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☆ Exclusive: 11x, a London-based AI startup that builds automated digital workers, is raising money from US fund Benchmark
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

11x, a London-based AI startup that creates automated digital workers, has raised funding from US investing giant Benchmark Capital. The company aims to provide businesses with "digital AI workers" that can complete repetitive and mundane tasks to free up employees to focus on other things. The startup has raised a Series A round of funding, led by US fund Benchmark, four sources familiar with the discussions told Business Insider. Related stories11x's deal was led by Benchmark general partner Sarah Tavel, who will join the startup's board. The startup created a digital sales worker named Alice and plans to release several other digital workers in the future.

Persons: Hasan Sukkar, Sarah Tavel, Uber, Alice, Slack Organizations: Benchmark, Business, US, Bessemer Venture Partners, Twitter, Benchmark Capital, Google, Project A, Ventures, Tiny Ventures, LinkedIn Locations: London, Syrian, Europe, Syria

☆ Holistic, a Paris-based AI startup founded by ex-DeepMind staffers, is raising a $200 million funding round, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

AI startup Holistic, founded by ex-DeepMind scientists, is raising $200 million in new funding. The Paris-based startup is raising capital from Accel and BPI France, sources say. The startup aims to develop a multi-agent AGI, per a leaked investor deck obtained by BI. AdvertisementA Paris-based AI startup founded by two ex-DeepMind scientists is set to raise around $200 million in new funding. Ex-DeepMind scientist Laurent Sifre is chief LLM officer.

Persons: AGI, —, Charles Kantor, Karl Tuyls, Laurent Sifre Organizations: Accel, BPI France, BI, Service, Stanford Business School, Business Locations: Paris

☆ These are the 32 most exciting European fintech startups to watch in 2024, according to venture capitalists
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

This is Business Insider's annual list of the hottest fintech startups in Europe. After years of standing as the bloc's most in-demand sector, investment in fintech has slumped considerably. In 2022, fintech made up 17% — or $13.9 billion — of the $82 billion that had been invested into European startups, according to Atomico. That number dropped last year when around $4.5 billion was invested — the equivalent of a tenth of the total $45 billion poured into the ecosystem. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: —, fintech Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Europe, fintech

☆ HongShan split from Sequoia last year as US-China relations worsened. Now, it's eyeing up Europe.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Last June, storied investor Sequoia Capital announced it was to split itself into three separate entities. Sequoia Capital would look after the US and Europe; Peak XV Partners would manage its investments in India; and HongShan Capital would be based in China. The emergence of HongShan as an active investor in Europe would result in the firm "competing with former family," one source said. The expansion could be aimed at attracting businesses that target the Chinese market or companies set up by Chinese entrepreneurs away from home, the FT said, citing sources who had spoken with Shen. HongShan Capital's most recent fund includes LPs such as CalPERS, the University of Texas Investment Management Company, and the University of Washington endowment.

Persons: HongShan, Neil Shen, Shen Organizations: Sequoia Capital, YouTube, Sequoia, Partners, HongShan, Business, United, Strategic, University of Texas Investment Management Company, University of Washington Locations: China, Europe, India, London, Singapore, Asia

☆ Fintech Naro wants to take advantage of Europe's ETF boom. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck it used to raise $3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Naro, a German fintech startup, has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding. Cologne-based Naro, founded in 2022, wants to take advantage of the boom in exchange-traded funds — or ETF — products in Europe to offer white-label services to various banks, funds, and brokers. Naro's pre-seed funding round was led by Berlin's La Famiglia alongside Discovery Ventures, plus investment from Robin Capital, Angel Invest, and various angels. Funding will go towards expanding the startup's current team of 10 staff as it looks to partner with potential customers looking to build out products within their existing infrastructure. Naro's business plan subsequently changed from its original slides, you can see a version of its pre-seed pitch deck below:

Persons: Chris Püllen, Püllen, Naro's, Berlin's La Organizations: Business, Trade Republic, Discovery Ventures, Robin Capital, Angel Invest, Credit Suisse Locations: Naro, Cologne, Europe, Germany

☆ BeReal weighs an uncertain Series C or acquisition as growth stalls and funding is set to run out later this year, insiders say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Kali Hays | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is considering raising a Series C before what's left of its $90 million in funding runs out. BeReal closed a $60 million Series B funding round at an around $600 million valuation in late 2022, following a $30 million Series A earlier the same year. Sooner than later, BeReal leadership will be forced to choose between raising another round and maintaining its independence or selling itself outright, running the risk of disappearing. Company leadership holds an all-hands every quarter after they meet with the company's board, which includes investors. As for the possibility of an acquisition, BeReal leadership has told employees there are "offers" that have been made, without giving any specifics.

