66) | 7.75% (68) | 1.69% β² |
Payments/Billing | 12.58% (137) | 14.14% (124) | 1.56% β² |
Wealth Management | 7.35% (80) | 8.67% (76) | 1.32% β² |
Business Intelligence | 6.34% (69) | 4.68% (41) | -1.66% βΌ |
Blockchain/Crypto | 8.82% (96) | 7.07% (62) | -1.75% βΌ |
Digital Banking | 9.18% (100) | 7.53% (66) | -1.66% βΌ |
RECENT DEALS
Period: 02/17/2021 - 03/03/2021
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Headquarters | Announced | Hiring? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of March 3, 2021 | |||||||
Finaloop | Pre-Seed | -- | Core Technology | Axon Ventures | Brooklyn, New York, United States | February 15, 2021 | |
XCLAIM | Seed | $6,600,000 | Lending | -- | Los Angeles, California, United States | February 15, 2021 | |
Citadel - Payroll APIs | Seed | $3,500,000 | Core Technology | Abstract Ventures | San Francisco, California, United States | February 16, 2021 | |
Pawlicy Advisor | Series A | $6,500,000 | InsurTech | Rho Capital Partners | New York, New York, United States | February 16, 2021 | |
Rheaply | Series A | $8,000,000 | Business Intelligence | High Alpha | Chicago, Illinois, United States | February 16, 2021 | |
Titan | Series A | $12,500,000 | Wealth Management | General Catalyst | New York, New York, United States | February 16, 2021 | |
Kalshi | Series A | $30,000,000 | Capital Markets | Sequoia Capital | New York, New York, United States | February 17, 2021 | |
Gravy | Series A | $4,500,000 | Payments/Billing | Arlington Family Offices | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | February 17, 2021 | |
Paerpay | Pre-Seed | -- | Payments/Billing | Chingona Ventures | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | February 17, 2021 | |
Carefull | Seed | $3,200,000 | Personal Finance | Bessemer Venture Partners | New York, New York, United States | February 17, 2021 | |
Public.com | Series D | $220,000,000 | Wealth Management | Greycroft | New York, New York, United States | February 17, 2021 | Job Openings |
Quadency | Seed | $100,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Dash Investment Foundation | New York, New York, United States | February 18, 2021 | |
KindHealth | Venture - Series Unknown | $4,000,000 | InsurTech | -- | Austin, Texas, United States | February 18, 2021 | |
Promise | Series A | $20,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Kapor Capital | Oakland, California, United States | February 18, 2021 | |
Allocations | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,000,000 | Capital Markets | Helios Capital | San Francisco, California, United States | February 19, 2021 | |
Circulo Health | Series A | $50,000,000 | InsurTech | Drive Capital | Columbus, Ohio, United States | February 19, 2021 | |
Yuansfer | Seed | $3,000,000 | Payments/Billing | 37 Angels | New York, New York, United States | February 19, 2021 | |
Banks Best Rates | Seed | $155,000 | Personal Finance | Dave Goodman | Wentzville, Missouri, United States | February 20, 2021 | |
EquityBee | Series A | $20,000,000 | Capital Markets | Group 11 | Palo Alto, California, United States | February 22, 2021 | Job Openings |
Flueid | Series A | -- | InsurTech | Aquiline Technology Growth | Austin, Texas, United States | February 22, 2021 | |
Borrowell | Series C | CAD25,000,000 | Lending | BDC Capital | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | February 22, 2021 | Job Openings |
Koffie Labs | Seed | $3,000,000 | InsurTech | Lerer Hippeau | Brooklyn, New York, United States | February 23, 2021 | |
BeSmartee | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Lending | M33 Growth | Huntington Beach, California, United States | February 23, 2021 | |
Wisetack | Venture - Series Unknown | $19,000,000 | Lending | Bain Capital Ventures | San Francisco, California, United States | February 23, 2021 | |
Episode Six | Series B | $30,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Anthos Capital | Austin, Texas, United States | February 23, 2021 | |
FundGuard | Series A | $12,000,000 | Wealth Management | Blumberg Capital | New York, New York, United States | February 23, 2021 | |
PureStream Trading Technologies | Series A | $14,000,000 | Capital Markets | Nasdaq Ventures | New York, New York, United States | February 24, 2021 | |
EarnUp | Series B | $25,000,000 | Lending | Bain Capital Ventures | San Francisco, California, United States | February 24, 2021 | Job Openings |
Anchorage | Series C | $80,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | GIC | San Francisco, California, United States | February 25, 2021 | Job Openings |
Stori Card | Series B | $32,500,000 | Digital Banking | Lightspeed Venture Partners | Washington, District of Columbia, United States | February 25, 2021 | Job Openings |
First Boulevard | Seed | $5,000,000 | Digital Banking | Anthemis Group | Overland Park, Kansas, United States | February 26, 2021 | |
Axonius | Series D | $100,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Stripes | New York, New York, United States | March 1, 2021 | Job Openings |
QUASH.AI | Seed | -- | Lending | -- | Miami, Florida, United States | March 1, 2021 |
PREVIOUS REPORTS


FEBRUARY 17TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
We begin our weekly roundup with a first-in-FinTech experience sure to wow! you out of those COVID blues: pick six lucky numbers and you could win millions.
Alas, this is not an advertisement for your local lotto but a VC-backed FinTech adventure called Millions.app. The age of lotto FinTech has dawned with this stealthy startup βgamifying altruism through social mediaβ having just landed $3M in seed funding. The Empire brain trust continues to tussle with the exact classification of this scheme: Is it wealth? Is it personal finance? Or is it just some combination of gaming or gambling? If it is the latter, the now disingenuously named Robinhood trading app may well be a gaming company. ($GME to the moon.)
On to the recent funding rounds. Our lucky numbers selection this week is Cincinnati-based Coterie Insurance. The team has another $11.5M to continue to tackle commercial insurance with an API-based approach. Later stage deals and pouring one out for our Cap Mkts homies, NYC-based Axoni, landed $31M in funding from big-name capital behemoths such as Citi, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan. While your crypto-investments skyrocket, these folks are using the underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT) to reimagine financial market infrastructure. Personally, Iβve been somewhat surprised by the balance-sheet strategy here. Last up, wealth management firm Human Interest and its $55M Series C. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco and works tirelessly to help SMBs with 401(k)s and other employee retirement investments.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 02/03/2021 - 02/17/2021
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of February 17, 2021 | ||||||
Axoni | Series B | $31,000,000 | Capital Markets | Deutsche Bank | February 1, 2021 | |
Buy It Mobility | Venture - Series Unknown | $3,873,066 | Payments/Billing | -- | February 1, 2021 | |
Cultivo | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,358,984 | Wealth Management | -- | February 1, 2021 | |
Quantifind | Venture - Series Unknown | $22,000,000 | RegTech | In-Q-Tel | February 1, 2021 | |
Millions | Seed | $3,000,000 | Personal Finance | 8VC | February 2, 2021 | |
Routefusion | Seed | $3,600,000 | Payments/Billing | Silverton Partners | February 2, 2021 | |
TrustLayer | Seed | $6,600,000 | InsurTech | Abstract Ventures | February 2, 2021 | |
Kountable Inc. | Series A | -- | Other | Lateral Capital | February 2, 2021 | |
Narmi | Series A | $20,400,000 | Core Technology | New Enterprise Associates | February 2, 2021 | |
Valon Technologies | Series A | $50,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Andreessen Horowitz | February 2, 2021 | |
Dealer Policy | Series B | $30,000,000 | InsurTech | 3L Capital | February 2, 2021 | |
Clarity AI | Venture - Series Unknown | $24,000,004 | Wealth Management | -- | February 2, 2021 | |
Casa | Seed | $4,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Avon Ventures | February 3, 2021 | |
Crush Capital | Seed | $3,250,000 | Wealth Management | Arlan Hamilton | February 3, 2021 | |
Rarible | Seed | $1,750,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | 1kx | February 3, 2021 | |
Rightfoot | Seed | $5,000,000 | Personal Finance | Bain Capital Ventures | February 3, 2021 | |
Opyn | Series A | $6,700,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Paradigm | February 3, 2021 | |
LeaseLock | Series B | $52,000,000 | InsurTech | Westerly Winds | February 3, 2021 | |
Stash | Series G | $125,000,000 | Wealth Management | Eldridge | February 3, 2021 | |
Eusoh | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,300,000 | InsurTech | -- | February 3, 2021 | |
CredCompare | Seed | -- | Lending | ATOORO FUND | February 4, 2021 | |
Vested Finance | Seed | $3,600,000 | Wealth Management | Venture Catalysts | February 4, 2021 | |
Built Technologies | Series C | $88,000,000 | Lending | Addition | February 4, 2021 | |
ShelterZoom | Venture - Series Unknown | $4,580,244 | Blockchain/Crypto | -- | February 4, 2021 | |
Coterie Insurance | Series A | $11,500,000 | InsurTech | Intact Ventures | February 5, 2021 | |
Ledn | Seed | $2,700,000 | Wealth Management | Global Founders Capital | February 8, 2021 | |
Zeta | Pre-Seed | $1,500,000 | Digital Banking | Deciens Capital | February 9, 2021 | |
Symend | Series B | CAD54,000,000 | Personal Finance | Inovia Capital | February 9, 2021 | |
Equal Ventures | Venture - Series Unknown | $15,000,000 | InsurTech | -- | February 9, 2021 | |
Fair Fintech | Venture - Series Unknown | $20,000,000 | Digital Banking | -- | February 9, 2021 | |
Mesh Payments | Venture - Series Unknown | $13,000,000 | Payments/Billing | TLV Partners | February 9, 2021 | |
Level | Pre-Seed | $1,500,000 | Lending | NextView Ventures | February 10, 2021 | |
Marble | Seed | $2,500,000 | InsurTech | Fintech Ventures Fund | February 10, 2021 | |
TomoCredit | Seed | $7,000,000 | Lending | BAM Ventures | February 10, 2021 | |
SoLo Funds | Series A | $10,000,000 | Lending | ACME Capital | February 10, 2021 | |
NYMBUS | Series C | $53,000,000 | Core Technology | Insight Partners | February 10, 2021 | |
Celo | Venture - Series Unknown | $20,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Andreessen Horowitz | February 10, 2021 | |
Fraction | Venture - Series Unknown | CAD289,000,000 | Lending | Impression Ventures | February 10, 2021 | |
Purpose Financial | Venture - Series Unknown | $53,500,000 | Wealth Management | Allianz X | February 10, 2021 | |
PayZen | Seed | $5,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Picus Capital | February 11, 2021 | |
Capitalize | Series A | $12,500,000 | Personal Finance | Canapi Ventures | February 11, 2021 | |
UpEquity | Series A | $7,500,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Next Coast Ventures | February 11, 2021 | |
Human Interest | Series C | $55,000,000 | Wealth Management | Glynn Capital Management | February 11, 2021 | |
CryptiSwap | Pre-Seed | $65,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | -- | February 13, 2021 | |
Briza.io | Series A | $8,000,000 | InsurTech | -- | February 14, 2021 |


