ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Fipto, Form3, Immix, Emata & more
At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up for you to get the latest funding news.
Form3 gets investment from Visa
Visa has made an undisclosed investment in payments platform Form3 as part of a new commercial partnership.
The agreement will seek to reduce fraud and increase operational efficiencies in real-time payments by combining Form3’s FinCrime Orchestration service with Visa’s deep learning AI and risk scoring.
The partnership will also look to build upon Form3’s single API connectivity, which affords merchants and institutions access to instant payment capabilities.
Form3 will leverage the investment to promote its own growth, develop new products and services and expand into new markets.
Versatile Credit, a US-based technology platform that connects retailers with lenders to enable them to provide credit options to their customers, has received an undisclosed investment from growth equity firm PSG.
The investment will be used to expand Versatile’s network of lenders and boost its market share in new and existing merchant categories.
It currently engages a network of around 30 prime, near-prime and no-credit-required financing partners in an attempt to extend more credit options to consumers at the point-of-sale (POS).
As part of the deal, Marco Ferrari, PSG’s managing director, and Chris Nesbitt, its principal, have been appointed to Versatile’s board of directors.
Fipto raises €15m
Fipto, a B2B payments and treasury management solution based in Paris, France, has raised €15 million in a seed funding round led by Serena and Motier Ventures.
Licensed as a digital asset service provider (DASP) by the French Financial Markets Authority since March of this year, the fintech offers a platform that enables companies to manage their corporate treasury and to leverage blockchain technology to settle international payments in fiat and digital currencies.
Backed by over two decades of experience from its founders, Fipto intends to apply the funding to accelerate the growth of its platform and tap into the increasing adoption of blockchain technology.
Cybersecurity company Deduce has secured $9 million in a funding round led by Freestyle Capital, with additional participation from Foundry and True Ventures.
Based in New York, US, Deduce provides a technology platform that helps businesses combat the rise in AI-driven identity fraud through its application of multi-contextual activity-backed intelligence.
With the funding, the company is preparing its fraud solution for a full-market launch, which is currently in stealth, targeting new verticals in financial services, fintech and e-commerce.
Immix raises $2.7m
Also due to emerge from stealth is Immix, a non-custodial ultra-low latency trading system for institutional investors, which has landed $2.7 million in a seed funding round led by MassMutual Ventures (MMV).
Founded in 2019 and based in London, UK, the company seeks to overcome the barriers posed by restrictive and high-cost infrastructure in institutional Web3 trading through its self-hosted trading solution.
The seed funding, which also saw participation from Ripple, will enable the company to refine its trading platform and spur the development of execution and liquidity provision modules.
Ugandan fintech Emata, which supports the agricultural sector of East Africa with financial solutions, has secured $2.4 million in seed funding.
The funding, which has been provided by African Renaissance Partners, Norrsken Accelerator, Zephyr Acorn, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and Swedish angel investor Marcus Boström, comprises $800,000 in equity and $1.6 million in on-lending capital.
Following the round, the fintech plans to debut its agri-loan offering within Uganda’s core coffee and dairy markets, which is to be followed by an intended launch in Tanzania, as it attempts to digitise lending processes in a bid to meet the $240 billion financing needs of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Layup secures $2.3m
Challenger banking service provider Layup has raised $2.3 million in a seed funding round led by Continental Investment Partners.
Founded in 2022 and based in New York, US, the challenger is noted for its prize-linked saving account which, directed at sports fans, turns interest generated on its bank deposits into prizes for its customers through equal odds sports-based games.
With its latest round seeing additional participation from Chicago Ventures and the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Layup plans to apply the funding to developing its talent, product capabilities and marketing agenda.