Persons: Alexis Barreyat, what's, BeReal, Yuri Milner's, Andreessen Horowitz, Barreyat, Romain Salzman, Kali Hays, Callum Burroughs cburroughs@businessinsider.com Organizations: Business, Gas, Yuri Milner's DST, Accel Locations: Paris, Japan, Asia, Pacific, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Buzzy Y Combinator-backed billing startup Lago has raised $22 million with this 22-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewLago, a French startup that offers open-source billing software, has raised $22 million. Founded in 2021, Lago utilizes the open-source community to help businesses like Mistral, Together AI, and Swan manage their payments and billing needs. AdvertisementIn addition, Lago, which has around 30% of its business in the US, will begin to scale out its offering outside of Europe. Lago believes its flexibility around infrastructure will help it win more clients globally as businesses look to create more customizable revenue stacks.

Persons: —, Lago, Swan, Matt Turck, Chuong, Turck Organizations: Service, Business, FirstMark, New Locations: Paris, Lago, Europe

☆ Nanonets, an AI-powered workflow automation startup, just raised $29 million with this 23-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

AI workflow automation startup Nanonets has raised $29 million in new funding. Check out the 24-slide pitch deck Nanonets used the land the funds. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementNanonets, an AI workflow automation startup, has raised $29 million in new funding.

Persons: —, Jain Organizations: Accel India, Capital, Service, Business

☆ Fintech Griffin just secured full regulatory approval. Here's the 12-slide pitch deck it used to raise $24 million as a fully-fledged bank.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

British banking-as-a-service fintech Griffin has raised new funding after receiving regulatory approval to be a fully operational bank. The market is god awful, so not having to do a down-round, with outside investors coming in, is the best outcome." Griffin has raised £19.1 million, around $24 million, in a funding round led by MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja, and Breega, with participation from Notion Capital, EQT Ventures, DG Daiwa and CircleRock. "We are hiring, but unlike earlier rounds, we aren't going on a hiring blitz, as we did the hiring for this round before the round closed. We were about to be a fully operational bank, so we needed operations roles," Jarvis added.

Persons: fintech Griffin, Griffin, David Jarvis, Allen Rohner, Jarvis, We've Organizations: Business, Prudential, Authority, Financial, MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja, Notion, EQT Ventures, DG Locations: London

☆ Automation helps insulate Rohlik from a bruising 2023 for the grocery delivery sector
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewInvestors couldn't get enough of grocery delivery startups during the pandemic. Rohlik is on a pathway to profitability and has broken even in several key cities, CEO Tomas Cupr told Business Insider. Advertisement"The online grocery industry didn't have the best year in 2023, but we're still growing, which is super positive," Cupr told BI. At least 19 grocery delivery startups were operating across Europe at the height of the market. "The grocery delivery market remains a challenging area in Europe.

Persons: —, Tomas Cupr, Cupr, we've, Turkey's, Germany's, Nalin Patel, Jan Hammer Organizations: Service, Venture, Business, Ventures Locations: Europe, Prague, Czechia, Hungary, Munich, London, Paris, Budapest, Vienna, Istanbul, New York

☆ Filigran, a French cybersecurity startup used by the FBI, just raised $16.2 million using this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Filigran, a French cybersecurity startup, has raised $16.2 million in new funding. Founded in 2022, Filigran provides a series of products to help private companies and public institutions defend against threats using an open-source program. Based in Paris, Filigran's threat intelligence platform is used by Hermes, Airbus, and the FBI to help better understand security issues, which the rise of AI attacks has exacerbated, Filigran CEO Samuel Hassine told Business Insider. "Our products are all about aggregating and understanding your threat landscape, not just the technical threat but also risk analysis and cybersecurity," Hassine told BI. Check out Filigran's 12-slide Series A pitch deck below:

Persons: Hermes, Samuel Hassine, Hassine, Filigran Organizations: Airbus, FBI, Business, Moonfire Ventures, Motier Ventures Locations: Filigran, Paris, Australia, Europe

☆ Coverdash, an embedded insurance startup, just raised $13.5 million with this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Coverdash, a New York-based embedded insurance startup, has raised $13.5 million. The startup offers insurance products via partners to SMEs. Coverdash, a New York-based embedded insurance startup, has raised $13.5 million in VC funding. Coverdash's platform lets insurance providers offer commercial insurance products to businesses, which are embedded into their own front-end systems through code. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Organizations: Business Locations: New York

Energy startup Axle is in talks to raise a round backed by VC fund Accel, BI understands. The year-old company could raise around $6 million in capital as part of the deal, sources say. The energy tech startup uses electric vehicles and home energy assets to help balance grids. Energy software startup Axle Energy is in talks to raise fresh funding in a round backed by venture capital fund Accel, Business Insider understands. The London-based company, founded in 2023, connects electric vehicles and batteries to energy grids to help solve the intermittency of renewables.