FEBRUARY 2ND REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
This weekβs magic number is 1.7 β one billion, seven hundred million dollars in total funding flooding into the wide world of FinTech. Lending in Q1 is off to an especially active start. Letβs hit the list to see which startups are making waves.
New York-based startupΒ Instnt, having lost a key vowel, has managed to find that sneaky letter at the end of a Series funding round. The $7M-and-change Series A is powering this core tech/fraud company. Fun fact: In a previous work-life iteration, Instnt CEO and Founder Sunil Madhu was CEO and Founder of an Empire alum and crowd favorite,Β Socure. Sunil,Β cheers to you old sport!
Digital Banking is a hot ticket that was given a boost by COVID-19 and the transition to Zoom-life.Β Yotta SavingsΒ is another innovator in the space, offering free savings accounts and other goodies. This startup pulled in a $13m Series A raise just months after closing a Seed round. Lead investor for this most-recent round,Β Base10 Partners, must have been wowed by Yottaβs Q4 2020 growth numbers. Oh, and before we forget, do take a minute to check out theΒ recent Forbes articleΒ on the work these fine folks are doing.
Our secretive seed this week comes in the form ofΒ Pontoro, a capital markets FinTech on a mission to transform infrastructure financing. This involves creating βcustom portfolios of infrastructure assets within its tokenization platform and facilitate bi-lateral liquidity among participantsβ. Two interesting developments worth noting. 1) The startup is now Techstars-backed, and 2) They are backed by the Abu Dhabi program, which highlights how FinTech and digitization are growing in the Middle East.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 01/18/2021 - 02/02/2021
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of February 2, 2021 | ||||||
Yuansfer | Seed | -- | Payments/Billing | Moayed Almoayed | January 3, 2021 | |
Ntropy Network | Seed | $3,239,998 | Payments/Billing | -- | January 8, 2021 | |
Pontoro | Seed | Capital Markets | Franklin Templeton Investments | January 8, 2021 | ||
CarrotFi | Seed | $100,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator | January 11, 2021 | |
FeeBelly | Pre-Seed | $200,000 | Personal Finance | -- | January 11, 2021 | |
Imprint | Venture - Series Unknown | $14,000,773 | Payments/Billing | -- | January 11, 2021 | |
PolySign | Venture - Series Unknown | $7,700,000 | Capital Markets | -- | January 11, 2021 | |
Instnt | Series A | $7,024,254 | Core Technology | -- | January 12, 2021 | |
Loop | Seed | $3,250,000 | InsurTech | Freestyle Capital | January 13, 2021 | |
Clarity AI | Venture - Series Unknown | Wealth Management | BlackRock | January 14, 2021 | ||
Home Lending Pal | Seed | $900,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Bluewave Investment Partners | January 15, 2021 | |
Apiture | Venture - Series Unknown | $10,000,000 | Core Technology | Bankers Healthcare Group | January 19, 2021 | |
Arbol | Series A | $7,000,000 | InsurTech | Mubadala Capital | January 19, 2021 | |
Axela Technologies | Series A | $10,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Blueprint Equity | January 19, 2021 | |
Brigit | Series A | $35,000,000 | Personal Finance | Lightspeed Venture Partners | January 19, 2021 | |
Spinwheel | Seed | $3,649,999 | Lending | -- | January 19, 2021 | |
Trovata | Series A | $20,000,000 | Capital Markets | Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, Inc. | January 19, 2021 | |
Flaist | Pre-Seed | Core Technology | Techstars Hub71 | January 20, 2021 | ||
MotoRefi | Series A | $10,000,000 | Lending | Moderne Ventures | January 22, 2021 | |
Parkside | Series A | $24,000,000 | Capital Markets | -- | January 22, 2021 | |
SafetyWing | Series A | $8,000,000 | InsurTech | Creandum | January 22, 2021 | |
CrowdfundNC | Seed | $1,500,000 | Capital Markets | -- | January 25, 2021 | |
Goalsetter | Seed | $3,900,000 | Digital Banking | Astia | January 25, 2021 | |
Melio | Series C | $110,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Coatue | January 25, 2021 | |
Paymerang | Venture - Series Unknown | $10,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Aldrich Capital Partners | January 25, 2021 | |
Print Financial | Seed | $2,000 | Lending | -- | January 25, 2021 | |
Albert | Series C | $100,000,000 | Personal Finance | General Atlantic | January 26, 2021 | |
Bbot | Seed | $4,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Rally Ventures | January 26, 2021 | |
dYdX | Series B | $10,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Defiance Capital | January 26, 2021 | |
Joshu | Seed | $3,700,000 | InsurTech | Blumberg Capital | January 26, 2021 | |
MPOWER Financing | Venture - Series Unknown | $25,000,000 | Lending | Tilden Park Capital Management LP | January 26, 2021 | |
Pilot | Series C | $60,000,000 | Business Intelligence | Sequoia Capital | January 26, 2021 | |
Roostify | Series C | $32,000,000 | Lending | Ten Coves Capital | January 26, 2021 | |
Sidecar Health | Series C | $125,000,000 | InsurTech | Drive Capital | January 26, 2021 | |
Wyre | Venture - Series Unknown | $7,500,000 | Payments/Billing | Stellar Development Foundation | January 26, 2021 | |
Check Technologies | Series B | $35,000,000 | Core Technology | Thrive Capital | January 27, 2021 | |
Doorvest | Seed | $2,500,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Mucker Capital | January 27, 2021 | |
MainStreet | Venture - Series Unknown | RegTech | SignalFire | January 27, 2021 | ||
Milo | Seed | $6,000,000 | Lending | QED Investors | January 27, 2021 | |
Abound | Seed | $6,000,000 | Business Intelligence | Point72 Ventures | January 28, 2021 | |
Aspiration | Venture - Series Unknown | $50,000,000 | Digital Banking | FootPrint Coalition | January 28, 2021 | |
Yotta Savings | Series A | $13,200,000 | Digital Banking | Base10 Partners | January 28, 2021 | |
Robinhood | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,000,000,000 | Wealth Management | Sequoia Capital | January 29, 2021 |


JANUARY 17TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Historically, Q1 is the busiest time of the year for FinTech fundraising. We have a paltry ~30 deals so far this year β did everyone get the memo?
A quick glance at the sub-sectors in our list this week shows two curious outliers: wealth management and personal finance. The Empire Brain Trust isnβt surprised, given firms began to re-evaluate partners in light of the increasing shift-to-digital brought on by pandemic restrictions globally. Consumers followed suit, shifting to digital banks for a host of reasons βΒ rapid access to stimulus fundsΒ being one compelling reason.
With the above, we offer one prediction for 2021: partner re-evaluation continues for the foreseeable future and so venture capitalists place bigger bets. Now onto the show.
In light of the rapidΒ rise of BitcoinΒ over the past month, we begin this week with a nod to crypto- and blockchain-enthusiasts in the crowd. Our list features two venture rounds and one Series A from FinTech startups pioneering the space. Our Series A belongs to LA-basedΒ Arca, a financial services firm focusing on crypto-assets and blockchain investments. The $10M Series A was led by venture capital firmΒ RRE Ventures, known for having backed some noteworthy names: Venmo, BuzzFeed, and NerdWallet, to name a few.
Before we leave you, letβs conclude with two select seed rounds. Personal Finance startupΒ SecureΒ landed $3.5M to help employers build out emergency savings accounts (ESAs) for employees. The company is tackling a problem COVID-19 has only made worse: financial stress caused by unexpected expenses. In the real estate space, we haveΒ LEX Markets. The company secured $6M aiming to make investing in commercial real estate public through single-asset IPOs.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 01/04/2021 - 01/17/2021
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of January 17, 2021 | ||||||
BusyKid | Seed | $800,000 | Personal Finance | -- | January 4, 2021 | |
Diligend | Seed | $1,300,000 | Capital Markets | -- | January 4, 2021 | |
Periculum | Pre-Seed | -- | Lending | -- | January 4, 2021 | |
Divvy | Series D | $165,000,000 | Payments/Billing | PayPal Ventures | January 5, 2021 | |
Miventure | Seed | $439,000 | Wealth Management | -- | January 5, 2021 | |
PredictAP | Venture - Series Unknown | $2,765,000 | Payments/Billing | -- | January 5, 2021 | |
SimpleNexus | Series B | $108,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Insight Partners | January 5, 2021 | |
Capitalize | Series A | $12,271,417 | Personal Finance | -- | January 6, 2021 | |
Groundspeed Analytics | Series C | -- | InsurTech | Insight Partners | January 6, 2021 | |
Levo Financial | Pre-Seed | $400,000 | Digital Banking | -- | January 6, 2021 | |
Apollo Insurance | Series A | $13,500,000 | InsurTech | Gravitas Securities | January 7, 2021 | |
Carpay | Series A | $6,500,000 | Lending | Autotech Ventures | January 7, 2021 | |
Predictive Trading Systems | Seed | $333,089 | Capital Markets | -- | January 7, 2021 | |
PrefLogic | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,310,000 | Wealth Management | -- | January 7, 2021 | |
SoFi | Venture - Series Unknown | $369,840,376 | Digital Banking | -- | January 7, 2021 | |
Xiggit | Pre-Seed | $125,000 | Personal Finance | -- | January 9, 2021 | |
Altruist | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Wealth Management | Venrock | January 11, 2021 | |
Jassby | Venture - Series Unknown | $2,900,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | SeedInvest | January 11, 2021 | |
Brace | Series B | $15,700,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Canvas Ventures | January 12, 2021 | |
dv01 | Series B | $6,000,000 | Capital Markets | Pivot Investment Partners | January 12, 2021 | |
Modern Treasury | Series B | $38,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Altimeter Capital | January 12, 2021 | |
Arca | Series A | $10,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | RRE Ventures | January 13, 2021 | |
Blend | Series G | $300,000,000 | Lending | Coatue | January 13, 2021 | |
LEX Markets | Seed | $6,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Inertia Ventures | January 13, 2021 | |
MX Technologies | Series C | $300,000,000 | Core Technology | TPG | January 13, 2021 | |
Rho Business Banking | Series A | $15,000,000 | Digital Banking | M13 | January 13, 2021 | |
Secure | Seed | $3,500,000 | Personal Finance | SeaChange | January 13, 2021 | |
Bookkeeper360 | Seed | $1,000,000 | Business Intelligence | -- | January 14, 2021 | |
Own Up | Series B | $12,000,000 | Lending | Brand Foundry Ventures | January 14, 2021 | |
Prometheum | Venture - Series Unknown | $15,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | -- | January 14, 2021 | |
X1 Card | Venture - Series Unknown | $12,000,000 | Lending | Spark Capital | January 14, 2021 |


JANUARY 3RD REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
We made it β 2021 is here. And with this new year comes a rapidly evolving venture funding situation in FinTech. A first major trend is the influx of capital at Series A. Early-stage investment firms, such asΒ QED InvestorsΒ andΒ Coatue, have both played king-maker in 2020. In Q4 of 2020, QED filled the coffers ofΒ ProvideΒ with a $34M Series A. That same quarter, Coatue raised a kingβs ransom for bothΒ RampΒ ($34M) andΒ GorillasΒ ($44M) Series A funding rounds.
This brings up a second point. Series A funding roundsΒ averagedΒ $8.6M in 2020 nationally. Our question: Can businesses move fast enough to catch up to the valuations from these funding rounds? As Series A funding rounds continue to grow, a chasm is created between Series A and seed rounds. We may need to consider a new round name. Seed extensions doesnβt sound quite right. Maybe, seed-plus? Food for thought.
In the spirit of a dawning new year, we are focusing on those just-blossoming companies at the seed stage. Our list this week comes packed with eight seedlings, of which weβve selected three.
The FinTech lending startupΒ TradeUpΒ out of Y Combinator in Q1 of 2020. Three quarters later the company announced a $4M-and-change seed round. The company is following the path-of-most-disruption in the student loan market, and offersΒ income share agreements (ISAs)Β to those training for a new career.Β Umba, a digital bank made for Africa, landed a recent $2M seed round. The bankΒ operates in Kenya and Nigeria, and will likely capitalize on the worldwide growth of digital banking. Business intelligence startupΒ XILOΒ raised $2M+ in December 2020, having had two pre-seed rounds earlier in the year. This startup makes a sales and quoting platform for insurance agencies.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 12/17/2020 - 01/03/2021
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of January 3, 2021 | ||||||
NetGiver | Seed | $1,500,000 | Personal Finance | -- | December 14, 2020 | |
Self Financial | Series D | $40,000,000 | Lending | Meritech Capital Partners | December 15, 2020 | |
Vise | Series B | $45,000,000 | Wealth Management | Sequoia Capital | December 15, 2020 | |
Provide | Series A | $34,000,000 | Digital Banking | QED Investors | December 15, 2020 | |
Conio | Series B | $14,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Banca Generali | December 15, 2020 | |
Paxos | Series C | $142,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Declaration Partners | December 16, 2020 | |
Bestow | Series C | $70,000,000 | InsurTech | Valar Ventures | December 16, 2020 | |
Neo Financial | Series A | $25,000,000 | Digital Banking | Valar Ventures | December 16, 2020 | |
Paywoke | Pre-Seed | -- | Core Technology | -- | December 16, 2020 | |
Oscar Health | Venture - Series Unknown | $140,000,000 | InsurTech | Tiger Global Management | December 17, 2020 | |
Ramp | Series A | $30,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Coatue | December 17, 2020 | |
FalconX | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Blockchain/Crypto | American Express Ventures | December 17, 2020 | |
Umba | Seed | $2,000,000 | Digital Banking | Act Venture Capital | December 17, 2020 | |
Openly | Series B | $40,000,000 | InsurTech | Advance Venture Partners | December 17, 2020 | |
Neat Capital | Series C | $20,499,999 | Mortgage/Real estate | -- | December 17, 2020 | |
TAP Network | Series A | $4,000,000 | Core Technology | Access Industries | December 18, 2020 | |
Avenue 8 | Seed | $4,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Craft Ventures | December 18, 2020 | |
Foresight Risk and Insurance Services | Series A | $20,500,000 | InsurTech | Brick & Mortar Ventures | December 18, 2020 | |
Very Good Security | Series C | $60,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Vertex Ventures | December 18, 2020 | |
XILO | Seed | $2,040,000 | Business Intelligence | New Stack Ventures | December 18, 2020 | |
TradeUp | Seed | $4,011,495 | Lending | -- | December 18, 2020 | |
MIAX New Jersey | Funding Round | $94,924,228 | Capital Markets | -- | December 18, 2020 | |
Positivly | Seed | $2,500,000 | Wealth Management | The Tifin Group | December 20, 2020 | |
Bolt | Series C | $75,000,000 | Payments/Billing | General Atlantic | December 21, 2020 | |
Qualia | Series D | $65,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Tiger Global Management | December 21, 2020 | |
Perch Credit | Seed | $2,500,000 | Lending | Citigroup | December 21, 2020 | |
Oxygen | Series A | $17,000,000 | Digital Banking | Runa Capital | December 21, 2020 | |
LifeRaft | Seed | $3,500,000 | InsurTech | XYZ Venture Capital | December 22, 2020 | |
Flowcast | Convertible Note | $3,000,000 | Lending | Katalyst.Ventures | December 22, 2020 | |
Finix Payments | Series B | -- | Payments/Billing | -- | December 23, 2020 | |
Qoins | Seed | -- | Personal Finance | Partnership Capital Ventures | December 30, 2020 | |
Periculum | Pre-Seed | -- | Lending | -- | January 4, 2021 |


