ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Prometeo, Zeal, Detected and Finbridge Global
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.
Prometeo raises $13 million Series A funding
Uruguay-based start-up Prometeo, which provides infrastructure to connect global businesses with financial institutions in Latin America, has bagged $13 million in a Series A funding round led by Antler Elevate.
The investment round also featured participation from new investors including PayPal Ventures and Samsung Next as well as existing backers including Cometa and Magma Partners.
Founded in 2018 by Eduardo Veiga, Rodrigo Tumaián and Ximena Aleman, Prometeo offers an embedded banking software platform that it says provides clients with “simple and automated access to bank information and payments from more than 283 financial institutions in 10 countries throughout Latin America, all through a single, unified API”.
The company says it plans to use the new funds to “expand its multi-banking data and payments offerings in the region”.
Egyptian fintech start-up Zeal has raised $4 million in a funding round led by Raed Ventures and Cur8 Capital, with additional participation from strategic angel investors.
Founded in 2019, the company provides point-of-sale (POS) solutions built to help payment acquirers and merchants boost customer engagement and loyalty.
The company says its SmartPOS Plugin offering “enables credit card machines to identify, segment and retarget in-store customers, transforming the way physical retailers engage with and retain their clientele”.
Following partnerships with Ingenico and Network International and its recent expansion into the UK market, the start-up plans to use the new cash to boost its growth across the EMEA region.
Detected raises additional $2.5 million
UK and US-based Detected, which offers business, customer and merchant onboarding technology for payment companies and marketplace operators, has secured $2.5 million in fresh funding from investors including Thomson Reuters Ventures and Love Ventures.
The company says the latest capital injection boosts its total seed funding raised to over $10 million and will be put towards product development and the launch of new features.
Founded in 2020, the company’s onboarding technology has been designed to enable businesses to validate new customers “at speed, at a lower cost and with reduced risk”.
Speaking on the raise, Detected’s co-founder and CEO, Liam Chennells, says: “This investment round further confirms our continued progress and sets us up for the next phase of our growth as we deepen relationships with enterprise clients and rapidly increase the volume of payments businesses we work with.”
UK-based Finbridge Global has secured a £500,000 investment from Industrial Thought, comprising £150,000 in cash and £350,000 worth of strategic support.
Founded in 2023, Finbridge Global has developed a platform to help financial institutions search for and compare potential fintech partners based on their specific requirements.
The firm says its offering includes a “smart assessment engine that can define a fintech’s suitability for FIs, aiding the creation of powerful partnerships”.
Barbara Gottardi, CEO and founder of Finbridge Global, says the new funding “allows us to cement our positioning, build strategic partnerships, and encourage adoption in the UK, before expanding the platform’s global footprint in 2024”.
