Big-Name Backers Pump $324 Million Into B2B FinTech

B2B FinTech saw one of its most stellar funding weeks in a while, led, of course, by the high-profile Bill.com investment. But that wasn’t the only — or even the largest — investment round confirmed. In all, the industry secured more than $324 million with B2B payments, logistics and artificial intelligence leading the way. PYMNTS looks at all the funding rounds, led by some big-name backers like ex-PayPal president Scott Thompson, JPMorgan and the International Finance Corp., below.

B2B Payments

Bill.com
B2B payments company Bill.com secured $100 million from JPMorgan Chase and Temasek Holdings, reports said this week, in one of the most high-profile funding rounds for the industry. The investment followed last month’s announcement of Bill.com’s partnership with JPMorgan, aimed at enabling corporates to both make and receive electronic B2b payments. Bill.com said it will use the funding to expand distribution and product enhancement, with CEO and founder René Lacerte telling Reuters that, among other areas, Bill.com will be looking at cross-border B2B payments to expand its offering.

Payment Rails
A healthy $1.1 million in seed funding landed at Payment Rails, a U.S.-based startup that is gearing up to exit beta mode next month. The company uses API technology to facilitate corporate payments to suppliers and employees across the globe, and deploys blockchain (fueled by Ripple) for liquidity and treasury management capabilities. But, perhaps the most important news of this funding, is who provided the backing. Investors included former PayPal president Scott Thompson, who has now joined Payment Rails’ as board advisor, as well as former executives from Visa, Currencycloud, American Express and Slack, according to a press release.

Logistics

Flexport
The funding may have occurred last month, but Flexport didn’t confirm its $110 million investment round until late last week, according to TechCrunch reports. The company provides logistics and supply chain solutions for global traders, and the latest funding — provided by DST Global, Founders Fund, Susa Ventures and others — pulls Flexport’s valuation up to $910 million. The Series C round will be used to fuel expansion a Flexport said it is exploring new products and services for its customers, including trade finance offerings, according to reports.

Alternative Lending

Linked Finance
Based in Ireland, Linked Finance announced $2.37 million in fresh equity funding for its small business lending solution. The company uses a peer-to-peer lending model to funnel funding for small and medium-sized business (SMB) borrowers, attracting investors to its platform that can be connected to small businesses in need of working capital. Linked Finance said it will use the funding to fuel expansion both at home and abroad. Frontline Ventures, among the first investors of Linked Finance, led the latest funding round, as well as 28 individual backers, who are all already investors on the Linked Finance platform, reports in Silicon Republic said.

Konfio
Mexico’s alternative finance space enjoyed a boost thanks to Konfio, which secured $10 million from The World Bank’s International Finance Corp, TechCrunch said. QED Investors, Kaszek Ventures, Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, Accion Venture Lap and Jaguar Ventures also participated. Konfio focuses on micro, small and medium-sized businesses using data from an array of sources, including electronic payments and social media platforms, to determine approvals. According to reports, the company is also hoping to help SMBs raise capital as they face a funding shortage from traditional banks. Only about 39 percent of the population is banked, reports said, leaving a gap for FinTech to fill.

Artificial Intelligence

Petuum
Landing $93 million from SoftBank, Petuum is a B2B startup helping companies adopt artificial intelligence into their systems. The company said it will use the latest investment to develop its underlying technology, which provides companies with an operating system and software to reduce friction in integrating AI solutions like training on that technology. It’s a solution, Petuum told CNBC this week, that aims to help businesses gain the power of AI even if they don’t have the expertise, talent or infrastructure as big tech firms like Google or Amazon.

Treasury Management

IBSFINtech
Seed funding for this treasury management startup will help the company scale internationally. IBSFINtech didn’t confirm how much it raised, but reports said the India-based firm is in the process of raising a total of $4 million. Consultancy firm Haribhakti & Co. chairman Shailesh Haribhaki led the investment, which will also be used for research and development of software that supports treasury and  FX management services for corporates.

AgriTech

Taaza
India’s Taaza secured $8 million in Series A funding, reports late last week said. The company supports supply chain management of agriculture companies, linking buyers and suppliers in the industry’s supply chain to procure and sell fresh produce. According to Epsilon Venture Partners partner Mahesh Vaidya, Taaza is at the forefront of the B2B eCommerce trend in India. Epsilon led the funding round, which also saw participation from IL&FS Investment Managers’ Tara India Fund IV and angel investors. Taaza said it plans to use the investment to bolster its technology and expand across southern India, reports said.