ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Zūm Rails, Pulsate, Monite, Spektr 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.
Zūm Rails lands $10.5m investment
Zūm Rails, a Montreal, Canada-based payments software vendor, has announced the successful completion of a $10.5 million Series A funding round. The round was led by US-based growth equity firm Arthur Ventures, which specialises in B2B software investments.
Marc Milewski, Zūm Rails’ co-founder and CEO, states: “With Arthur Ventures’ investment, we’re positioned for further expansion of our solution through the addition of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and other new capabilities.”
Zūm Rails says it has “self-funded its way to profitability” since its establishment in 2019. Now, however, the company is looking to utilise outside funds to finance its continued expansion in the US.
“Having already transformed the Canadian payments landscape, the company is well-positioned to increase this growth with the investments it’s making in its product and scaling its presence across all of North America,” adds Jake Olson, Arthur Ventures’ VP.
AI wealth and asset management platform TIFIN has secured a $10 million investment from SEI.
SEI says that its strategic investment in the New York-headquartered TIFIN will enable the fintech to “enhance and personalise client experiences and support business growth”.
Vinay Nair, TIFIN’s founder and CEO, believes the new partnership with SEI is a “powerful combination”, claiming the firm’s “cultural synergies, access to talent and expertise, and network of strategic partners will help power the future of wealth”.
TIFIN’s previous backers include Broadridge, Hamilton Lane, JP Morgan, Franklin Templeton, Morningstar, and Motive Partners, among others.
Pulsate secures $7.75m Series A
US-based Pulsate has announced the completion of a $7.75 million Series A funding round led by TruStage Ventures and Curql Collective.
The fintech, which offers a mobile-first personalised customer engagement platform, plans to utilise the new cash injection to expedite its growth and expand its team.
The company’s tech enables community financial institutions to streamline their digital communication processes and “ensure they are providing personalised, timely and relevant outreach to their members and customers in their time of need, deepening those banking relationships while positioning themselves as their account holders’ primary institution”.
“Offering personalised banking experiences will continue to be a key differentiator for community financial institutions,” says Sam Das, managing director of TruStage Ventures.
Berlin-headquartered B2B embedded finance tech vendor Monite has secured an additional $6 million funding in its seed round, bringing its total seed funding to $16 million.
The recent round was co-led by existing backer Third Prime and new investor Valar Ventures. The fintech says it plans to utilise the funds to further consolidate itself in the European embedded finance market and “expand its footprint in the US”.
In addition, Monite intends to use the funding to intensify its product development efforts and increase its array of embedded finance solutions tailored for US B2B platforms and their clientele.
James Fitzgerald, founding partner at Valar Ventures, says that the German firm’s customisable B2B embedded workflow platforms enable SMBs to “add bill pay, invoicing and other payment solutions to their offering quickly, cheaply and simply through Monite’s APIs”.
Spektr goes live backed by a €5m seed round
Danish fintech Spektr has emerged from stealth with €5 million in seed funding led by Northzone, Seedcamp, and PreSeed Ventures.
The Copenhagen-headquartered start-up provides companies with a no-code compliance platform which automates risk procedures and can immediately resolve alerts.
Spektr says the backing from its early investors enables the firm to “address ongoing due diligence challenges and drive revenue through automation-led compliance measures”.
The start-up was founded by the same team behind HelloFlow, a client onboarding, monitoring and digital workflow solutions provider. PreSeed Ventures and Seedcamp both previously invested in HelloFlow prior to its acquisition by Trulioo in 2022.
Embedded software fintech Parlay has closed a $1.3 million pre-seed funding round led by US-based venture capital firm Fenway Summer.
Other companies investing in the round include Alumni Ventures, Capacity Capital, Hivers and Strivers Capital, Service Provider Capital, and Techstars.
Alex Mcleod, CEO of the US-based Parlay, explains that the funding will allow the start-up to continue its mission of “partnering with community banks and credit unions to extend more loans to the small businesses that form the backbone of our economy”.
