German fintech Upvest secures €30m funding and enters partnership with BlackRock
Berlin-based fintech Upvest, which provides trading, settlement and custody infrastructure for digital wealth management, has secured €30 million in a fundraising round led by BlackRock.
BlackRock partners Upvest, leads its €30m funding round
The round also saw participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, HV Capital, Earlybird, Notion Capital, ABN Amro Ventures, and 10x Capital.
In addition to the funding, Upvest has also forged a partnership with BlackRock in a bid to make investing “more accessible” for investors across Europe.
Upvest says its investment APIs, when coupled with BlackRock’s asset management expertise and “leadership” in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), will help banks, fintechs and wealth managers to build modern investment experiences “in months instead of years”.
It adds that its “efficient, low-friction” infrastructure can benefit new investment propositions by reducing the transaction costs and allowing small amounts to be invested, including fractional investing in ETFs and stocks.
“Millions of Europeans are embracing investing for the first time to build a better financial future for themselves,” says Timo Toenges, head of iShares EMEA digital wealth business at BlackRock.
“BlackRock’s partnership with Upvest will drive innovation in how Europeans access markets and make it cheaper and simpler to start investing. Across Europe, ETFs are at the core of these new propositions and often the default choice for investors, as a transparent, low cost and easily understood starting point for a new generation of investors.”