DECEMBER 16TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
With this, our final FinTech funding round report, we want to breathe a collective sigh of relief that the end is just around the corner. While this was a difficult year for all of us, we want to end on a positive note. In addition to a few select funding highlights from the week, we have a gift for you: a FinTech Year In Review. First up: two startups.
Andreessen-Horowitz-backed Moov just landed a $27M Series A to build up a financial services tech stack for embedding bank software. This funding round comes just four months after the company secured a $5.5M Seed round. Step, a digital bank for teens, made our list this week with a Series B to the tune of $50M. The company is off to a strong start, having garnered 500,000 users in just two months post-launch.
Now, read on for our FinTech Year In Review: a breakdown of the sectors that saw the highest and lowest growth in 2020, including total deals and year-over-year deals by percentage.
Mortgage / Real Estate
This year witnessed a surge in Mortgage and Real Estate startups. If the trend continues, expect to see upwards of twice as many deals in this vertical by this time next year.
Total Deals = 66
YoY Deals = 1.75% β²
Payments / Billing
Digital payments continues its epic climb, while unfortunately, B2B check writing ventures have reached an all-time low. We expect these trends to continue into next year.
Total Deals = 137
YoY Deals = 1.60% β²
Wealth Management
In years with market corrections, we typically see a significant focus on wealth, and that is what our stats bear out. The drivers: consumers re-evaluating partners and refocusing on the digital, and advisors failing to scale and shopping for solutions.
Total Deals = 80
YoY Deals = 1.07% β²
Blockchain / Crypto
We saw a general cooling off of the crypto space in 2020, although we expect this trend to reverse, as investors and entrepreneurs will both be borne out by the current bull market.
Total Deals = 96
YoY Deals = 1.84% βΌ
Business Intelligence
Precipitous drop in BI deals in 2020. Finance, accounting, and overall business analytics can be seen as a cost-center for struggling SMBs. We're still strong believers that the SMB market is ripe for FinTech so expect this to revert to the mean in 2021.
Total Deals = 69
YoY Deals = 1.65% βΌ
Digital Banking
We continue to maintain that 2019 was almost too hot for challenger banks β naturally, this had to cool off. Digital banking continues to remain a leading area of investment, but expect it to be more tempered.
Total Deals = 100
YoY Deals = 1.73% βΌ
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 11/30/2020 - 12/16/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of December 16, 2020 | ||||||
Found | Series A | $12,750,000 | Digital Banking | Sequoia Capital | November 30, 2020 | |
Karus | Pre-Seed | $1,000,000 | Lending | -- | November 30, 2020 | |
Amount.com | Series C | $81,000,000 | Core Technology | GS Growth | December 2, 2020 | |
Step | Series B | $50,000,000 | Digital Banking | Coatue | December 2, 2020 | |
Finicast | Seed | $999,991 | Business Intelligence | -- | December 2, 2020 | |
Dayforward | Series A | $20,000,000 | InsurTech | Munich Re Ventures | December 2, 2020 | |
IEX Group | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Capital Markets | Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec | December 3, 2020 | |
FloatMe | Seed | $3,700,000 | Lending | ManchesterStory Group | December 3, 2020 | |
Moov | Series A | $27,000,000 | Core Technology | Andreessen Horowitz | December 4, 2020 | |
Envel | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Digital Banking | Meyer Equity | December 5, 2020 | |
Fundera | Series E | $20,000,000 | Lending | FundersClub | December 7, 2020 | |
At-Bay | Series C | $34,000,000 | InsurTech | Qumra Capital | December 8, 2020 | |
battleface | Series A | $12,000,000 | InsurTech | Drive Capital | December 8, 2020 | |
Synctera | Seed | $12,400,000 | Core Technology | Lightspeed Venture Partners | December 8, 2020 | |
Unit | Series A | $15,000,000 | Core Technology | TLV Partners | December 8, 2020 | |
OpenFin | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Core Technology | Bain Capital Ventures | December 9, 2020 | |
Squire | Series C | $45,000,000 | Payments/Billing | ICONIQ Capital | December 9, 2020 | |
HealNow | Seed | $1,300,000 | Payments/Billing | Alabama Futures Fund | December 9, 2020 | |
Lukka | Series C | $15,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | State Street | December 10, 2020 | |
BestEx Research | Series A | $5,000,000 | Capital Markets | QC VENTURES | December 10, 2020 | |
LendingHome | Series E | $75,000,000 | Lending | Benefit Street Partners | December 10, 2020 | |
iraLogix | Series B | $7,500,000 | RegTech | Great North Labs | December 10, 2020 | |
TradeSun | Venture - Series Unknown | $60,000 | Lending | -- | December 10, 2020 | |
Metechi | Seed | $5,000,000 | Lending | Shimon Weintraub | December 11, 2020 | |
CNote | Venture - Series Unknown | $3,000,000 | Wealth Management | ManchesterStory Group | December 14, 2020 | |
Homebuyer | Seed | $1,400,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | VC firm | December 14, 2020 | |
Public.com | Series C | $65,000,000 | Wealth Management | Accel | December 15, 2020 |


NOVEMBER 30TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
The FinTech deal buffet continues despite the best efforts of the post-Thanksgiving tryptophan overload. The dozen-plus seed deals alone last month show the appetite for more less Turkey and a second portion of FinTech. There is a general hunger among individuals and family offices for exposure to the FinTech space, as private equity piles on the value creation, and the public market grow to large for their stretchy-pants.
With the FinTech feast in full swing, how does one get a slice of the investment pie? The many ingredients make for a steep learning curve: deal flow, diversification, investment vehicles, and diligence, among others. Rest easy as we bring you the Empire FinTech Investment Series, a three-part series for family offices, experienced accredited investors, and aspiring angels. RSVP now as spots are going fast!
Letβs look at a few of this weekβs funding round companies and the questions new investors will have prior to investing. Our investment series will address these questions and many more.
- Productify. The company raised a $2.35M Seed round to further develop a platform for customers to rapidly build and deploy financial applications. This βCore Technologyβ of FinTech is white-hot right now, attracting tremendous attention. We call this the platformification of FinTech. Question: How do you value companies like this at the seed stage?Β Β
- Trust & Will. Our friends here raised a $15M Series B to continue expanding online trust and estate planning. This is the second major financing this year as the company looks to grow beyond the 160,000 users it has acquired in just over two years. Question: How do you find a company with this much potential at its seed stage?Β Β
- Tenth. The company raised $5M in Venture funding to erase the wealth gap and to empower financial education for Black Americans. Challenger banks like Tenth continue to attract billions in funding. In a crowded space, is there enough room for more? Question: How should you diligence such deals, assuming you can find them in the first place?
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 11/10/2020 - 11/30/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of November 30, 2020 | ||||||
Interchecks | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Payments/Billing | FINLAB | November 3, 2020 | |
Vesica Technologies | Seed | $2,149,988 | Capital Markets | -- | November 4, 2020 | |
Venminder | Series C | $33,000,000 | RegTech | Silversmith Capital Partners | November 6, 2020 | |
Highwing | Seed | $4,000,000 | InsurTech | Baldwin Risk Partners | November 10, 2020 | |
Better.com | Series D | $200,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | L Catterton | November 10, 2020 | |
Traive | Venture - Series Unknown | $2,500,000 | Lending | SP Ventures | November 10, 2020 | |
Maestro | Series A | $7,200,000 | Capital Markets | S&P Global Market Intelligence | November 10, 2020 | |
Compliance.ai | Series A | $3,000,000 | RegTech | Cota Capital | November 10, 2020 | |
Anthem Vault | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,525,000 | Wealth Management | -- | November 10, 2020 | |
FranShares | Pre-Seed | -- | Wealth Management | -- | November 10, 2020 | |
Bumped | Series A | $10,400,000 | Payments/Billing | Canaan Partners | November 11, 2020 | |
Intelligo Group | Series B | $15,300,000 | RegTech | Behrens Investment Group | November 12, 2020 | |
Truebill | Series C | $17,000,000 | Personal Finance | Bessemer Venture Partners | November 12, 2020 | |
FinPay | Series C | $5,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Montreux Equity Partners | November 12, 2020 | |
TreasuryCurve | Venture - Series Unknown | $200,000 | Capital Markets | -- | November 12, 2020 | |
Ellevest | Venture - Series Unknown | $12,311,327 | Wealth Management | -- | November 12, 2020 | |
Lendbuzz | Venture - Series Unknown | $23,641,056 | Lending | -- | November 12, 2020 | |
Curbio | Series C | $25,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Comcast Ventures | November 13, 2020 | |
LunarCRUSH | Seed | $1,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Draper Goren Holm | November 13, 2020 | |
AssureGuru | Seed | $95,000 | InsurTech | -- | November 13, 2020 | |
Mylo | Venture - Series Unknown | $11,000,000 | InsurTech | -- | November 13, 2020 | |
Credit Key | Series A | $33,850,000 | Lending | Greycroft | November 16, 2020 | |
Northstar | Series A | $7,300,000 | Personal Finance | M13 | November 17, 2020 | |
Trust & Will | Series B | $15,000,000 | Wealth Management | Jackson Square Ventures | November 17, 2020 | |
Amicus | Series B | $8,700,000 | Capital Markets | The FR Group | November 17, 2020 | |
Stride Health | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | InsurTech | Moderne Ventures | November 18, 2020 | |
Addepar | Series E | $117,000,000 | Wealth Management | Westcap | November 18, 2020 | |
NestEgg | Series A | $7,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Hyde Park Venture Partners | November 18, 2020 | |
Flyreel | Series A | $10,000,000 | InsurTech | IA Capital Group | November 18, 2020 | |
Forter | Series E | $125,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Bessemer Venture Partners | November 19, 2020 | |
Chipper Cash | Series B | $30,000,000 | Money Transfer/Remittances | Ribbit Capital | November 19, 2020 | |
CAIS | Series B | $50,000,000 | Wealth Management | Eldridge | November 19, 2020 | |
Aya | Seed | $2,900,000 | Payments/Billing | MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund | November 19, 2020 | |
Charityvest | Seed | $2,300,000 | Personal Finance | Tom Blaisdell | November 19, 2020 | |
Tenth | Venture - Series Unknown | $5,000,000 | Digital Banking | -- | November 18, 2020 | |
Nestlings | Seed | $1,500,000 | Lending | Candide Ventures | November 19, 2020 | |
ASYMmetric ETFs | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,070,000 | Capital Markets | -- | November 19, 2020 | |
Bee Mortgage App | Seed | $180,327 | Mortgage/Real estate | -- | November 20, 2020 | |
Chainalysis | Series C | $100,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Addition | November 23, 2020 | |
Lev | Seed | -- | Mortgage/Real Estate | ANIMO Ventures | November 23, 2020 | |
Hippo Insurance | Convertible Note | $350,000,000 | InsurTech | Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company | November 24, 2020 | |
HMBradley | Series A | $18,250,000 | Digital Banking | Acrew Capital | November 24, 2020 | |
Current | Series C | $131,000,000 | Digital Banking | Tiger Global Management | November 24, 2020 | |
Notabene | Seed | $1,765,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Castle Island Ventures | November 24, 2020 | |
Productfy | Seed | $2,350,000 | Core Technology | Point72 Ventures | November 25, 2020 | |
Challenger Finance | Pre-Seed | -- | Digital Banking | Techstars | November 30, 2020 |


