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☆ Alphabet wants to invest in British fintech bank Monzo before it goes public
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Monzo, a British fintech bank, is in talks with Alphabet's private investment arm Capital G to raise what is primed to be its last funding round before a public listing. The bank touts around 8.5 million customers in the UK and is best known for its bright coral pink bank cards. Fintech funding in Europe dropped 70% to $5 billion from $17.1 billion in the first half of 2023, compared with 2022, according to Finch Capital. The prospective funding round is set to be the fintech's last private raise before a mooted public debut that would likely take place in late 2024 or 2025. The British bank reported £116.3 million in losses last year despite more than doubling its revenue.

Persons: Monzo, Catalyst, Monzo's, Cash, Conor Walsh, Anil Organizations: Business, Sky News, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, Silicon, VC, fintech, Finch, London, Starling Bank Locations: British, London, Abu Dhabi, New York, Europe, Monzo, Starling

☆ Generative Engineering wants to simplify the design of physical products. It just raised $4 million with this 12-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Generative Engineering has raised $4 million in seed funding. The London-based startup aims to simplify the design of physical productsCheck out the 12-slide pitch deck used to raise the fresh funds below. Generative Engineering, a startup that aims to simplify the design of physical products, has raised $4 million in fresh funds. The London-based startup, founded in 2021, has developed a platform to reduce the time and resources used on regular iterations in physical engineering. The startup's platform enables engineers to generate thousands of possible design choices and continuously test them, allowing design iteration to happen in parallel.

Organizations: Business Locations: London

☆ Qevlar wants to cut out human vulnerability in cybersecurity using AI. It just raised $5 million with this 10-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Qevlar, a cybersecurity startup, has raised $5 million in seed funding. The Paris-based company uses AI to help identify and manage security risks. Qevlar, an AI-powered cybersecurity startup, has raised $5 million in seed funding. The Paris-based company enables businesses to integrate the Qevlar platform, which then constantly monitors operations, helping identify and monitor security risks in the process. The startup aims to address issues including the alert fatigue faced by security teams and skills shortages in the sector.

Persons: DeepMind's Mehdi Ghissassi Organizations: EQT Ventures, Business Locations: Paris

☆ Roll up, roll up: Private equity funds target buyouts and consolidation at Europe's cash-strapped tech startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

More importantly buyers – in the form of private equity firms – are starting to line up. "Growth is clearly harder so we'll see a lot of M&A because PE funds are trying to grow their business and so are looking at early-stage tech businesses." This increased interest means private equity is set to play an enlarged role in Europe's startup ecosystem. Rollups, where private equity firms buy up a bunch of small businesses in an industry and consolidate them into a larger company, are also on the acquisition hunt. Crucially, private equity funds are unlikely to approach deals for companies that are not yet profitable, or unlikely to become so in the short term.

Persons: Alex Prokofjev, Claire Trachet, It's, Pedro Barros Organizations: Business, Venture, Bain, KKR, PE, Target Locations: London, Paris

☆ Defacto provides short-term loans to SMEs. It just raised $10 million with this 20-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

French fintech startup Defacto has raised a $10 million Series A extension from Citi Ventures. The Paris-based business, founded in 2021, provides short-term loans to small and medium-sized businesses. However, through integrations with businesses like fellow fintechs Pennylane and Qonto, Defacto wants to lower the cost and administration for smaller businesses. The new funding will go towards the continued growth of Defacto's platform as it pushes towards more personalized debt financing for small businesses. Check out Defacto's 20-slide Series A extension pitch deck below:

Persons: Pennylane, Morgan O'Hana, O'Hana, Northzone Organizations: Citi Ventures, Open Banking, Global Founders Capital Locations: Paris, integrations

☆ Solvimon, founded by ex-Adyen execs, has built a usage-based billing platform. It just raised $9.6 million with this 10-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Dutch fintech startup Solvimon has raised $9.6 million in seed funding. The startup, founded by former Adyen execs, enables SaaS firms to offer usage-based pricing. Solvimon, a payments and billings startup, just raised $9.6 million in a seed round. The Dutch company, founded in 2022, has developed a billing platform that centers on usage-based pricing. "What we have seen is that the world is moving towards more flexible pricing," Kim Verkooij, Solvimon cofounder and CEO told Insider.

