ICYMI fintech funding round-up: January, Spade, Keyless and 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.
US fintech January Technologies has secured $12 million in a Series B fundraise.
January raises $12m
Led by IA Ventures, the round also saw participation from existing investors Brewer Lane Ventures, Third Prime and Reciprocal Ventures, and new investors Upper90 and Shrug Capital, as well as a number of angel investors.
Founded in 2016 and based in New York, January has developed solutions to help financial institutions modernise debt collection by giving borrowers “simpler and more compassionate ways to get back on track”.
With the new money, the company plans to develop new products and expand its market presence. January last raised $10 million in a Series A funding round in 2022.
Spade, which provides real-time merchant data for the card ecosystem, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Flourish Ventures.
The round also saw participation from a16z, Gradient Ventures, Y Combinator, Dash Fund and Everywhere Ventures.
Founded in 2021 and also based in New York, Spade helps card issuers improve their data, and in turn their fraud risk models, by providing real-time data about merchant transactions through its database, which it claims covers nearly 100% of merchants across the US.
When a card is swiped, Spade receives real-time information from the issuer and then links the transaction to a verified merchant identity, including its category, geolocation and hours of operation. Spade also says its tech can help card issuers learn more about cardholders’ spending habits to make abnormal activities easier to detect.
The company will use the funds raised to double its headcount to support the further development of merchant intelligence products. It also plans to use some of the cash to fuel its international expansion outside the US.
UK fintech start-up Keyless has raised an additional $6 million in funding, led by Rialto Ventures.
Keyless raises additional $6m in funding
The raise brings its total funding to date to $26 million, with previous backing coming from investors including P101, Primo Ventures, Gumi Cryptos Capital and Ripple’s Xpring.
Founded in 2019 and based in London, Keyless claims it can create universal biometric profiles that can be used to assure the identity of a genuine user at any point in the identity lifecycle without needing to store biometric data anywhere.
This latest round is also the start-up’s first as a newly independent company. In a strategic move, Keyless says it “mutually agreed” to separate from parent company Sift earlier this year, after realising that their respective products were best suited for servicing differing markets.
Keyless says it will use the funds to meet “increasing demand” for its technology in the banking and financial services sectors.
Nigerian fintech start-up Bujeti has secured $2 million in seed funding.
The funding round was led by Y Combinator with participation from Entrée Capital, Voltron Capital, Unpopular VC, Kima Ventures and a number of angel investors.
Founded in 2021 and based in Lagos, Bujeti offers a corporate card and spend management platform for African businesses. Through the platform, businesses can issue virtual or physical corporate cards and set up spending limits and restrictions as well as approval flows.
With the latest investment, Bujeti plans to increase its foothold in the market and boost its product development, with plans to offer credit lines for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Industrial Thought – a group of companies focused on accelerating the future of wealth management – has invested £250,000 in the TURN (TISA Universal Reporting Network) platform.
Developed by The Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA), TURN is an industry blockchain solution for collecting and disseminating fund-related data.
It provides asset managers, distributors and the broader financial sector with a unified, transparent solution for data-related challenges, with the aim to increase market compliance, reduce regulatory and operational costs and provide a better service to investors.
Gary Bond, CEO of TURN, says the funds will be used to enhance the platform’s capabilities further as it looks to address the “evolving needs of our industry”.
Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) has made an undisclosed investment in Icon Solutions, a fintech provider of payments technology and consultancy services.
Citi TTS invests in Icon Solutions
In addition to the investment, Citi plans to expand its use of the Icon Payments Framework (IPF) to enhance its microservices orchestration architecture. Citi says it has invested in Icon Solutions as part of a multi-year modernisation of its payments platforms.
“Citi’s new payment platform will prioritise flexibility and accelerate the bank’s ability to respond to the exponential pace of change in payment infrastructure and the regulatory environment, as well as evolving client demands in an increasingly 24/7, real-time, digital-first environment,” it says.
IPF is a low-code, cloud-native, open-source technology framework developed by Icon Solutions to accelerate payments transformation.
Eurobank Asset Management, a 100% owned subsidiary of Eurobank, has acquired an undisclosed minority stake in UK fintech Mintus Global in a bid to collaborate further in the field of alternative investment asset categories.
“Joining forces with Eurobank Asset Management MFMC solidifies our vision of transforming the future of investing by significantly broadening access to alternative assets,” says Tamer Ozmen, founder and CEO of Mintus.
“We believe that providing people with increased investment opportunities is essential to greater financial independence and collective prosperity.”
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in London, Mintus provides access to otherwise inaccessible alternative asset classes for family offices, UHNWs, institutions and qualifying mass affluent investors.