NOVEMBER 9TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Itβs to be expected that the past two weeks were light on deals, as much of the world was anxiously refreshing a news provider of choice. Many in FinTech are undoubtedly utilizing this relative calm to pen the βWhat Biden Means for Fintechβ blog posts. Here at Empire, we are instead asking: βWhat should the federal government's role be in FinTech?" Our brain trust has agreed on these seven primary questions:
- Can regulation be used to spur competition? (Think open banking.)
- How can regulators engage the innovation community? (The last Small Business Administration FinTech Conference was five years ago.)
- Should fiscal policy be used to promote investing in startups? (E.g. tax incentives and credits.)
- What can be done to see real-time payments in the Biden-era?
- Should we continue to re-evaluate the accredited investor threshold?
- How can we end predatory payday lending in the next four years?
- Should we loosen access to bank charters?
But donβt let us have all the fun. What questions do you have?
A special callout to the Empire alums RealBlocks and Hydrogen. NY-based RealBlocks raked in a cool $7M in Series A funding, and is certainly poised to capitalize on the booming growth of alternative assets β $10T, as reported by capital market firm Preqin. NY-based Hydrogen is on a mission to be the most abundant FinTech element with their embedded financial components. The company is still playing sneaky with its funding, but expect a breakout soon.
Last, but certainly not least, we want to give a warm welcome to the FinTech-as-a-Service (FTaaS) powerhouse Arcus. Co-founder Inigo Rumayor and members of his team will join us on-stage at the 2021 Empire FinTech Conference, April 14th. The company is raising funding at a brisk clip, having had four funding rounds in just the last two years. Stay tuned.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 10/26/2020 - 11/09/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of November 9, 2020 | ||||||
StreetShares Platform | Venture - Series Unknown | $10,000,000 | Lending | Ally Ventures | October 22, 2020 | |
SmartPath | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,574,998 | Personal Finance | -- | October 23, 2020 | |
Gig Wage | Series A | $7,500,000 | Payments/Billing | Green Dot | October 27, 2020 | |
Createnu Ventures | Convertible Note | -- | Capital Markets | Plug and Play | October 27, 2020 | |
CapConnectPlus | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,467,500 | Capital Markets | -- | October 27, 2020 | |
Bluefin Payment Systems | Venture - Series Unknown | $25,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Macquarie Capital | October 27, 2020 | |
Tomo | Seed | $40,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Ribbit Capital | October 28, 2020 | |
MerQube | Seed | $1,000,000 | Capital Markets | -- | October 28, 2020 | |
Finmark | Seed | $5,000,000 | Business Intelligence | IDEA Fund Partners | October 28, 2020 | |
Crypto Asset Rating Inc | Convertible Note | -- | Blockchain/Crypto | -- | October 28, 2020 | |
Wise | Series A | $12,000,000 | Digital Banking | e.ventures | October 29, 2020 | |
Transcend Street Solutions | Series A | $10,000,000 | Business Intelligence | Nyca Partners | October 29, 2020 | |
Steadily | Seed | $3,800,000 | InsurTech | Matrix Partners | October 29, 2020 | |
Jiko | Series A | $40,000,000 | Wealth Management | Upfront Ventures | October 29, 2020 | |
Goodcover | Series A | $7,500,000 | InsurTech | Goodwater Capital | October 29, 2020 | |
Assurely | Seed | $2,950,000 | InsurTech | ATX Venture Partners | October 29, 2020 | |
Teampay | Series A | $5,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Fin Venture Capital | October 30, 2020 | |
RealBlocks | Series A | $7,000,000 | Capital Markets | Crosslink Capital | October 30, 2020 | |
BisRing | Pre-Seed | CAD 25,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | -- | October 31, 2020 | |
Arcus | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Core Technology | Citi Ventures | November 2, 2020 | |
Apkudo | Series B | $14,000,000 | Business Intelligence | Harbert Growth Partners | November 2, 2020 | |
Plunk | Seed | $1,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | -- | November 4, 2020 | |
Hydrogen | Seed | -- | Core Technology | FINLAB | November 5, 2020 | |
Stirlingshire | Seed | $2,000,000 | Capital Markets | -- | November 6, 2020 |


OCTOBER 26TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Is there no FinTech gospel?
Many of our Empire faithful are perplexed that the ecosystem continues to cite different venture round statistics each week. The data across CB Insights, Crunchbase, Pitchbook, and Empire simply differ.
The problem: FinTech has no creed and is loosely defined. In a past report, we highlighted how startups game the system when they announce rounds β but even this is contingent on the definition of FinTech. Here at Empire, we start with the CB Insights sector schema, while expanding into two areas: business insights and digital banking. Our view: drive consistency through solidarity.
Example: REACH Canada, a PropTech accelerator backed by the National Association of Realtors, recently graduated its inaugural class. It may be tempting to lump the entire class into FinTech, but the startups have a range of moats, vertical-risks, and go-to-market strategies. Everything is not FinTech. Of the class, we congratulate three companies on our FinTech funding list: Clik.ai, Local Logic, and RentMoola. Importantly, only one is considered real estate, while the other two are more precisely defined as payments and lending.
Okay, enough data pontification. Letβs move on to celebrating the geographical diversity in FinTech this week. While we arenβt ready to waive the fully-distributed victory flag yet, this week we did see deals coming out of a few ecosystem-diamonds-in-the-rough: Columbus, Houston, Montreal, Seattle, and Vancouver. On to the companies from these stellar locales.
Columbus-based Matic Insurance, a digital insurance agency for the mortgage world, raised $24M in Series B funding. The round was led by IA Capital and included another Midwestern VC firm in the form of Cultivation Capital. Our Houston-based pick completed an undisclosed Seed round by blockchain-social-impact firm Topl. Expect your next cup of joe to come free and fair via the magic of blockchain.
The aforementioned Local Logic is representing Montreal with a similarly sneaky Seed round raise. The companyβs pitch: all imaginable real estate data all the time. Delightful! Nothing is impossible with Seattle-based Possible Finance. The startup pocketed $11M in a Series B and will continue the dream of enabling everyone to be financially healthy. Last, but certainly not least, we return to the Vancouver-based RentMoola and a similarly undisclosed Seed round. The company simplifies renting and payments through its digital platform.
Β
IN THE NEWS...
Β
RECENT DEALS
Period: 10/13/2020 - 10/26/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of October 26, 2020 | ||||||
Snapdocs | Series C | $60,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Y Combinator Continuity Fund | October 12, 2020 | |
BoardroomLabs | Seed | $2,157,500 | Blockchain/Crypto | Standard Crypto | October 13, 2020 | |
Finexio | Series B | $23,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Medalist Partners | October 14, 2020 | |
Wealthsimple | Venture - Series Unknown | CAD114,000,000 | Wealth Management | TCV | October 14, 2020 | |
M1Finance | Series C | $45,000,000 | Wealth Management | Left Lane Capital | October 14, 2020 | |
Clik.ai | Funding Round | -- | Lending | Second Century Ventures | October 14, 2020 | |
LocalLogic | Funding Round | -- | Mortgage/Real estate | Second Century Ventures | October 14, 2020 | |
RentMoola | Funding Round | -- | Payments/Billing | Second Century Ventures | October 14, 2020 | |
Extend | Series B | $40,000,000 | InsurTech | Meritech Capital Partners | October 15, 2020 | |
Alpaca | Series A | $10,000,000 | Capital Markets | Portag3 Ventures | October 15, 2020 | |
MaticInsurance | Series B | $24,000,000 | InsurTech | IA Capital Group | October 15, 2020 | |
Topl | Seed | -- | Blockchain/Crypto | Beni VC | October 15, 2020 | |
Fivestars | Series D | $52,500,000 | Payments/Billing | Salt Partners | October 16, 2020 | |
Unit21 | Series A | $13,000,000 | RegTech | A.Capital Ventures | October 19, 2020 | |
FinLocker | Series A | $19,800,000 | Personal Finance | Cultivation Capital | October 19, 2020 | |
ZestAI | Venture - Series Unknown | $15,000,000 | Lending | Insight Partners | October 20, 2020 | |
PossibleFinance | Series B | $11,000,000 | Personal Finance | Union Square Ventures | October 20, 2020 | |
Kettle | Seed | $4,710,000 | InsurTech | True Ventures | October 20, 2020 | |
NewfrontInsurance | Series C | $68,000,000 | InsurTech | Meritech Capital Partners | October 20, 2020 | |
Pulley | Series A | $10,000,000 | Capital Markets | Stripe | October 21, 2020 | |
PillarLife | Seed | $1,500,000 | Personal Finance | Kleiner Perkins | October 21, 2020 | |
Transmute | Seed | $2,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Moonshots Capital | October 21, 2020 | |
Lili | Series A | $15,000,000 | Digital Banking | Group 11 | October 22, 2020 | |
Curv | Series A | -- | Blockchain/Crypto | Franklin Templeton Investments | October 22, 2020 |


OCTOBER 12TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Get ready β we have two metrics for you this week, one good and the other not: 1.82 and 2 of 32. The good: $1.82B is the total funding, a banner week demonstrating that FinTech VCβs are banking on the upcoming round of βemerging resilientsβ. The not-so-good: 2 of 32, or 6%, of the past two weeks funding rounds were raised by teams with a female CEO at the helm. Those companies: Papaya Global and Propy.
FinTech needs more diversity in funding β and six percent is not enough. Our mission is to rally the community around this metric. We can only change what we can measure; although some metrics can paint a certain picture. Recently, consulting companies are using the metric βwomen-led companiesβ, defined as a company with all founders who are female. VCs, on the other hand, are using the metric βdiverse teamsβ, defined as having at least one female co-founder. Food for thought.
Papaya Global, the βpeople and payroll companyβ, landed a $40M Series B to beef up company growth and launch new products. This Israeli startup has been booming with β300% year-over-year annual growth since 2016β. Propy, the blockchain-powered real estate startup, banked $1.2M in Venture Round funding. The startup attracted the attention of big-name-backers in the forms of VC Tim Draper and TechCruch owner Michael Arrington.
Before we end this week, a few select standouts: SF-based Collective, the back-office platform for self-employed folks, netted an $8.65M Seed; Dallas-Fort-Worth-based Payrix, API-payments enablement platform, garnered a $50M Series A; NYC-based Unqork, no-code enterprise app platform, pulled in a $207M Series C, led by BlackRock.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 09/26/2020 - 10/12/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of October 12, 2020 | ||||||
Ciphertext Solutions | Series A | -- | Core Technology | -- | September 21, 2020 | |
Bright Health | Series E | $500,000,000 | InsurTech | New Enterprise Associates | September 22, 2020 | |
Next Insurance | Series D | $250,000,000 | InsurTech | Munich Re Ventures | September 23, 2020 | |
MineralTree | Series D | $50,000,000 | Payments/Billing | .406 Ventures | September 24, 2020 | |
Greenlight | Series C | $215,000,000 | Digital Banking | Canapi Ventures | September 24, 2020 | |
Attunely | Series A | $6,000,000 | Lending | Anthos Capital | September 24, 2020 | |
Insubiq Inc | Pre-Seed | -- | InsurTech | -- | September 25, 2020 | |
Coverance | Series B | $10,500,000 | InsurTech | CUNA Mutual Group | September 28, 2020 | |
Papaya Global | Series B | $40,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Scale Venture Partners | September 29, 2020 | |
Rally | Series B | $17,000,000 | Capital Markets | -- | September 29, 2020 | |
Alkami Technology | Venture - Series Unknown | $140,000,000 | Core Technology | D1 Capital Partners | September 29, 2020 | |
Facet Wealth | Series B | $25,000,000 | Wealth Management | Warburg Pincus | September 29, 2020 | |
Collective | Seed | $8,650,000 | Payments/Billing | General Catalyst | September 29, 2020 | |
Retirable | Seed | $4,700,000 | Wealth Management | Vestigo Ventures | September 29, 2020 | |
PayCargo | Series A | $35,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Insight Partners | September 29, 2020 | |
AeroPay | Seed | -- | Payments/Billing | Continental Investors | September 29, 2020 | |
Capify | Venture - Series Unknown | $8,000,000 | Lending | Goldman Sachs | September 30, 2020 | |
Yotta Savings | Seed | $3,300,000 | Digital Banking | Y Combinator | September 30, 2020 | |
ClickSWITCH | Series B | $2,000,000 | Core Technology | USAA | September 30, 2020 | |
Acquire App | Pre-Seed | $1,700,000 | Payments/Billing | Diaspora Ventures | September 30, 2020 | |
Payrix | Series A | $50,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Blue Star Innovation Partners | October 1, 2020 | |
Propy | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Mortgage/Real estate | Tim Draper | October 2, 2020 | |
StartEngine | Equity Crowdfunding | $18,908,925 | Capital Markets | -- | October 2, 2020 | |
DeFiner | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Personal Finance | SNZ Holding | October 5, 2020 | |
Unqork | Series C | $207,000,000 | Core Technology | BlackRock | October 6, 2020 | |
Chargebee | Series F | $55,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Insight Partners | October 6, 2020 | |
Tipalti | Series E | $150,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Durable Capital Partners | October 6, 2020 | |
Covalent | Seed | $3,100,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Woodstock Fund | October 7, 2020 | |
BanQu | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Blockchain/Crypto | Anheuser-Busch InBev | October 7, 2020 | |
BloomCredit | Series A | $10,000,000 | Lending | Allegis NL Capital | October 8, 2020 | |
VIVA Finance | Seed | $2,300,000 | Lending | Acumen | October 8, 2020 | |
Clair | Seed | $4,500,000 | Payments/Billing | Upfront Ventures | October 9, 2020 |


