Welcome to our latest Weekly Funding Highlights! In this roundup, we cover developments across the funding landscape, including strategic investments, funding rounds, and innovative initiatives from key players in the industry.
US-based Wiz capitalises on cloud security consolidation with recent $1B funding
Wiz, a cloud security company, has raised a staggering $1 billion in funding, elevating its valuation to $12 billion. Co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Thrive Capital, this round brings Wiz’s total funding to $1.9 billion in just four years. With an annual recurring revenue of $350 million in 2023 and a customer base including 40% of the Fortune 100 companies, Wiz has established itself as a leader in the cloud security space. CEO Assaf Rappaport highlights the company’s dedication to innovation and solving complex cloud security challenges. Recent executive appointments, industry recognition, and strategic acquisitions further solidify Wiz’s position in the market. Looking ahead, Wiz plans to leverage the funding to fuel mergers and acquisitions, talent acquisition, and product development, aligning with the trend towards security consolidation. Investors express strong confidence in Wiz’s future, praising its agility, market understanding, and intense customer focus. Overall, Wiz’s significant funding round underscores its prominence in the cloud security market and its potential to address evolving security threats in the future. Read more
UK’s fintech startup Abound secures €0.9B to increase access to fair credit through AI and open banking
London-based Abound has secured £0.8 billion in debt and equity funding, bringing its total funding to £1.3 billion. The funding includes a multi-year asset-backed debt arrangement from Citi and a Series B equity round led by GSR Ventures. Abound plans to expand into prime lending in the UK and globally with its AI credit technology platform, Render. Render analyzes bank transaction data to determine borrowers’ financial situations, resulting in 75% fewer defaults than the industry standard. With over £300 million in loans issued, Abound aims to double its team size and continue its mission of providing more affordable loans through AI-driven credit assessment. GSR Ventures, an early-stage investor in AI-enabled fintech, supports Abound’s data-driven approach, believing it will drive financial inclusion globally. Read more
SME lender iwoca secures GBP 270 mln from Citi and Barclays
iwoca, a UK-based small business lender, has secured a new GBP 270 million debt funding package, pushing its total investment to over GBP 1 billion. Citibank, Insight Investment, Barclays, and Värde Partners are among the investors supporting its growth in the UK and Germany. Since its establishment in 2012, iwoca has provided GBP 3 billion in loans to SMEs, setting a new lending record in Q1 2024 with over GBP 200 million lent across 9,000 business loans. Their embedded finance technology and partnerships with platforms like Qonto and Countingup have expanded their market share. This funding comes as traditional banks reduce SME funding, highlighting the importance of alternative lenders like iwoca in bridging the funding gap. With a focus on quick lending decisions and flexible terms, iwoca aims to meet the increasing demand for finance among small businesses, particularly those overlooked by traditional banks. Read more
UK challenger bank Monzo nabs another $190M as US expansion beckons
Monzo, the London-based challenger bank, has raised an additional £150 million ($190 million) in funding, with a focus on expanding its presence internationally, especially in the U.S. This round adds to the £340 million ($425 million) raised just two months prior, bringing its total funding for 2024 to over $610 million and its total since inception to $1.5 billion. Alphabet’s CapitalG and Google’s GV co-invested in the Series I round, alongside other notable backers like HongShan Capital and Tencent. Monzo’s valuation remains steady at £4.1 billion ($5.2 billion) post-money. While primarily known in the UK, Monzo has been striving to establish itself in the U.S., operating as a mobile banking app in partnership with Sutton Bank since 2022. With over 9 million retail customers and 400,000 business clients in the UK, Monzo’s revenues have doubled, positioning it well to expand its success abroad. CEO TS Anil expressed confidence in the company’s momentum and future prospects, with plans for exciting new products on the horizon. Read more
Altruist hits $1.5bn valuation with $169m Series E fundraise
Altruist, a custodian platform for RIAs, recently raised $169 million in Series E funding, led by ICONIQ Growth. With a total funding of over $450 million, its valuation has exceeded $1.5 billion. The company experienced remarkable growth, doubling assets under management for two years straight and earning recognition as the third-largest custodian by RIAs served. Notably, it was acknowledged by T3 as the top choice for advisors considering switching. Altruist’s success is attributed to its innovative platform, comprehensive services, and transparent fee structure. Founder Jason Wenk emphasizes their mission to enhance financial outcomes for clients through better technology and service. The company’s focus on RIAs allows for faster innovation, with plans to launch new products like the Altruist Cash account and improved tax management features in 2024. Read more