Organizations: Energy, Accel, BI, Business Locations: London, Europe

☆ Embat, a Spanish treasury-management fintech startup founded by ex-JPMorgan employees, just raised $16 million using this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewSpanish fintech startup Embat has raised $16 million in fresh funding from VC fund Creandum, the company said Tuesday. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Treasury-management startups and similar offerings targeting the office of the CFO have become a key focus for fintech investors in recent years. Embat's proposition is directly aimed at financial software users, with data security at the forefront of its platform's architecture, cofounder Carlos Serrana told Business Insider. "We were probably born in the worst period to raise capital but we have built a solid product which has traction, and our sales have traction," Serrana told BI.

Persons: —, Embat, Carlos Serrana, Creandum, Serrana Organizations: Service, JPMorgan, Business, Treasury, Venture Locations: Madrid, Germany

☆ Spektr, a compliance and due diligence fintech startup, just raised $5.4 million with this 13-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Danish compliance startup Spektr has raised $5.4 million in seed funding. The company, set up by the founders of HelloFlow, has emerged from stealth. The company plans to use the funding to grow its team and begin to expand into the US. Spektr, a fintech startup that helps companies with compliance, has raised $5.4 million. The Copenhagen-based startup is emerging from stealth and aims to improve the client onboarding experience for companies.

Persons: Spektr, Mikkel Skarnager Organizations: HelloFlow, Business Locations: Copenhagen

☆ This AI startup founded by ex-Googlers just raised $35 million. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck Bioptimus used to land the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bioptimus, a new French AI startup for life sciences, has raised $35 million in seed funding. Founded in 2023, Bioptimus is the brainchild of Jean-Philippe Vert, a former research scientist at Google and recently chief R&D officer at French health AI startup Owkin. The company was formed to capitalize on the enormous potential of AI in biological sciences, Vert told Business Insider. "There is something very special now about AI," Vert said. Owkin, Vert's former employer, is an investor and partner to the startup, as is tech entrepreneur and investor Xavier Niel.

Persons: Bioptimus, Jean, Philippe Vert, Rolophe Jenatton, Xavier Niel Organizations: Google, Business, Sofinnova Partners, Cathay Innovation, Harvest, Fundraising Locations: Owkin

☆ Embedded payments fintech Monite just raised $6 million from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures with this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Berlin-based fintech Monite has raised $6 million in seed funding from Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures. Monite, founded in 2020, works with companies to help streamline payments and reduce manual processing. Still, where this might generally be done across email, spreadsheets, and messaging systems, Monite aggregates a company's bills and invoices and then automates the process on their behalf. The startup has raised a top-up to its seed round, led by Third Prime, in March 2023, taking its total funding to $17.4 million. The funding from Valar Ventures closed in November after Monite opted against looking to raise a Series A, Maryasin said.

Persons: Monite, Peter Thiel's, Ivan Maryasin, Maryasin Organizations: Ventures, Monite, Business, Third Prime Locations: Berlin, Europe

☆ This Monzo cofounder is set to launch a new startup with Index and General Catalyst in talks to invest, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Monzo cofounder Jonas Templestein is in talks to raise funds for a new startup, sources told BI. Top investors such as Index and General Catalyst are among those in discussions to back the startup. AdvertisementA cofounder of British fintech unicorn Monzo is set to raise funds from a smattering of high-profile investors for a new venture, Business Insider understands. Now, he's primed to raise around $5-6 million at a $50 million valuation cap for a new startup, two sources said. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Jonas Templestein, Catalyst, — Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Monzo

☆ HiBob, a $2.7-billion HR unicorn, is acquiring Tiger Global-backed payroll startup Pento
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewHiBob, a London headquartered HR unicorn, is acquiring UK payroll startup Pento. The company is valued at $2.7 billion, has raised $574 million in funding, and is acquiring Pento to expand its payroll offering. The acquisition came about after seeing the fragmented payroll market in the UK with HiBob opting to go one step further than integration, CEO Ronni Zehavi told Business Insider. AdvertisementLondon-based Pento has raised $54 million in VC funding, including from General Catalyst and Tiger Global. Around 35 Pento staff will join HiBob as part of the deal, which is subject to closing conditions.