SEPTEMBER 28TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
The case against venture bloat strengthens this week with a slew of late-stage funding rounds.
Investors and founders are chasing the promised land: successive funding rounds with less time elapsed between each round. 2020 may be the dawn of an era where 18 months between funding rounds is a negative signal. Case in point: six out of the 16 recent funding rounds are a companyβs second round this year alone. Letβs see that traction!
An example this week of a successive funding round is NY-based Alloy, one of our hometown favorites. This rockstar team just reached the stratosphere, propelled by a Canapi-backed $40M Series B. The team at this digital identity FinTech plans to βbring new products to market in the areas of transaction and credit decisioning, as well as document verificationβ.
The bloat snowball rolls down hill as startups, hip to the trend, game when they report funding to Crunchbase. Hard to say if this practice is better or worse than the deal term machinations of market-leading research firms: mining confidential deal terms from investors and founders and reselling the information to the industry for $12k+ per month. #Shade
Apologies β #RantOver. Our concern here is a venture bloat bubble bursting and causing a premature downturn in FinTech innovation.
Start your engines. Chime and Robinhood are vying for FinTech valuation pole position this week. Chime leads with a $485M Series F against Robinhoodβs $460M Series G. Expect a spate of βChime for XYZβ in the coming months as companies chase its $14.5B valuation.
Letβs finish up the week with our leading seed deals. The LATAM digital bank startup Oyster pulled in $14M in a third βseed round,β just six months after a March 8.7M raise. Last but not least, the fantastic Finch, formerly known as Trio. With a $1.8M Seed, the startup is offering the first of its kind all-in-one checking/investing account.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 09/12/2020 - 09/25/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of September 25, 2020 | ||||||
Oyster | Seed | $14,000,000 | Digital Banking | Monashees | September 10, 2020 | |
Finch | Seed | $1,800,000 | Digital Banking | Mendoza Ventures | September 15, 2020 | |
Aghaz Investments | Pre-Seed | $400,000 | Wealth Management | -- | September 15, 2020 | |
Veem | Venture - Series Unknown | $31,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Truist Financial | September 16, 2020 | |
Alloy | Series B | $40,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Canapi Ventures | September 16, 2020 | |
MentorWorks Education Capital | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,250,000 | Lending | New U Venture Partners | September 16, 2020 | |
Affirm | Series G | $500,000,000 | Lending | Durable Capital Partners | September 17, 2020 | |
X1 Card | Series A | $10,000,000 | Lending | Craft Ventures | September 17, 2020 | |
Chime | Series F | $485,000,000 | Digital Banking | Coatue | September 18, 2020 | |
QUBER | Seed | -- | Personal Finance | -- | September 20, 2020 | |
Marco | Seed | $6,000,000 | Core Technology | Struck Capital | September 21, 2020 | |
Bright Health | Series E | $500,000,000 | InsurTech | New Enterprise Associates | September 22, 2020 | |
NextCapital | Series D | $30,000,000 | Wealth Management | FP Credit | September 22, 2020 | |
Robinhood | Series G | $460,000,000 | Wealth Management | Sequoia Capital | September 22, 2020 | |
SpotOn | Series C | $60,000,000 | Payments/Billing | DST Global | September 23, 2020 | |
Next Insurance | Series D | $250,000,000 | InsurTech | Munich Re Ventures | September 23, 2020 |


SEPTEMBER 14TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
This just in from Empireβs brain trust: βOur research shows that mortgage and real estate FinTech is trending in 2020, up 4.3% in terms of total companies funded in 2019 β and thatβs only in Q3.β Expect a further meteoric rise in funding as COVID and ultra-low interest rates drive people from urban centers.
Speaking of urban-rural flight, the world continues to embrace a fully-distributed workforce with SF-based Deel. (Shout-out to a fellow SF-based crypto-platform Bitwage. Our international team loves Empire payments in ETH!) Deelβs payroll and compliance platform for international workers landed $30M in Series B funding just four months after VC firm Andreessen Horowitz β a16z β led their Series A. But wait: Have business metrics moved considerably between deals and this is innovation or is it a sign of VC-bloat? Time will tell.
Ring the bell, itβs time for a funding lighting round. Cyber-fraud prevention startup EverCompliant has a new name to go with its $35M Series B: EverC. InsurTech startup Sana Benefits netted $20.8M in Series A funding to boost SMEs access to better health plans. Last, but not least, PrizePool aims to help consumers save with cash prizes on savings accounts with a $4.3M Seed.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 08/31/2020 - 09/11/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources: Crunchbase, Empire Startups. Data is current as of September 11, 2020 | ||||||
Orchard | Series C | $69,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Revolution Growth | September 10, 2020 | |
Capitolis | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Capital Markets | Citigroup | September 10, 2020 | |
EverC | Series B | $35,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Red Dot Capital Partners | September 10, 2020 | |
Deel | Series B | $30,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Spark Capital | September 9, 2020 | |
Salaryo | Venture - Series Unknown | $5,800,000 | Lending | Variant Investments | September 9, 2020 | |
Sana Benefits | Series A | $20,800,000 | InsurTech | Gigafund | September 9, 2020 | |
Melio | Series C | $80,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Coatue Management | September 8, 2020 | |
Payroll4Free.com | Equity Crowdfunding | -- | Payments/Billing | -- | September 8, 2020 | |
GreenScreens AI | Series A | -- | Business Intelligence | Cambridge Capital | September 4, 2020 | |
Zero Hash | Series C | $4,750,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | tastytrade | September 2, 2020 | |
Trust Stamp | Equity Crowdfunding | $6,500,000 | Cyber/Fraud | -- | September 1, 2020 | |
Chisos | Pre-Seed | $500,000 | Capital Markets | -- | September 1, 2020 | |
Community Capital Technology | Seed | -- | Business Intelligence | -- | September 1, 2020 | |
Squeeze.com | Pre-Seed | $2,200,000 | Personal Finance | -- | September 1, 2020 | |
SoLo Funds | Convertible Note | -- | Lending | Plug and Play | August 31, 2020 | |
PrizePool | Seed | $4,300,000 | Personal Finance | Bling Capital | August 28, 2020 | |
Echofin | Equity Crowdfunding | Β£300,000 | Capital Markets | -- | August 28, 2020 | |
Yellow Card | Seed | $1,500,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Andreessen Horowitz | August 27, 2020 | |
Zapper.Fi | Seed | $1,500,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Framework Ventures | August 27, 2020 | |
STYCKR | Seed | -- | RegTech | Brinc | August 26, 2020 |


AUGUST 31ST REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Startups and fans β we are off to the races.
First up: mobile platform Esusu Financial and its $2.3M seed. The startup is on a mission to address credit inequality in immigrant and minority groups through a βrotational savings and credit building appβ. Hot on the heels of startup success is CommonStock with a stunning $9.7M seed from five investors. Still in beta, this company aims to bring group chat investment knowledge and decisions to retail investing. Step aside for the illustrious Moov, a seed-phase startup embedding banking technology everywhere. The company landed a $5.5M raise from big-name lead investor Bain Capital Ventures and a host of others.
With our seed standouts finished, a few honorable mentions: InsurTech enabler Breath Life and a CA$6.5M Series A; affordable house-sharing service PadSplit and a $4.3M Series A; home insurance transformer Kin Insurance and a $35M Series B; digital identity analytics platform Socure and a $35M Series C.
We leave you with wise words for contemplation and inspiration: βWeβre witnessing the creative destruction of financial services, rearranging itself around the consumer. Who does this in the most relevant, exciting way using data and digital, wins!β β Arvind Sankaran
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 08/16/2020 - 08/31/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: Crunchbase. Data is current as of August 30, 2020 | ||||||
Stem Disintermedia | Venture - Series Unknown | $10,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Slow Ventures | August 26, 2020 | |
Finix | Series B | $30,000,000 | Payments/Billing | American Express Ventures | August 26, 2020 | |
Esusu Financial | Seed | $2,300,000 | Personal Finance | Next Play Ventures | August 26, 2020 | |
Public.com | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Wealth Management | Scott Galloway | August 26, 2020 | |
Breathe Life | Series A | CAD 6,500,000 | InsurTech | Investissement Quebec | August 26, 2020 | |
Wrapbook | Seed | $3,600,000 | InsurTech | Equal Ventures | August 25, 2020 | |
Machnet Technologies Inc | Seed | $40,000 | Money Transfer/Remittances | Samir Pradhan | August 25, 2020 | |
Stratify Technologies | Seed | $4,900,000 | Business Intelligence | Madrona Venture Group | August 25, 2020 | |
Socure | Series C | $35,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Sorenson Ventures | August 25, 2020 | |
Digital Onboarding | Series A | -- | Core Technology | Detroit Venture Partners | August 25, 2020 | |
Copper Banking | Seed | $4,300,000 | Digital Banking | PSL Ventures | August 25, 2020 | |
CommonStock | Seed | $9,700,000 | Core Technology | QED Investors | August 24, 2020 | |
Finally Financial Services Inc. | Pre-Seed | -- | Wealth Management | -- | August 24, 2020 | |
BlockFi | Series C | $50,000,000 | Lending | Morgan Creek Digital | August 20, 2020 | |
PadSplit | Series A | $4,300,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Core Innovation Capital | August 19, 2020 | |
ThankUCash | Seed | -- | Digital Banking | Brandon L Drew | August 19, 2020 | |
Moov | Seed | $5,500,000 | Core Technology | Bain Capital Ventures | August 18, 2020 | |
Robinhood | Series G | $200,000,000 | Wealth Management | D1 Capital Partners | August 17, 2020 | |
CNote | Seed | -- | Wealth Management | Clearstone | August 13, 2020 | |
AvidXchange | Venture - Series Unknown | $118,897,770 | Payments/Billing | -- | August 13, 2020 | |
Kin Insurance | Series B | $35,000,000 | InsurTech | Commerce Ventures | August 13, 2020 |


AUGUST 17TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Extra! Extra! Read All About It: βIn Q2 2020 venture-backed fintech startups raised 28 nine-figure rounds, underscoring the scale of the bet investors are making on fintechβs long-term successβ reports TechCrunch.
First, our good friend and an alum of the Empire stage, Omri Mor and Routable. A B2B payment facilitator Routable just emerged from stealth mode to secure a $12M Series A. YC and nine other investors ponied up the cash to launch this startup out.
Next, we have our two twins this week: IDEX.io and Orum.io. IDEX garnered a $2.5M seed to grow its decentralized cryptocurrency exchange which aims to be both effective and βnon-custodialβ. Orumβs seed round drew 5.2M greenbacks to create instant wallets with financial software wizardry.
Last, a few standouts this week. Chicago-based InsurTech startup High Definition Vehicle Insurance is trucking along with an extra $16M. Charity fundraising platform Omaze amazed us with a $30M Series B (and a top 50 on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list this year). Financial service company Buckle continues its mission to ensure the ride-hailing drivers of the world. The company only serves Georgia, but rest assured the $31M Series A will have the company in your neck of the woods soon.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 08/02/2020 - 08/15/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: Crunchbase. Data is current as of August 15, 2020 | ||||||
Omaze | Series B | $30,000,000 | Capital Markets | FirstMark | August 13, 2020 | |
PayActiv | Series C | $100,000,000 | Personal Finance | Eldridge | August 13, 2020 | |
Cube | Seed | $5,000,000 | Business Intelligence | Bonfire Ventures | August 13, 2020 | |
High Definition Vehicle Insurance | Series A | $16,000,000 | InsurTech | 8VC | August 12, 2020 | |
Blend | Series F | $75,000,000 | Lending | Canapi Ventures | August 12, 2020 | |
Trumid | Series E | $200,000,000 | Capital Markets | Dragoneer | August 11, 2020 | |
Axle | Seed | $2,700,000 | Lending | Anthemis Group | August 11, 2020 | |
SMBX | Seed | $2,500,000 | Capital Markets | Better Ventures | August 11, 2020 | |
Sift Healthcare | Series A | $2,800,000 | Payments/Billing | Rock River Capital Partners | August 10, 2020 | |
Routable | Series A | $12,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Y Combinator | August 9, 2020 | |
Uniswap | Series A | $11,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Andreessen Horowitz | August 7, 2020 | |
Idex.io | Seed | $2,500,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Borderless Capital | August 7, 2020 | |
Orum.io | Seed | $5,200,000 | Money Transfer/Remittances | Homebrew | August 6, 2020 | |
Republic | Initial Coin Offering | $16,000,000 | Capital Markets | -- | August 5, 2020 | |
AgentSync | Seed | $4,400,000 | InsurTech | Caffeinated Capital | August 4, 2020 | |
Buckle | Series A | $31,000,000 | InsurTech | Eos Venture Partners | August 4, 2020 | |
Vesta | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Payments/Billing | EDBI | August 3, 2020 | |
Volante Technologies | Venture - Series Unknown | $35,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Wavecrest Growth Partners | August 3, 2020 | |
Marco | Pre-Seed | -- | Core Technology | Struck Capital | August 1, 2020 | |
KapitalWise | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Personal Finance | Meyer Equity | August 1, 2020 | |
Build Financial | Seed | -- | Digital Banking | -- | August 1, 2020 | |
BlockQuake | Pre-Seed | $25,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | -- | July 31, 2020 | |
Suma Wealth | Pre-Seed | -- | Personal Finance | Chingona Ventures | July 31, 2020 |


