ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Kafene, General Index, Mesh and Netcetera
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.
Kafene bags $15 million growth capital commitment
New York-based fintech Kafene has secured a $15 million growth capital commitment from investment firm Trinity Capital.
Kafene, founded in 2019, offers an AI-powered lending platform used by merchants at the point-of-sale (POS) to offer underserved consumers flexible purchase options.
The firm’s claims its tech is capable of underwriting and approving payments in under five minutes. Since its launch, the company says it has generated over $150 million in sales for its retailer partners.
Kafene’s co-founder and CEO, Neal Desai, states that the growth capital will fuel the company’s ability to serve its “growing network of merchants and customers while delivering high-quality credit performance”.
Trinity Capital’s investment in Kafene comes after the conclusion of the fintech’s $31 million Series B venture funding round last year, led by Third Prime.
General Index (GX) has announced the completion of a £9.48 million Series A funding round. The firm says the funding will be used to further develop its technology and expand its “line-up of energy transition prices, including biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen, carbon, green ammonia and green methanol”.
According to the UK-based fintech, it “collects and aggregates trade data to build a full view of market activity”, claiming that since its previous investment round in 2021, it has aggregated “data from over 150 data partners to produce 2,600 energy prices”.
Its latest funding round was led by 20VC and Chalfen Ventures, with the latter’s solo VC Mike Chalfen stating that “having built new indexes like carbon, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel” General Index can “ultimately price the world”.
Neil Bradford, founder and CEO of General Index, explains that following the new cash injection, the company will speed up its expansion and continue its focus on the energy markets as they “mature into tradable commodities”.
Mesh raises $6.5 million
US-based fintech Mesh has secured a $6.5 million investment from PayPal Ventures. $5 million of PayPal’s investment has been made using the company’s US dollar-denominated stablecoin, PayPal USD.
Founded in 2020, Mesh says it offers a “financial connection layer that provides enterprise clients with the ability to enable digital asset transfers, crypto payments, account aggregation and trading”, allowing users to access “over 300 integrations with different exchanges, wallets and brokerages”.
Speaking on the investment, Mesh’s co-founder and CEO, Bam Azizi, claims the funding will enable the company to execute its “vision of becoming the connection layer for a critical mass of crypto platforms and financial service providers”.
The PayPal financing follows Mesh’s recent $22 million Series A funding round, which featured participation from several new investors including Galaxy, Money Forward, Inc. and Samsung Next.
German firm Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) has acquired additional shares in software company Netcetera. G+D now possess 95% of Netcetera shares.
Zurich-based Netcetera offers a range of digital products for financial service platforms, including “solutions for web banking, mobile banking, financial advice, digital wallets and e-commerce as well as service offerings for commercial banks”.
The company claims that “more than 2,500 banks and issuers and 160,000 merchants” utilise its digital payment solutions and payment security products.
Ralf Wintergerst, Group CEO of Giesecke+Devrient, explains that the company’s financial interest in Netcetera supports its “growth strategy and digital transformation”.
Headquartered in Munich, Giesecke+Devrient is a global security technology firm with a presence in 40 countries. This move expands its digital banking and payments portfolio, and the firm says it is planning to increase its investments in “innovative digital technologies and solutions”.