Persons: —, Ronni Zehavi, Zehavi, HiBob Organizations: Service, Business, General, Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Tiger Global, Dealroom, HiBob Locations: London, Israel

☆ Conversational AI startup Vocode entered Y Combinator without a business plan. Now, it's raised $3.25 million without a pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Vocode, a conversational AI startup, has raised $3.25 million in seed funding. Founded in 2023, by Ajay Raj and Kian Hooshmand, Vocode raised funding at Y Combinator without a formal pitch deck. Vocode's founders are friends from high school who made it into Y Combinator despite opting against pitching their original business plan. With 10 weeks until demo day, the team began interviewing teams across fintech, healthcare, and climate, searching for ideas before landing on conversational AI. The company began making waves in online hacker communities before its demo day pitch session in front of investors.

Persons: Ajay Raj, Kian, Vocode, PrankGPT, Hooshmand, Y Organizations: Business Locations: San Francisco, fintech

☆ Sequoia-backed fintech Pennylane just became a unicorn. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck it used to raise $43 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

French accounting tech startup Pennylane has raised $43 million in a deal that valued the business at over $1 billion. Founded in 2020, Pennylane works with SMEs and accounting firms to simplify and digitize their accounting processes. The company's SaaS model pulls third-party data from platforms like Stripe and Qonto, to help SMEs with their accounting needs. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. "We've seen very strong growth in users and revenues, without having to grow our sales and marketing spend," Waller told Business Insider.

Persons: Pennylane, Arthur Waller, Waller, it's, Visma Organizations: Business, Sequoia Locations: Paris, Pennylane

☆ Y Combinator-backed trading app Pluto Markets just raised $2.6 million with this 14-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Pluto Markets, a trading app backed by famed accelerator Y Combinator, has raised $2.6 million in fresh funds. The Danish fintech startup, founded in 2021, wants to upend the market for retail trading offerings in Europe. "Companies raised a lot of money to blitz scale across the EU but have now focused on their core markets. Unlike most fintech brokerages, Pluto secured an EU-wide investment license before it had raised $1 million in funding, having bootstrapped and stayed lean. You can check out Pluto Market's 14-slide pitch deck below:

Persons: Joakim Bruchman, Goldman Sachs, We've, Bruchmann, Pluto, Oscar Vingtoft Organizations: Business, Companies, Trade Republic, Saxo Bank, EU Locations: Danish, Europe, Denmark, France, Germany, Berlin

☆ AudioStack can create voice adverts in 8 seconds with AI. Check out the 18-slide pitch deck it used to raise $3.1 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewAudioStack, an AI audio production startup, has raised $3.1 million in funding. The company works with major businesses that produce thousands of pieces of content a month to generate audio, mix, level, and master voice and music for advertising purposes. AdvertisementThe startup works with large advertising agencies to ingest audio content and speech, with the intention of reducing the speed and cost of producing adverts. AudioStack has raised $3.1 million to scale its operations in a funding round led by Quadri Ventures. "The landscape has fundamentally changed previously it was all about Web3, and it was hard to raise as an AI company despite our good traction," Kunz added.

Persons: —, Timo Kunz, Kunz, AudioStack, " Kunz Organizations: Service, Porsche, Business, Quadri Ventures Locations: London

☆ Tuum wants to provide AI-powered core banking infrastructure. It just raised $27 million with this 16-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Estonian fintech startup Tuum has raised $27 million in new funding. The startup, founded in 2019, provides cloud-native core banking infrastructure technology. The startup raised cash from CommerzVentures and Speedinvest to fuel its expansion plans. Estonian banking fintech startup Tuum has raised $27 million in new funding. Tuum, founded in 2019, provides core banking infrastructure for banks and other financial institutions that enables them to offer cloud-native services through APIs.

Persons: Myles Bertrand Organizations: Estonian, Tuum, Business Locations: CommerzVentures

☆ Lightbeam.ai helps companies manage AI governance. It just raised $17.8 million with this 16-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewLightBeam.ai, a data privacy and security startup, has raised $17.8 million in fresh funds. Founded in 2020, the company wants to help businesses adapt their data security in an increasingly AI-powered world. "In the era of generative AI breakthroughs, organizations are empowered to unlock valuable insights from customer data," Prasad told Business Insider. Advertisement"However, this advancement poses the crucial challenge of ensuring secure and compliant handling of customer data within the evolving landscape of AI governance and privacy regulations." The new funding will go towards scaling the San Francisco-based startup's head count having previously focused predominantly on technology investment.

Persons: —, Priyadarshi Prasad, Prasad Organizations: Service, Business, Vertex Ventures, Dropbox Ventures Locations: Francisco

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