AUGUST 3RD REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Seedlings, itβs your lucky day. We feature on our report this week those companies just starting out who are raising initial seed capital.
SF Bay Area InsurTech startup Angle Health has an eye towards small-group health insurance for those lean-mean business machines. Next up, Cambrian Asset Management explodes onto the wealth management scene with the promise of uncorrelated riches investing in digital assets. Pulling it together for real estate owners is Chicago-based IoT SaaS platform Cohesion β also a Chicagoβs 50 Startups to Watch. With a flourish, Flourish Savings blends financial literacy and game elements to encourage super financial habits.
FLX Distribution, hailing from the greater NYC area, is on a mission to transform asset management distribution for wealth management and financial advisors. Decentralized crypto derivatives exchange Injective Protocol, incubated by exchange giant Binance, is looking to fully launch in Q3 of 2020. Back in the Bay is Meemo, an AI-powered social finance app with a heavy dose of empathy. Teller Finance, which offers risk-assessed loans by connecting to your bank, is about to kick off. Last, but certainly not least, is Trusty.care, which is taking aim at improving Medicare through AI.
Β
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 07/21/2020 - 08/01/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: Crunchbase. Data is current as of August 1, 2020 | ||||||
True Link Financial | Series B | $35,000,000 | Wealth Management | Khosla Ventures | July 28, 2020 | |
Cambrian Asset Management | Seed | $4,200,000 | Wealth Management | Dennis Phelps | July 23, 2020 | |
Sidecar Health | Venture - Series Unknown | $20,000,000 | InsurTech | Cathay Innovation | July 23, 2020 | |
Branch Financial | Series A | $24,000,000 | InsurTech | Greycroft | July 22, 2020 | |
The Helper Bees | Series A | $6,000,000 | InsurTech | Silverton Partners | July 22, 2020 | |
Zuul | Venture - Series Unknown | $9,000,000 | Wealth Management | -- | July 22, 2020 | |
Episode Six | Series A | $7,000,000 | Payments/Billing | HSBC | July 22, 2020 | |
Ava Labs | Initial Coin Offering | $42,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | -- | July 22, 2020 | |
Hatchback Cottages | Series B | -- | Mortgage/Real estate | -- | July 22, 2020 | |
Hippo Insurance | Series E | $150,000,000 | InsurTech | -- | July 21, 2020 | |
Meemo | Seed | $10,000,000 | Personal Finance | Greycroft | July 21, 2020 | |
Angle Health | Seed | $4,000,000 | InsurTech | Blumberg Capital | July 21, 2020 | |
Jirav | Series A | $8,300,000 | Core Technology | Information Venture Partners | July 21, 2020 | |
Flourish Savings | Seed | $100,000 | Capital Markets | -- | July 21, 2020 | |
Propel(X) | Convertible Note | $5,500,000 | Capital Markets | Franklin Templeton Investments | July 20, 2020 | |
FLX Distribution | Seed | $2,500,000 | Wealth Management | RiverNorth Capital Management | July 20, 2020 | |
Hummingbird | Series A | $8,200,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Flourish Ventures | July 16, 2020 | |
cohesion | Seed | $6,500,000 | Core Technology | Hyde Park Angels | July 16, 2020 | |
Teller Finance | Seed | $1,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Framework Ventures | July 16, 2020 | |
Trusty.care | Seed | $1,500,000 | InsurTech | -- | July 31, 2020 | |
Circle | Venture - Series Unknown | $25,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Digital Currency Group | July 30, 2020 | |
JetClosing | Series B | $9,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | T. Rowe Price | July 30, 2020 | |
Acrisure | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | InsurTech | Tulco | July 29, 2020 | |
Guideline | Series D | $80,000,000 | RegTech | Greyhound Capital | July 29, 2020 | |
Covr Financial Technologies | Series B | $7,500,000 | InsurTech | -- | July 29, 2020 | |
Remitly | Series F | $85,000,000 | Payments/Billing | PayU | July 29, 2020 | |
Injective Protocol | Seed | $2,600,000 | Capital Markets | Pantera Capital | July 29, 2020 | |
Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution | Venture - Series Unknown | $1,100,000 | Lending | Comerica Incorporated | July 28, 2020 | |
Wingocard | Seed | $2,000,000 | Personal Finance | Diagram Ventures | July 28, 2020 |


JULY 20TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
βIn the next five years, fintech will drive some of the biggest VC exitsβ reads a recent VentureBeat titled The Enormous Opportunity in FinTech. Who do you think will be the next big exit? On to this weekβs highlights.
Bond. James Bond. Suave, just like SF-based Bond Financial Technologies. The company raked in a $32M Series A with some big-name backers: Coatue, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard, and Capital B. Bond is building out some serious platform tech to βdeliver the infrastructure banks and brands need to innovate with speed, safety and scaleβ. NYC-based Privacy.com is on a mission to counter data breaches that thieve credit card numbers. Users can create virtual credit cards with purchase limits. $10.2M in Series A funding will help the company βhire and ramp up product development at a much faster paceβ.
Digital banking gets another boost with Senso.ai β try that five times fast. This YYZ-based AI brain bank helps financial institutions turbo-charge client retention. Their $3M seed will help the startup expand βinto credit cards and other productsβ. Another Canadian seed-stage startup on our list this week is Oliver POS. This nocturnal startup landed C$3.2M to continue building its point-of-sale (POS) system for the open-source e-commerce platform WooCommerce.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 07/03/2020 - 07/20/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: Crunchbase. Data is current as of July 20, 2020 | ||||||
Bolt | Series C | $50,000,000 | Payments/Billing | WestCap | July 16, 2020 | |
Bond Financial Technologies, Inc. | Series A | $32,000,000 | Core Technology | Coatue Management | July 15, 2020 | |
Privacy.com | Series A | $10,200,000 | Payments/Billing | Teamworthy Ventures | July 15, 2020 | |
Willful | Seed | $800,000 | Wealth Management | Tactico | July 15, 2020 | |
Bbot | Seed | $3,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Craft Ventures | July 14, 2020 | |
Snowball Money | Equity Crowdfunding | $600,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | -- | July 14, 2020 | |
AriNasDa Realty Co. | Pre-Seed | -- | Mortgage/Real estate | -- | July 14, 2020 | |
Taulia | Venture - Series Unknown | $60,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Ping An Global Voyager Fund | July 10, 2020 | |
Senso.ai | Seed | $3,000,000 | Digital Banking | BreakawayGrowth Fund | July 9, 2020 | |
Icon Savings Plan | Seed | $3,200,000 | Wealth Management | Tom Blaisdell | July 9, 2020 | |
Growers Edge | Series B | $40,000,000 | Business Intelligence | S2G Ventures | July 8, 2020 | |
Nomad Homes | Seed | $4,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Comcast Ventures | July 8, 2020 | |
Verikai | Series A | $6,000,000 | InsurTech | ManchesterStory Group | July 8, 2020 | |
SwipeSum | Angel | $1,100,000 | Payments/Billing | Cequel III | July 8, 2020 | |
Docoh | Seed | CA$345,000 | Capital Markets | -- | July 8, 2020 | |
Volos | Convertible Note | $1,275,000 | Capital Markets | -- | July 8, 2020 | |
Apiture | Venture - Series Unknown | $20,000,000 | Core Technology | Pinnacle Financial Partners | July 7, 2020 | |
Chainalysis | Series B | $13,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Ribbit Capital | July 7, 2020 | |
Grow Credit | Seed | $2,250,000 | Lending | Mucker Capital | July 7, 2020 | |
Foxquilt | Seed | CA$3,500,000 | InsurTech | Extreme Venture Partners | July 7, 2020 | |
Oliver POS | -- | CA$3,200,000 | Payments/Billing | -- | July 7, 2020 | |
Flinks | Series A | CA$11,000,000 | Core Technology | NAventures | July 6, 2020 | |
Occupier | Seed | -- | Mortgage/Real estate | REACH | July 1, 2020 |


JULY 3RD REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
As we close the books on Q2 (the quarter not banking platform) itβs no surprise that VCs were social distancing themselves from deals. As many funding rounds arenβt immediately public the early data is only a proxy, but at the moment weβre looking down 25% vs Q1 and off almost 100% YoY! But nom nom nom β FinTech continues to eat the world, says Alex Lazarow at Forbes. With over 30 funding rounds reported this week, we believe Alex.
We begin with the California-based eCommerce solution Scalefast and a $22M Series B raise to turbocharge the direct-to-consumer space. Next, Karatβs $4.6M seed is helping to launch this novel digital bank building βthe black card for creatorsβ. This bank skips traditional credit scores, basing the application and rates on total social media followers. For those brave explorers in decentralized finance (DeFi) waters, Opyn ($2.2M seed) is building a crypto-insurance marketplace to help crush risk β kapow!
InsurTech continues to dominate. Atlanta-based Layr garnered $5.25M to continue leveraging machine learning to help businesses get the right insurance at the right price. Boston-based InsurTech venture Openly received $15M Series A to provide lighting-fast home insurance quotes.
Speaking of lighting, our very own lighting round: Cedar $77M Series C to simplify healthcare payments; AgencyKPI $5M Series A to grow the insurance business intelligence platform; DigniFi $14M Series A to further build the FinTech marketplace servicing automotive repairs; Spiff $10M Series A to bring in the new age of commission software.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 06/19/2020 - 07/02/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: Crunchbase. Data is current as of July 2, 2020 | ||||||
RenoFi | Seed | $750,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | First Round Capital | June 23, 2020 | |
Cedar | Series C | $77,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Andreessen Horowitz | June 22, 2020 | |
CrossTower | Seed | $6,000,000 | Capital Markets | Gerard Lopez | June 22, 2020 | |
Opyn | Seed | $2,160,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Dragonfly Capital Partners | June 22, 2020 | |
Finli | Seed | $125,000 | Payments/Billing | Financial Solutions Lab | June 22, 2020 | |
SummerΓ’β¬βΉ | Seed | $125,000 | Lending | Financial Solutions Lab | June 22, 2020 | |
Climb Credit | Seed | $125,000 | Lending | Financial Solutions Lab | June 22, 2020 | |
Even.com | Series C | -- | Personal Finance | Founders Fund | June 18, 2020 | |
Pagaya Investments | Series D | $102,000,000 | Wealth Management | GIC | June 17, 2020 | |
Capital Markets Gateway | Series B | $25,000,000 | Business Intelligence | Goldman Sachs | June 25, 2020 | |
Karat | Seed | $4,600,000 | Digital Banking | -- | June 25, 2020 | |
AVA Labs | Initial Coin Offering | $12,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | NGC Ventures | June 25, 2020 | |
Ternio | Equity Crowdfunding | $1,070,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | -- | June 25, 2020 | |
Zeehaus Inc. | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Capital Markets | Meyer Equity | June 25, 2020 | |
Scalefast | Series B | $22,000,000 | Payments/Billing | FJ Labs | June 30, 2020 | |
DigniFi | Series A | $14,000,000 | Capital Markets | BuildGroup | June 30, 2020 | |
Willa | Seed | $3,000,000 | Payments/Billing | EQT Ventures | June 30, 2020 | |
AgencyKPI | Series A | $5,000,000 | Business Intelligence | EMC Insurance | June 30, 2020 | |
Just Auto Insurance | Seed | $5,700,000 | InsurTech | ManchesterStory Group | June 30, 2020 | |
OppJar | Seed | -- | Personal Finance | -- | July 1, 2020 | |
PushStash | Seed | $25,000 | Wealth Management | -- | July 1, 2020 | |
Xion Global | Seed | -- | Payments/Billing | -- | July 1, 2020 | |
Layr | Seed | $5,250,000 | InsurTech | Sandbox Insurtech Ventures | July 1, 2020 | |
MainStreet | Seed | $2,300,000 | RegTech | Gradient Ventures | June 15, 2020 | |
Fluz | Venture - Series Unknown | -- | Payments/Billing | Meyer Equity | June 16, 2020 | |
Pipe | Seed | $10,000,000 | Core Technology | Fin Venture Capital | June 24, 2020 | |
Derivative Path, Inc. | Venture - Series Unknown | $35,000,000 | Capital Markets | FTV Capital | June 24, 2020 | |
Velox | Seed | $2,500,000 | Capital Markets | ETFS Capital | June 24, 2020 | |
Openly | Series A | $15,000,000 | InsurTech | Obvious Ventures | June 24, 2020 | |
Nexben | Funding Round | $5,059,678 | InsurTech | -- | June 24, 2020 | |
Spiff | Series A | $10,000,000 | Core Technology | Album VC | June 26, 2020 | |
neo.tax | Seed | $3,000,000 | Lending | Uncork Capital | June 30, 2020 | |
FINBOA | Seed | -- | RegTech | -- | July 1, 2020 | |
Point Card | Series A | $10,500,000 | Digital Banking | Valar Ventures | July 1, 2020 |