Persons: Kim Verkooij Organizations: billings Locations: Europe

☆ This startup uses AI to cut admin in PE and VC. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck Eilla AI used to raise $1.5 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Eilla AI, a startup using generative AI to improve dealmaking efficiency, has raised $1.5 million in fresh funds. The startup's platform generates documentation and provides financial research and analysis to speed up the process for firms in the space. In addition, the industry is slow to adapt to new technologies and there are not many solutions fit for M&A, VC, and PE." The company claims to have already been used by over 50 advisors and investors to aggregate and analyze prospective deals. The funding round was led by Eleven Ventures alongside Fuel Ventures, including capital from the fund's managing partner Mark Pearson, in a personal capacity.

Persons: Nikola Lazarov, Mark Pearson, Lazarov Organizations: Eleven Ventures, Fuel Ventures Locations: London

☆ Voice cloning AI startup ElevenLabs was worth $100 million five months ago. Now, sources say it's about to hit $1 billion.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ElevenLabs, a generative AI startup focused on voice, is in talks to raise capital in a deal that would catapult its valuation to $1 billion. It is unclear as yet whether Sequoia would invest alongside Andreessen Horowitz or if they are competing with one another. Five months on, the prospective new round will increase that valuation 10 times over to $1 billion, three sources said. ElevenLabs and Andreessen Horowitz did not respond to a request for comment. Bruce Reed, President Biden's AI chief, said that voice cloning "keeps me up at night," in an interview with Politico.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Joe Rogan, Emma Watson, Gizmodo, ElevenLabs, Sequoia, OpenAI's ChatGPT, FOMO, Mati Staniszewski, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Eric Adams, Adams, Bruce Reed, Biden's, Meta Organizations: Google, VC, Sequoia, Meta, Britain's Companies, Concept Ventures, New York City, White, Politico Locations: London, New York

☆ AI supply chain startup Tacto is set to raise funds from Sequoia. It's already in talks to bring in more cash.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tacto, a small German AI supply chain startup, is set to raise new funding from US giant Sequoia and is already in talks with a different high-profile investor to raise another round. Sequoia is set to lead Tacto's Series A round, six sources familiar with the deal told Insider. Unusually, the startup has already begun talks to raise another round of funding in addition to the Sequoia deal. Tacto is also in talks with London-based Index Ventures to immediately raise another funding round, five sources said. Andreessen Horowitz led a seed round in tiny AI startup ElevenLabs in March, and is also in talks with months-old company Mistral.

Persons: Tacto, Andreessen Horowitz, Fintech, Hanno Renner Organizations: London, Ventures, Sequoia, Energy, nab, Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners, Club Locations: Sequoia, Munich, Berlin

☆ Dutch payments startup Fero just raised a $3 million seed round led by Coatue with this 11-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Dutch payments fintech startup Fero has raised $3 million in a seed funding round from US hedge fund Coatue. The Amsterdam-based startup, founded in 2022, aims to improve the customer verification process at checkouts and decrease the level of abandoned purchases. Payment authentication, where customer identities are verified, has become much more crucial for businesses since the rollout of Europe's PSD2 Open banking regulations. Fero wants to reduce the level of friction customers face during this authentication process, the startup's cofounder and CEO Craig Savage said. The company went through the tech startup incubation program Antler before raising this $3 million seed funding round led by Coatue, alongside Volta Ventures and Antler.

Persons: Fero, Craig Savage, Savage, Coatue Organizations: Volta Ventures Locations: The Amsterdam, Madrid, Amsterdam

Mistral, a tiny AI startup that aims to be Europe's answer to OpenAI, is in discussions to raise a major round of funding that could push its valuation above $2 billion. Its cofounders are in talks with venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz to raise further funds, seven sources familiar with proceedings told Insider. Mistral is set to raise around $400 million at a valuation of at least $2 billion, which could rise to as high as $2.5 billion, three sources said. The deal is not yet finalized and the round size, valuation figures, and participants could still change. Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Mistral, Abstract Ventures, and Bezos Expeditions did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Catalyst, Arthur Mensch, Guillaume Lample, Timothée Lacroix, Jeff Bezos, Xavier Niel Organizations: Mistral, Meta, DeepMind, Bezos Expeditions, Amazon, Catalyst, Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners Locations: Paris

