Fintechs secured a record $94.7billion of new funding during the first nine months of the year, almost twice as much as in the whole of 2020, according to CB Insights. As 2021 draws to a close, we highlight some of the biggest funding gains and notable investment updates for fintechs over the last 12 months.
January
Checkout.com, the payment solutions provider, closed a $450million Series C fundraising round. It tripled the business’s valuation to $15billion. The funding round was led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Greenoaks Capital. It said the new funding would used to further grow its balance sheet and drive new innovative opportunities.
Also in January, LendInvest – a marketplace platform for property finance – raised a £500million funding round from JP Morgan in January.
February
UK challenger bank Monzo revealed a £50million extension in Series G round from existing shareholders as well as Octahedron Capital. Monzo went on to enjoy a £360million Series H round in December 2021 to increase its valuation to $4.5billion. The funding will go towards investment in building new products, including its own trading platform.
TomoCredit, a fintech startup offering a credit card designed to build credit history, also secured a $7million seed funding round. It later announced a $10million Series A funding round in September 2021.
March
Digital payments firm Stripe raised a $600million Series H funding round in March to boost its valuation to $95billion. The company said it planned to use the capital to invest in its European operations, and its Dublin headquarters in particular. Primary investors included Allianz X, Axa, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Sequoia Capital, and Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency.
Also in March – SumUp, the UK card payments startup, secured €750milliion in new funding.
April
UK digital bank Starling enjoyed a £50million investment by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity. The investment was an extension of the bank’s oversubscribed £272million Series D funding round in March 2021. It said the new funding from Goldman would support Starling’s continued rapid and profitable growth.
There was also funding success for open banking platform TrueLayer in April. It secured a $70million Series D investment round led by new investor Addition.
May
German neobroker neobroker Trade Republic landed $900million in a Series C investment round led by Sequoia. Other investors included TCV and Thrive Capital as well as existing investors Accel, Founders Fund, Creandum and Project A. The company said it planned to use the funds to expand to more countries such as Spain and Italy, followed by Benelux, Ireland and Finland.
June
Swedish payments firm Klarna raised $639million from a group of investors led by SoftBank‘s Vision Fund II, lifting its valuation to $45.6billion. Additional participation came from existing investors Adit Ventures, Honeycomb Asset Management and WestCap Group. It planned to use the additional funding to support international expansion and further capture global retail growth.
Plus, Dutch payment company Mollie closed an $800million funding round in June. While, digital insurer wefox closed a $650million Series C round that pushed its valuation past the $3billion mark.
July
UK fintech Revolut bagged $800million in Series E funding, valuing the business at $33billion. The funding round attracted two new investors, SoftBank Vision Fund and Tiger Global Management. Revolut said it planned to use the investment to ‘further its growth plans’ including product innovation. It would also support the expansion of Revolut’s offering to US customers and its entry to India.
August
Fintech Rapyd enjoyed a $300million Series E funding round led by Target Global. Also joining the round were new investors including funds managed by Fidelity Management and Research Company, Altimeter Capital, Whale Rock Capital, BlackRock Funds and Dragoneer. Rapyd also closed a $300million Series D in January 2021. According to Rapyd, it planned to use part of the investment for ‘more acquisitions’, and part for research and development.
September
Buy now pay later provider DivideBuy secured a £300million lending facility. The funding from global investment management firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management would help drive DivideBuy’s charge as a leading player in the point-of-sale market.
Meanwhile, UK fintech Prodigy Finance secured $750million funding to expand into new markets. Plus, Melio, a B2B payments platform, raised an additional $250million, tripling the company’s valuation to $4billion since January 2021.
October
German digital bank N26 announced it had raised $900million in Series E funding. The round was led by Third Point Ventures and Coatue Management, and joined by Dragoneer Investment Group, as well as N26’s existing investors. Despite withdrawing from the US and UK this year, N26 plans to deepen its footprint in existing core European markets, primarily Germany, France, Italy and Spain, as well as expanding into Eastern Europe.
Also in October, UK-based payment technology company Global Processing Services (GPS) nabbed more than $300million in funding.
November
Fintech platform Airwallex raised an additional $100million in a Series E1 financing round in November. The new funding raised Airwallex’s valuation to $5.5billion and came just a month after Airwallex enjoyed an oversubscribed Series E round. Its total Series E fundraising reached $300million, with $802million raised in total. It said the capital injection would fuel M&A opportunities to accelerate its global expansion plans.
December
Brazilian neobank Nubank has ended the year as Latin America’s most valuable financial institution after raising $2.6billion in a US initial public offering. This follows a $750million extension to its Series G in July with funding led by Berkshire Hathaway. Nubank planned to use the funding to grow the business, including hiring more people.
Also in December, neobank Jupiter raised $86million in a Series C round. The round was led by US-based QED Investors and Sequoia Growth fund.