JUNE 19TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Disruptors to maximum β FinTech is back in business and ready to transform the galaxy. Read on as we alight on a few of the 20 firms expanding horizons.
We begin with Boston-based towerIQ, a SaaS startup targeting insurance market transparency. The team locked in $4.5M from, arguably, the best-named VC firms: General Catalyst, Hyperplane VC, and Recharge Capital, among others. Next, we have wealth management firm UNest, which uses a mobile app to democratize the management of college savings plans for kiddos β now on Android and iOS. Our science friends in the audience will enjoy this reference: Planck. The company was awardedΒ $16M Series B to help βunderwrite any businessβ.
Knock, knock. Whoβs there? EasyKnock and a $20M Series B. Tech makes it easy to sell your home and/or lease it back to yourself. Next, an upgrade. Not a joke upgrade (or actually...) but a $40M Series D from SF-based neobank Upgrade. Over to cyber/fraud seed startup Unum ID βsharifyingβ ID with a virtual ID card and $2M to do it β brought to you by VC firm (Don) Draper Associates. Last up, personal finance Pando and $8.5M. Pool your resources to minimize the risk of high-volatility careers.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 06/04/2020 - 06/18/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: Crunchbase. Data is current as of June 18, 2020 | ||||||
Botkeeper | Series B | $25,000,000 | Core Technology | High Alpha | June 18, 2020 | |
River Financial | Seed | $5,700,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Polychain | June 17, 2020 | |
Upgrade | Series D | $40,000,000 | Digital Banking | Santander InnoVentures | June 17, 2020 | |
Unum ID | Seed | $2,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Draper Associates | June 17, 2020 | |
EasyKnock | Series B | $20,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Blumberg Capital | June 16, 2020 | |
Chipper Cash | Series A | $13,800,000 | Money Transfer/Remittances | Deciens Capital | June 16, 2020 | |
Brightside | Series A | $35,100,000 | Personal Finance | Andreessen Horowitz | June 16, 2020 | |
UNest | Series A | $9,000,000 | Wealth Management | Anthos Capital | June 16, 2020 | |
Dovly | Seed | $2,000,000 | Personal Finance | NFX | June 16, 2020 | |
Genie | Pre-Seed | $250,000 | Personal Finance | -- | June 12, 2020 | |
Haus | Series A | $15,750,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | BlueRun Ventures | June 11, 2020 | |
Origin | Venture - Series Unknown | $12,000,000 | InsurTech | Felicis Ventures | June 11, 2020 | |
Planck | Series B | $16,000,000 | InsurTech | Team8 Capital | June 10, 2020 | |
M1 Finance | Series B | $33,000,000 | Wealth Management | Left Lane Capital | June 9, 2020 | |
NYMBUS | Venture - Series Unknown | $12,000,000 | Core Technology | Insight Partners | June 9, 2020 | |
Pando | Series A | $8,500,000 | Personal Finance | Core Innovation Capital | June 9, 2020 | |
Xomi, Inc. (d/b/a Chargeback) | Series A | $6,600,000 | Cyber/Fraud | FINTOP Capital | June 8, 2020 | |
Wahed Invest | Venture - Series Unknown | $25,000,000 | Wealth Management | Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures | June 8, 2020 | |
towerIQ | Series A | $4,500,000 | Capital Markets | General Catalyst | June 8, 2020 | |
taxProper | Seed | $2,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Khosla Ventures | June 6, 2020 |


JUN 5TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
While they werenβt signed with a handshake, a number of interesting seed-stage companies secured new capital this week starting off a handful of Techstars-accelerated new entrants.
Propagate Ventures, landed a $1.5M seed to bring investment to agroforestry. They are followed by Curu, scoring $3M to help credit applicants avoided the dreaded βyour credit application has been rejectedβ.
Onto the larger checks. Making waves is Splash Financial with $12.3M aiming to counter the $1.6T tsunami of student loan debt headed our way. Next up is Stackinβ with a $12.6M raise and a dream to make personalized financial education services available to everyone via text β :). B2B payment and credit network Fundbox locked in a $20M round-two Series C. Snagging a $27M slice of the funding pie (and a cool $100M in equity financing on top) is Pie Insurance. This D.C.-based startup provides workersβ comp insurance to small businesses. Last but not least is SF-based mobile banking company Varo Money. The bank-chartered FinTech with a monster $241M raise, funded by a veritable cast of characters: Bono, billionaire movie producer Jeff Skoll, and Progressive Insurance.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 05/22/2020 - 06/4/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: Crunchbase. Data is current as of June 4, 2020 | ||||||
Curu | Seed | $3,000,000 | Personal Finance | Vestigo Ventures | May 22, 2020 | |
Fundbox | Series C | $20,000,000 | Payments/Billing | MUFG Innovation Partners | May 26, 2020 | |
Splash Financial | Series A | $12,300,000 | Personal Finance | CMFG Ventures | May 26, 2020 | |
Pie Insurance | Series B | $27,000,000 | Insurtech | Aspect Ventures | May 28, 2020 | |
LaterPay | Venture - Series Unknown | $10,000,000 | Payments/Billing | -- | May 28, 2020 | |
Stackin' | Series B | $12,600,000 | Personal Finance | Octopus Ventures | May 28, 2020 | |
Propagate Ventures | Seed | $1,500,000 | Business Intelligence | Neglected Climate Opportunities | May 29, 2020 | |
Rentberry | Equity Crowdfunding | -- | Mortgage/Real Estate | Bay Wharf Capital | May 29, 2020 | |
Teiqui | Pre-Seed | -- | Regtech | -- | May 30, 2020 | |
Spaced Ventures | Pre-Seed | $150,000 | Capital Markets | -- | June 1, 2020 | |
Ubitquity LLC | Pre-Seed | $50,000 | Mortgage/Real Estate | -- | June 1, 2020 | |
Nesto | Venture - Series Unknown | $11,500,000 | Mortgage/Real Estate | Diagram Ventures | June 2, 2020 | |
Numerai | Initial Coin Offering | $3,000,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | CoinFund | June 3, 2020 | |
The Small Exchange | Seed | $4,000,000 | Capital Markets | PhillipCapital | June 3, 2020 | |
Betterview | Series B | $7,500,000 | Core Technology | ManchesterStory Group | June 3, 2020 | |
Varo Money | Series D | $241,000,000 | Digital Banking | Gallatin Point Capital | June 3, 2020 | |
Lili | Seed | $10,000,000 | Digital Banking | Group 11 | June 3, 2020 |


MAY 22ND REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
FinTech funding has roared back to life this week with a slew of funding rounds. To kick off the week we have four late-stage funding raises: Carta, Brex, States Title, and Coalition for a whopping $543M combined. Next up: early-stage.
We begin with a tribute to the 70s supergroup ABBA β two Series As and two Bs. Our first is AI-powered Deep Labs, signing $16M to work some tech magic with βpersona-based risk systemsβ. AI continues its forward march with Symend, who contracted $52M to help at-risk customers keep from defaulting on debt with sweet behavioral analytics. LoanSnap inked $10M, and won the investor lottery: Richard Branson and an ex-NFL quarterback star chipped in. Our final letter is Vise, completing the trifecta with $14.5M underwritten for AI-driven portfolio management.
With our blast from the past completed, on to the rest. The construction industry gets a boost with Briqβs $10M Series A. School fundraising meets FinTech with MemberHubβs, landing $7.5M to turbocharge PTAs. SF-based Stilt had its first seed round, locking in $7.5M to help people with little to no credit history get started. NYC-based Lolli is a rewards app offering shoppers bitcoin for purchases, now backed by Ashton Kutcher and Michelle Phan to the tune of $3M.
IN THE NEWS...
RECENT DEALS
Period: 05/07/2020 - 05/21/2020
Name | Funding Type | Money Raised | Vertical | Lead Investor | Announced | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: Crunchbase. Data is current as of May 21, 2020 | ||||||
Coinme | Venture - Series Unknown | $5,500,000 | Blockchain/Crypto | Pantera Capital | May 7, 2020 | |
STILT | Seed | $7,500,000 | Lending | -- | May 7, 2020 | |
Symend | Series B | $52,000,000 | Payments/Billing | Inovia Capital | May 7, 2020 | |
MemberHub | Series A | $3,300,000 | Payments/Billing | AIM Group | May 8, 2020 | |
Carta | Series F | $180,000,000 | Capital Markets | Lightspeed Venture Partners | May 10, 2020 | |
Hemista | Pre-Seed | $300,000 | Wealth Management | -- | May 10, 2020 | |
Briq | Series A | $10,000,000 | Business Intelligence | Blackhorn Ventures | May 11, 2020 | |
Clyde | Series A | $14,000,000 | InsurTech | Spark Capital | May 11, 2020 | |
Lolli | Seed | $3,000,000 | Personal Finance | Pathfinder | May 11, 2020 | |
Fenris | Seed | InsurTech | CIT GAP Funds | May 12, 2020 | ||
Gravy | Convertible Note | $1,400,000 | Payments/Billing | -- | May 12, 2020 | |
Vise | Series A | $14,500,000 | Wealth Management | Sequoia Capital | May 12, 2020 | |
Charityvest | Pre-Seed | $1,100,000 | Personal Finance | -- | May 13, 2020 | |
FalconX | Venture - Series Unknown | $17,000,000 | Wealth Management | -- | May 13, 2020 | |
LeverageRx | Convertible Note | $625,000 | InsurTech | Invest Nebraska | May 13, 2020 | |
Deep Labs | Series A | $16,000,000 | Cyber/Fraud | Gunnar Overstrom, Serendipity Capital, The Gramercy Fund | May 14, 2020 | |
Homeward | Venture - Series Unknown | $20,000,000 | Mortgage/Real estate | Adams Street Partners | May 14, 2020 | |
LoanSnap | Series B | $10,000,000 | Lending | MANTIS Venture Capital, True Ventures | May 14, 2020 | |
Levelfield | Seed | Digital Banking | -- | May 15, 2020 | ||
Trust Stamp | Series A | $1,248,000 | Core Technology | OnRamp Insurance Accelerator | May 18, 2020 | |
Brex | Series C | $150,000,000 | Payments/Billing | DST Global | May 19, 2020 | |
Unifimoney | Pre-Seed | $1,000,000 | Digital Banking | -- | May 19, 2020 | |
Coalition | Series C | $90,000,000 | InsurTech | Valor Equity Partners | May 20, 2020 | |
Human Interest | Series C+ | $10,000,000 | Glynn Capital Management | May 20, 2020 | ||
TokenSoft | Venture - Series Unknown | $4,000,000 | Capital Markets | -- | May 20, 2020 | |
Deel | Series A | $14,000,000 | Payments/Billing | -- | May 21, 2020 | |
States Title | Series C | $123,000,000 | InsurTech | Greenspring Associates | May 21, 2020 | |
Aspiration | Series C | $135000000 | Digital Banking | Alpha Edison | May 21, 2020 | |
Spruce Holdings | Series B | $29000000 | Real estate | Scale Venture Partners | May 21, 2020 | |
CLARA analytics | Series B | $25000000 | InsurTech | Aspen Capital Group | May 21, 2020 | |
All of Us | Seed | $3500000 | Capital Markets | -- | May 21, 2020 | |
NEER | Pre-Seed | $100000 | Core Technology | gener8tor | May 21, 2020 |