Not every AI company is hot right now. While European and US tech investors are throwing funding at startups that look like the next Nvidia or ChatGPT, they're less optimistic about one big player: British AI chip company Graphcore. The UK tech industry is small, and Insider granted anonymity to these people to avoid jeopardizing their professional relationships. One founder operating in the same space as the AI chip firm speculated that Arm could be a leading contender to acquire Graphcore. In September, Toon pitched Graphcore in an interview with Insider as a viable rival to Nvidia, which holds around 70% of the AI chip market, per Omdia analysis.

Persons: Graphcore, Baillie Gifford, it's, Nigel Toon's, Toon, we'll, Rishi Sunak Organizations: Nvidia, Graphcore, Insider, Sequoia Capital, Bloomberg, UK, China Locations: British, Europe

☆ Irish employee benefits startup Kota just raised a $5.3 million seed round. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck it used to land the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Employee benefits startup Kota has raised $5.3 million in a seed round led by Swedish investor EQT Ventures. Kota helps businesses and employees track their enrollment and contributions through integrations with benefits providers. "Europe is very fragmented with lots of different pension and insurance plans making it hard for small companies to offer benefits because it's expensive and often very manual." Kota's seed round was led by EQT Ventures with participation from existing investors Northzone and Frontline Ventures. Check out Kota's 11-slide seed funding pitch deck below:

Persons: Luke Mackey, Kota, Mackey, Van Der Voort, Romain Huet, EQT Organizations: EQT Ventures, Irish, Frontline Ventures Locations: Swedish, Europe, Kota

☆ Ctrl Alt, founded by an ex-Morgan Stanley trader, offers alternative asset investment tools. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck it used to raise $2.7 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ctrl Alt, a fintech startup that offers infrastructure to invest in alternative assets, has raised $2.7 million in a seed round. For fintech startups that offer wealth management and investment products, alternatives could provide new opportunities to make revenues from wider yield spreads, Ong said. "The market is tough for fundraising and that has an impact on you as a founder," Ong added. The fresh capital will go towards building out Ctrl Alt's tech team and expanding its relationships with prospective customers. Check out Ctrl Alt's 10-slide seed funding deck below:

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Matt Ong, it's, Ong Organizations: Forward Partners, Middlegame Ventures, Enterprise Ireland, Algorand Ventures, Syndicate Locations: London, fintech

☆ Inside the implosion of dark kitchen startup Kbox Global, another pandemic-era boom beginning to bust
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In 2019, after years of investing in and setting up food and beverage brands internationally, she founded dark-kitchen startup Kbox from London. But two years after this funding, large for an early-stage European startup, Vellani exited the business suddenly, citing health issues. "You're only judged on food quality, but if the chef is doing 10 times the work for same money, then it's a fundamental problem." Both Uber Eats and Deliveroo, after an initial burst of interest, would eventually go on to cut back on virtual brands. In an email comment, Vellani acknowledged her lack of direct technical experience but said she sought to fix this through other C-suite hires.

Persons: Salima Vellani, Uber, Travis Kalanick, Vellani, Butler, CloudKitchens, Kbox, MrBeast Burger, YouTuber MrBeast, Jimmy Donaldson, Influencer Jimmy Donaldson, Burger, Brexit, Vellani didn't, Karim Vellani, Karim, Ben Schultz, Nick Holloway, I've Organizations: Balderton, Hoxton Ventures, Reef Technologies, Lean, Network, United, Advisory Locations: London, Saudi, Revolut, COVID, Kbox, Sydney

☆ The startup enables investors to buy secondary shares in pre-IPO companies. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck Hiive used to raise $4.2 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hiive, a startup that offers a marketplace for secondary shares in private tech companies, has raised $4.2 million in funding. The Vancouver-based company, founded in 2021, enables the purchase and sale of stakes in pre-IPO, venture-backed companies. Hiive, led by Sim Desai, formerly of secondaries broker Setter Capital, wants to provide a marketplace where an array of buyers and sellers can make trades. "We saw this market growing exponentially after 2021 and thought there must be an opportunity to centralize this rapidly growing market," Desai told Insider. Hiive's $4.2 million funding was led by Uncorrelated Ventures, alongside Splash Capital, Harmony Venture Partners, Hack VC, and Agmen Capital.