Securitize secures $47m funding round led by BlackRock
Securitize, a US-based firm specializing in tokenizing assets and traditional securities, has completed a successful $47 million funding round led by global asset manager BlackRock. Other participants in the round include ParaFi Capital, Tradeweb Markets, Hamilton Lane, Aptos Labs, Circle, and Paxos. This funding, combined with the $48 million raised in its Series B round in 2021, will be used for product development, global expansion, and strengthening partnerships across the financial services ecosystem. As part of the investment, BlackRock’s Joseph Chalom has joined Securitize’s board of directors. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, Securitize enables real-world assets to be available to investors through tokenization, leveraging blockchain for features such as lending, borrowing, secondary market trading, on-chain yield, custody, and seamless transfers. BlackRock sees tokenization as transformative for capital markets infrastructure, aligning with its digital assets strategy. Concurrently, BlackRock has launched its first tokenized fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), to be issued on the Ethereum network. Read more
Honeycomb secures $36m to expand its insurance offerings
Honeycomb, a prominent digital insurer specializing in landlord insurance, has secured $36 million in Series B funding to expand its insurance offerings. Led by Zeev Ventures and joined by new investors Arkin Holdings and Launchbay Capital, along with existing investors Ibex Investors, Phoenix Insurance, and IT-Farm, this round will fuel Honeycomb’s growth initiatives. Leveraging proprietary AI technology, Honeycomb offers precise risk management and underwriting at the individual building level, ensuring consistent coverage at competitive prices for well-maintained properties. CEO Itai Ben-Zakan aims to enhance user experience, drive profitability for broker partners, and enter new insurance markets using this funding. Currently operating in sixteen of the largest U.S. states, covering 60% of the market, Honeycomb insures over $21 billion worth of real estate assets and plans to triple this in the next 12 months. Doubling its staff from 90 to 180 employees within the next 18 months, Honeycomb is poised for significant growth. Oren Zeev, Founding Partner at Zeev Ventures, praises Honeycomb’s rapid growth trajectory and technological advantage, positioning it as a potential market leader in commercial real estate insurance. Read more
Nudge Security secures $16.5m funding to tackle SaaS security challenges
Nudge Security has concluded its seed funding round, securing $16.5 million from Forgepoint Capital and Ballistic Ventures. Their patented approach to SaaS discovery and observability provides comprehensive visibility and governance over cloud assets, vital in today’s digital landscape. With impressive quarter-over-quarter revenue growth and over 100 customers within 18 months, they’ve identified 38,000 unique SaaS applications, addressing a significant pain point for security teams. The funding will fuel further product innovation and scale their go-to-market strategies, solidifying their position as leaders in SaaS security and governance. Nudge Security’s commitment to innovation and addressing the challenges of generative AI reinforces its status as a frontrunner in the field. Read more
Lendingkart Pockets $10 Mn For Onward Lending To Small Businesses
Lendingkart, a fintech startup focused on lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), has secured $10 million (INR 83.5 crore) through external commercial borrowing from Swiss impact investor BlueOrchard. This funding will be used for onward lending activities to MSMEs. The startup, founded in 2014 by Harshvardhan Lunia, disburses loans to MSMEs and generates revenue from interest income and financial services offerings. Lendingkart has disbursed over 2.8 lakh loans worth $1.8 billion across India since its inception. The recent investment from BlueOrchard demonstrates Lendingkart’s commitment to supporting Indian MSMEs and democratizing access to finance. Lendingkart competes with other players like Incred, Yubi, Indifi, and Kinara Capital in the market. BlueOrchard has been actively expanding its lending startup portfolio, recently backing home loan provider AVIOM Housing Finance Corporation and education-focused NBFC Varthana. Lendingkart had previously raised $24 million in debt from EvolutionX Debt Capital in June last year. The startup achieved profitability in the financial year 2022-23, reporting a consolidated net profit of INR 118.8 crore, a significant improvement from the previous fiscal year. Read more
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