ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Backflip, Ansa, Salmon, Firenze 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.
Backflip raises $15m Series A funding round
US-based proptech Backflip has bagged $15 million through a Series A funding round spearheaded by New York-headquartered venture capital firm FirstMark Capital.
The round saw participation from previous backers such as Crow Holdings, LiveOak Venture Partners, Revel Partners, ECMC and Vertical Venture Partners, along with industry angels including Greg Waldorf, Rob Barber and Gregg Freishtat, among others.
The investment, for which Backflip has not disclosed the intended usage, comes on the heels of its claims to have surpassed a $10 million net revenue run rate.
Founded in 2020, Backflip’s capital solutions allow its members to secure funding, grow their real estate investment business and manage their investment pipelines.
Ansa, a US-based paytech, has closed a $14 million Series A round led by early-stage venture firm Renegade Partners.
The round was also joined by Box Group, B37 Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures and Wischoff Ventures.
The financing is intended to increase the scope of Ansa’s payment offerings, with an emphasis on product development and engineering initiatives.
Established in 2022, Ansa offers an API-first payments platform that enables businesses to launch customised customer wallets for payments and incentives within a unified integrated solution.
Salmon bags $7m investment
Phillipino fintech Salmon Group has landed a $7 million investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
IFC served as the lead investor to Salmon’s $25 million Series A extension round with Singapore-based private equity fund Northstar Group, alongside various other local and international supporters.
The capital injection is intended to fuel Salmon’s development of a new credit offering and a lifestyle banking product, which the fintech plans to launch in the second half of 2024.
Founded in 2022, Salmon leverages AI-driven technology and a proprietary credit engine to provide consumer loans, such as Salmon Cash Loans, Salmon Credit, and Salmon Installment.
Indian cross-border paytech BRISKPE has raised $5 million during a seed round supported by PayU.
The Mumbai-based start-up asserts that the funding will be applied to its talent acquisition and product development drive, and to scale its footprint within the country’s MSME sector.
Founded last year, BRISKPE provides a payment platform aimed at simplifying cross-border transactions for MSMEs.
“At BRISKPE, we are committed to bridging the gap between domestic and international trade, empowering local businesses with our innovative solutions to thrive globally,” asserts the firm’s co-founder and CEO, Sanjay Tripathy.
Birdwingo lands €1.2m
Birdwingo has received a €1.2 million investment from a New York-headquartered venture capital firm Bienville Capital, along with other bank executives and company founders.
The new financing is to be applied to the growth of Birdwingo’s app, which enables underage teenagers in the EU to invest in stocks, ETFs and over 12,000 additional options.
Commenting on the need for such an app, Adam Hano, Birdwingo’s co-founder, states that the fintech “addresses the gap in financial education, which is not adequately covered by schools, and is often left to questionable financial influencers or scammers online”.
“We step in to enable teenagers to actively invest under full parental supervision, combining high-quality theoretical knowledge with real-world practice,” adds Hano.
Qromo has completed a second round of investment totalling almost €1 million, which leaves the Italian start-up valued at around €8 million.
The round was backed by several private investors, family offices and angel investors, including Ctr Holding and LCA Venture.
Founded in 2020, Qromo looks to digitise and streamline all aspects of food retail operations and the hotel industry.
In a translated statement, the fintech says the new funding will be leveraged to drive “organic growth” and the creation of new digital solutions for catering.
Firenze raises £750,000
UK-based wealthtech Firenze has bagged £750,000 through a pre-seed angel round at valuation of £3.75 million.
The round included numerous fintech angels and industry executives, alongside venture capital firms including Atomico, Ada Ventures, Lakestar and 16z.
Introduced this year, Firenze aims to “democratise access to Lombard lending” by offering an embedded finance solution which enables wealth managers to extend loans secured against investments to their clients, starting from “as little as £25k”.
The cash injection will be used to grow the wealthtech’s workforce and to help start onboarding the first wealth managers and platforms.