Persons: Sim Desai, Desai, we've, it's, Hack Organizations: Capital, Splash Capital, Harmony Venture Partners, Agmen Locations: Vancouver

☆ The giant sucking sound you hear is the gobs of capital being pulled away from emerging managers. Here's how one solo capitalist defied the slump.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Those who raised their first venture capital funds in the pandemic-era boom times are now struggling with their sophomore efforts. Despite the tailwinds, some emerging managers are defying the slump and raising new funds. He told Insider exclusively that he's now closed on $15 million for fund two from investors including Cendana Capital, Invesco Private Capital, and two dozen startup founders. And so in 2019, he reached into his network of founders and raised a $2 million fund to invest in software companies. Now, he's already gearing up for fund three, which Wan said he plans to launch in 2024.

Persons: Insider's Callum Burroughs, Jordan Wan, Wan, Zocdoc, Oliver Kharraz, it's, Alan Ni, Jake Cooper, Manoj Kanagaraj, Blackstone, Cooper didn't, Cooper, they've, Wolf Organizations: Sequoia, Partners, Cendana, Invesco, Capital, Oscar Insurance, Garner Health Locations: London, Denver , Colorado, Wan

☆ TransactionLink, a fintech startup founded by a former Visa and N26 employee, raised $5.3 million in new funding using this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

TransactionLink, a company founded by a former Visa and N26 staffer, has raised $5.3 million. Founded in 2020, the startup provides automation tools for companies to do new customer onboarding. TransactionLink, a startup that helps businesses automate their customer onboarding, has raised $5.3 million in venture capital funding, the company said Wednesday. Founded in 2020, the Berlin and London-based company provides no-code automation tools for companies to do new customer onboarding and know your customer, or KYC, checks. The startup, founded by former Visa and N26 staffer Mateusz Pniewski, makes it easier for businesses to create complex workflows for new customer onboarding, helping to reduce the cost of requiring a large operations team for similar tasks.

Persons: Mateusz Pniewski Organizations: Visa Locations: Berlin, London

☆ Gutsy, a cybersecurity startup from the founders of Twistlock, just raised a $51 million seed round using this 27-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Gutsy, a cybersecurity startup, has raised $51 million in seed funding, the company said Tuesday. Founded in 2022 and now emerging from stealth, Gutsy wants to help companies solve their issues in the increasingly complicated and overwhelming world of cybersecurity. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Gutsy's cofounders previously built container security startup Twistlock, which was acquired for $410 million by Palo Alto Networks in 2019. The company provides cloud security tools for businesses to manage their data across auditing, governance, and migration, connected via an API. The company's massive $51 million seed funding round came from YL Ventures, a backer of Twistlock, and venture firm Mayfield, alongside a number of cybersecurity angel investors. "

Persons: John Morello, Gutsy, Gutsy's, Morello, Mayfield Organizations: Palo Alto Networks, YL Ventures Locations: cybersecurity, Baton Rouge , Louisiana

☆ Check out the pitch deck that helped Kennek, a London fintech startup that helps digitize private credit providers, raise $12.5 million in seed funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Kennek, a London fintech startup that helps digitize private credit providers, has raised $12.5 million. Founded in 2021, the company offers a SaaS platform to the non-bank lending space. Kennek, a London-based fintech startup that helps private credit businesses digitize their offerings, has raised $12.5 million in seed funding, the company said Tuesday. Founded in 2021, Kennek was founded by a team of former operators in the banking and credit spaces to provide better digital tooling to the non-bank lending industry. Banks lend less than they used to, which has led to many smaller, alternative credit providers springing up to provide alternatives.