MAY 8TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
We begin this week with a special Zen moment. Everyone pause, take a deep breath β meow on to the list! Six first-rate FinTech firms confirmed funding for a total just shy of $30M. Hereβs a thematic overview: banking automation, ai-investing, insurance, challenger banking, and e-commerce. Thereβs a little something for everyone.
SF-based API-focused startup Treasury Prime locked away $9M in Series A funding. This cash infusion will enable the company to invest in a go-to-market team who can reach more banks in need of routine task automation. Our international funding round this week goes to Toronto-based Boosted.ai, fusing investment manager and machine. The company downloaded an $8M Series A to distribute its βfirst-to-market artificial intelligence platform for investment professionalsβ.
Three seed rounds round out the middle of our pack today. NYC-based tech-driven Covered by Sage confirmed $6M to expand property and casualty insurance operations. San Mateo-based banking and payment services firm Wise landed $5.7M to enlighten the challenger banking world. E-commerce platform Boost garnered $1M to kick off #revolutionary shoppable hashtags. We end with a pre-seed: Vida Life is getting into the game to provide insurance products to the U.S Hispanic community.
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 04/24/2020 - 05/07/2020
Source: Crunchbase


APRIL 24TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Despite the one-two punch of COVID-19 and the Q1 investment dip, entrepreneurs and investors continue to rally. Our funding round this week hosts many exemplary startups as hungry as ever. We begin with three Series A funding rounds.
SF-based OpenInvest landed $10.5M for a strategic A1 investing round. This tech-enabled asset management powerhouse garnered two sweet accolades in March: Fast Companyβs Most Innovative Company 2020 and Best Retail Investment Platform. Please: a round of applause. SLC-based employee payroll platform Everee ever-delights with a $10M raise. This round follows hot on the heels of a mid-2019 $3.7M seed. DC-based Savi continues to build the path to student loan freedom with a $6M snag. Inc Magazine featured this savvy startup in 44th place on the β50 World-Changing Startups to Watch in 2019β. Watch out.
These soon-to-be spriggy seeds grew a combined $13.9M. AceTrader tops the list bringing real estate crowdfunding to the wide-world of agricultural land ownership. Trovata (not the clothing brand) uses open banking to automate financial data β take me to your banking leader. Atomic Loans knows crypto is still strong, and crypto loans with no intermediaries means bank. Benepass provides benefit cards for SMBs; Set Labs is a crypto-wizard financial platform. Whew!
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 04/10/2020 - 04/23/2020
Source: Crunchbase


APRIL 10TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
FinTech funding in the time of Coronavirus β who will survive and who will thrive?
Chicago-based Arturo departed the nest of parent company American Family Insurance in 2018. Itβs mission: combine AI and aerial imagery to scan down and assess commercial property risk. An $8M Series A will power the firmβs expansion into North America and the Asia Pacific. RoadSync, based in Atlanta, picked up $5.7M to truck in more digital payment improvements for the transportation industry.
Six seed rounds round out our week. By order of appearance, we begin with Sila, whose teamwork is making the dream of effortless digital payments work. Shout out to Shamir Karkal, Co-founder, CEO, and close friend of Empire Startups!
Stepping up next is, Cadence, who was awarded funds to the tune of $4M to unlock alternative high yield investments. Our next two seed rounds have made education a priority. The Wealth Factory is on a +$1M mission to educate future FinTech leaders in the art of money management. Parents can join too! Savology banked $750k to help adults level up their financial planning. In the undeclared territory is investment management firm Wilshire Phoenix and P2P FinTech digital asset network DeFiner.
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 03/27/2020 - 04/09/2020
Source: Crunchbase


MARCH 27TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
FinTech funding slowed to a trickle this week in the wake of the economic uncertainty roiling the markets. Have no fear: FinTech is here, and here to stay. We all know the bad news so letβs focus on the good!
We begin with two Series A startups: One and Coterie. The SF-based digital bank One banked a $17M Series A. Still in early launch mode, this digital contender is riding the wave of support for online-only banks. API-based commercial insurance provider Coterie inked an $8.5M Series A deal. This InsurTech startup uses APIs to act as an intermediary for providers, customers, and even freelancers.
Three startup companies join us for seed round funding this week: ZeFi, Trimwire, and WealthyPlanet. ZeFi is an Ethereum-powered high-yield savings account for USD and virtual currencies. The company grew out of the 2020 Y Combinator startup field. Trimwire is another 2020 Y Combinator startup that βbuilds spend management software for startups to maximize their runwayβ. Both ZeFi and Trimwire landed $150,000 in seed round funding. Last up is Ontario-based WealthyPlanet, offering financial planning for Canadians. The company offers to make you a financial planning rock star for the ultra-low-cost of free. Hurrah!
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 03/13/2020 - 03/26/2020
Source: Crunchbase


MARCH 13TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Our first drop-in this week is the all-in-one spend management platform Airbase. The SF-based company raked in a $23.5M Series A extension, led by private equity firm Bain Capital, and is aiming at a second-year ARR 4x.
Next up is NorthOne, Americaβs SME challenger bank entering the ring with a $21M Series A β and the crowd chants: Rocky, Rocky, Rocky! Not to be outdone is mobile-banking startup Empower raising $20M. Founded by former Sequoia Capital partner Warren Hogarth, the company boasts 600,000 active users in just over 3 years. Out for the greater good is Welcome Technologies, a fintech platform connecting global immigrants with products and services. This certified B-corporation banked an $8M Series A.
Texas-based crypto-focused Zabo is using its $2.5M Seed to link financial service companies and cryptocurrency wallets. Vancouver-based IOT Pay garnered a $1M Seed round. The company recently helped local Canadian supermarkets offer mobile payment solutions, such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. For those on-the-go, the Xaggo mobile app lets you pay international bills from anywhere in the world. The company recently netted a $240,000 Seed. Last but not least is DeFiner, a decentralized financial institution wishing a farewell to the intermediaries of loans, savings, payments, and other investments.
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 02/28/2020 - 03/12/2020
Source: Crunchbase


FEBRUARY 28TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
2019 brought in a slew of new FinTech unicorns β 24 to be exact, reports Tech Crunch. Get out your crystal ball to divine which one of the many up-and-coming startups this week will break the bank.
We begin with a Series A $10M two-for-one: Ordway, a billing and revenue automation platform, and Reggora, an all-in-one mortgage lender appraisal platform. Helping to transform and streamline pricing transparency in healthcare is Santa Monica-based Anagram. Formerly Patch, the company recently rearranged into its new name along with a $9M Series A.
Taking a turn towards a few select seed rounds, we have Pipe, Alkymi, and DigitalPay. First: LA-based Pipe offers SaaS companies a pipeline for converting MRR into ARR. Next: NYC-based Alkymi automates email data extraction through machine learning. Last: SF-based DigitalPay (formerly known as Sipree) enables companies to expedite digital payouts to payees.
This week we conclude with Talage, Aiera, and QRails. InsurTech startup Talage drew in a $5M Series A to βpower the digital distribution of commercial property and casualty insuranceβ. AI-driven Aiera landed a $7M Series A to empower fundamental investing strategies β monitor public earnings calls and more. QRails (who acquired Rete+Pay in 2019) grabbed an $8M Series A to help financial institutions βdeploy innovative digital payment solutions.
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 02/14/2020 - 02/27/2020
Source: Crunchbase


FEBRUARY 14TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Weβre starting our month of fintech love with Cherre. Founded four years ago, the companies most-recent funding round was led by Intel Capital raising $16M. What is this NYC-based real estate data analytics machine going to do with this cash infusion? Serve up the $50T real estate investing and underwriting market with a cherry on top. Seconds anyone?
Tinkering away in the global financial settlements system is Transparent Systems. A $14M Series A boosts this crypto-settlements solution convinced βmoney is the slowest technology to evolveβ. Also looking for a leg up with a gemini Series A is Boost Insurance β insurtech is making insurance sexy.
Our international mention this week comes in the form of Mexico City-based Stori Card, offering inclusive digital financial services to Latin America after a $10M raise. Next-gen real estate guru Houwzer is growing the D.C. team after its $9.5M Series A. Buzzing around your nearest startup is EquityBee and a $6.6M raise to help founding employees cash in.
Our holiday wouldnβt be complete without an assortment of seed ventures. MoCaFi offers low-cost financial services to underserved communities; Obie streamlines commercial real estate management; Goodcover is slashing insurance costs across the board.
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 01/30/2020 - 02/13/2020
Source: Crunchbase


JANUARY 31ST REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Where we all hope fintech is headed: Visa acquiring Plaid for $5.3B and Stripe over $20B. Buckle up.
On the other side of the fintech funding coin are two Series As. SF-based Aumni cashed in $10M to free VC data and analytics from its human mind confines β more data! Sneaky NYC-based Forwardlane garnered an undisclosed amount to continue doing βmind-bogglingβ things with AI and wealth management.
63.63% of our list this week are seeds, soon to be saplings. First up, Gentem and its platform to help physicians get instant reimbursements and pay off the mountains of medical school debt. Knox Financial helps customers convert their home into a passive income money machine. Rapidly wants to completely virtualize tax and accounting practices.
Representing our northern neighbor is MontrΓ©al-based Lexop. Fintech meets debt collection to βremove friction from collectionsβ. Similarly based is Contxtful technologies, harvesting eyeballs with its receptivity score. Returning home from our Canadian sojourn is U-Nest β the app that lets you bank for your childβs college fund. TomoCredit smashes through the no-credit-history barrier by analyzing alternative data sources. Last but not least, Kurtosys serves up an end-to-end digital platform for financial service organizations.
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 01/17/2020 - 01/30/2020
Source: Crunchbase


JANUARY 17TH REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
Welcome to 2020 and a new decade of fantastic fintech funding. First up for the new year is Securrency, pioneer of blockchain-based financial and regulatory market infrastructure. Watch out β the tokenization of the financial world is underway. The firm locked in $17.6M worth of Series A, led by WisdomTree Investments.
Our next big spender is Locale with an $11M Series A. Billed as an upscale short- and long-term accommodations for the discerning traveler. Get your home-away-from-home on, resort-style pool included. A unique stand out from the group is TypingDNA, which uses AI and biometrics to recognize people by how they type. This NYC-based big brother just cashed in $7M in Series A from Gradient Ventures.
We donβt have much space left, so a quick seed lightning round: Edquity is a special financial planning app for students; Collbox somehow blends ethical cloud-based debt collection; Dottid promises seamless SaaS leasing options for commercial real estate; Balance is the digital Fort Knox for the crypto world; Fundraise Up supercharges online donations with human-centered brilliance.
Weβll end with our solo pre-seed, Savvy. NYC folks are about to get faster, smarter, better tenant screening with this new-comer.
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 01/03/2020 - 01/16/2020
Source: Crunchbase


JANUARY 3RD REPORT:TOP FINTECH VENTURE ROUNDS
2019 had one last hurrah with a fintech funding round bonanza. Our list this week tops out at 13 companies you wonβt want to miss. First up is Huckleberry, taking in $18M of Series A from Tribe Capital. The company offers easy online insurance for small businesses, which means that Huckleberry can say Docβs famous line: βIβm your huckleberry.β
Next, we have Modern Treasury, a recent Y Combinator graduate, automating the business cycle of money movement with some modern tech wizardry. They banked a $10M Series A to continue scaling the business. Keep an eye on Trust & Will, an online estate planning venture underwritten to the tune of $6M in Series A funding. The firm has snappy marketing efforts led by a young whippersnapper you wonβt forget. Slinking around at the bottom of our list is insurech firm REIN, committed to building digital insurance products.
For our seeds this week, cross-border payment startup Chipper Cash garnered its second funding of 2019. Leaping into the fray is Leapfin, a unified data platform for actionable (and delectable) financials. Last β and also lurking at the bottom β is Tassat, a blockchain-based powerup for frictionless asset transfer and crypto derivatives.
IN THE NEWS...
ALL RECENT FUNDING ROUNDS
Period: 12/13/2019 - 01/02/2020
Source: Crunchbase