ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Mantle, SaaScada, Rainforest 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.
Mantle, a new platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to “simplify” equity management for founders of high-growth companies, has raised $10.5 million in a seed funding round.
Mantle raises $10.5m
The round was backed by funds Eniac, Craft Ventures, Vaynerfund, Sierra Ventures and Leaders Fund, while also seeing participation from angel investors including Gokul Rajaram, Bill Lee, Russ Jones, Farhan Thawar, Sundeep Madra, Kirk Simpson and Chris Ye.
The platform applies AI technology in its provision of company-specific recommendations for equity management, which are derived from its financial information, location jurisdiction and relevant market data.
After completing an allegedly successful round of beta testing with its design partners, the platform is expected to utilise its latest round of funds to guide its ascent into general availability.
Payments-as-a-service platform Rainforest has raised $8.5 million in an Accel-led seed funding round.
In addition to a number of angel investors, the round also saw participation from Infinity Ventures, BoxGroup, The Fintech Fund, Tech Square Ventures and Ardent Venture Partners.
With the seed round now complete, the platform has also landed a $3.25 million venture debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank, and will apply its latest investment to its product development initiatives and in broadening its hiring strategy.
Vyzer, a New York-based digital wealth management platform, has raised $6.3 million in a seed funding round as it seeks to “transform wealth management with AI”.
The round saw participation from “leading venture capitalists”, angel investors and family offices, with iAngels, Guy Gamzu, MonetaVC, Jonathan Kolber and Rafi Gidron all believed to have contributed.
The platform applies AI technology to provide investors with “potent wealth-building strategies” and a “unified portfolio view”, encompassing financial analysis, advanced planning, tracking, automated data management, analytics, peer benchmarking and forecasting.
Co-founder and CEO, Litan Yahav, says the investment will “expand our reach” and “enable us to enhance our platform’s AI capabilities, develop new features, and broaden our market presence”.
Sparx, the New York-based FinOps solutions provider for enterprises, has secured $3.1 million in a seed round involving Drive Capital, Thrive Capital, Human Capital and Wicklow Capital.
The free-to-use platform works to pinpoint areas of non-usage or overspend within businesses, spanning Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), business insurance and cloud, and aims to reduce such spending through workflow automation. It claims to have helped its customers save $12.2 million on wasteful business expenditure.
With its beta released six months ago, the company is expected to deploy its new funds to scale its operations and product suite, while also investing in marketing and sales.
Fintech start-up MADCash has raised RM5 million ($1.06 million) as part of its pre-Series A funding round.
The round was led by Artem Ventures, with additional support from MSW Ventures and the ScaleUp Founders Fund.
The fintech solutions provider, which is based in Kuala Lumpur, was founded to provide capital and financial acumen to female-founded microbusinesses, and operates on a proprietary technological platform that allows donors to contribute and follow the outcome of their donations.
MADCash is set to allocate it newly-acquired funds to “enhance its online platform using AI technology, cover operational and marketing expenses, and explore expansion opportunities within the Southeast Asia region”.
UK-based core banking platform SaaScada has received an undisclosed investment from fintech venture capitalist TX Ventures.
TX Ventures invests in SaaScada
Having raised £2.5 million in seed funding during May of last year, the platform, which supports a SaaS data-driven core banking engine, has reportedly expanded its sales and marketing functions within the European market, while allegedly also “making inroads” in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Speaking on its latest raise, Nelson Wootton, the platform’s co-founder and CEO, says the investment from TX Ventures “further validates the platform, the product and the team as we continue to disrupt the core banking market”.
Adding to this, the platform’s other co-founder, Steve Round, explains that with the funding, SaaScada is “now eager to take our sustainable offering to a wider audience”.
Hijra Bank, the peer-to-peer lending platform formerly known as Alami, has completed an investment round led by the venture capital firm Intudo Ventures.
The round, the financial terms of which have not been disclosed, also saw participation from East Ventures, AC Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures and Quona Capital.
The Indonesian lending platform is expected to leverage its new funds to scale its products, presence and operations, while Alami group CEO, Dima Djani, says that it will “accelerate growth and broaden Hijra Bank’s user base, as well as product adoption by introducing new products such as Hijra Home Financing and other upcoming products designed to meet our customers’ everyday banking needs”.