Persons: Kennek, Banks, Xavier De Pauw Locations: London

☆ Brite Payments, a fintech startup founded by a former Klarna employee, just raised $60 million using this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fintech startup Brite Payments has raised $60 million in venture capital funding as it looks to scale its European operations. Founded in 2019, the Swedish firm is in the instant bank transfer space, a burgeoning sector of open banking known as account-to-account (A2A) payments. Based in Stockholm, Brite was founded by a former employee at buy-now, pay-later giant Klarna, Lena Hackelöer, and operates in 25 countries leveraging Europe wide open banking regulation, known as PSD2. Its latest capital injection comes from London fund Dawn Capital which led the round alongside Headline and existing investor Incore. You can check out Brite Payment's 10 slide pitch deck below:

Persons: Brite, Lena Hackelöer, Hackelöer Organizations: Dawn Capital Locations: Swedish, Stockholm, Europe, London, Sweden, Malaga, Spain

☆ Europe is minting red hot AI startups like DeepL and Synthesia. Meet 15 of the most prolific investors backing the region's breakout stars.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Meanwhile, Andreessen Horowitz has poured cash into the AI-voice-intelligence startup ElevenLabs and the Nordic AI startup Sloyd. Some of Europe's most prolific AI investors are national funds and startup accelerators. London's Phoenix Court, the parent company of the VC firm LocalGlobe, took the top spot for total investment value — with $713 million poured into AI startups since 2020. MMC Ventures, also in London, followed suit with $628 million in investments in AI startups. Insider has profiled 15 investors at these firms who have spearheaded investments into European AI startups, in no particular order.

Persons: ChatGPT, Andreessen Horowitz, LocalGlobe Organizations: Venture, Lightspeed, New, Nordic, Court, MMC Ventures Locations: French, New York, Europe, London

☆ Apron, a fintech founded by an ex-Revolut staffer, just raised $15 million in a round backed by Index Ventures with this 19-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Apron, a fintech startup that simplifies invoice payments for small businesses, has raised $15 million in a round led by Revolut-backer Index Ventures. The London-based company, founded in 2022, has developed a payments platform that pulls invoices into one place and enables firms to batch-pay their suppliers. Apron takes fees on associated interchange charges and also offers a three-tier subscription model. The $15 million in funding was led by Index Ventures, alongside Bessemer Venture Partners and Visionaries Club, and follows a $5.5 million seed round from July. Apron's new capital will go towards strengthening its team of 20 employees and doubling down on product and marketing capabilities.

Persons: Bogdan Uzbekov, we've Organizations: Revolut, Ventures, Index Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Club Locations: London, Revolut

☆ French verification startup Ondorse just raised $4 million in a seed round led by Deezer investor Eurazeo with this 12-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

French verification startup Ondorse has raised $4 million in seed funding from Deezer and Onfido investor Eurazeo. The Paris-based company, founded in 2022, has built an array of tools to help businesses manage their know-your-customer (KYC) workflows. Ondorse effectively leverages the proficiencies of businesses in the compliance space to provide a clearer and quicker view of its processes. Ondorse has raised $4 million in seed funding just nine months after its $2.5 million pre-seed round which was also led by French fund Eurazeo with participation from tech fund ISAI. "We feel we have the right expertise to build this product given the changing regulatory landscape," Boelle said.

Persons: Eurazeo, Ondorse, Alan, I've, Aymeric Boelle, Boelle Locations: Deezer, Paris, Europe, France

☆ German chauffeur services company Blacklane just raised $36 million in fresh funds with this 10-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

German chauffeur services company Blacklane has raised $36 million in a Series F funding round. The Berlin-based firm, founded in 2011, was originally set up to simplify business travel through the creation of a marketplace for chauffeurs. "We could have continued to grow organically with our cash flow but we want to grow faster," he said. Blacklane has brought in the funding as part of a second close of its previously announced Series F round. The fresh funds will go towards deepening the company's existing network of products, particularly in North America, as well as in Dubai where the business has ambitions to offer premium mobility services to users in the city for functions beyond traditional chauffeur services like airport transfer.

Persons: Blacklane, Jens Wohltorf Organizations: chauffeurs, Mercedes Benz Mobility, Gargash Group Locations: Berlin, Dubai, North America

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