Wave Lands $24M To Focus On AI For SMB Finance

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Small business software startup Wave announced today (Tuesday, May 30) that it secured $24 million in new funding as it looks to integrate more financial solutions into its offering.

The company revealed the funding from an array of backers including National Australia Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Portag3, and Exhibition Capital. Existing investors CRV, Social Capital, BDC IT Venture Fund and BDC Capital, OMERS Ventures, HarbourVest and OurCrowd also participated, Wave said.

“Since 2010, Wave has been an innovator in small business financial solutions,” said Wave CFO and co-founder Kirk Simpson in a statement announcing the funding. “Our customers tell us that by deeply integrating financial services into our cloud-based software, we are helping them thrive while changing how they think about and use small business financial products.”

Wave said it will use the funding to focus on development of its platform by integrating more financial solutions. The company identified artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in particular to develop algorithms to enable greater financial management for its SMB customers, automate accounting functions and provide analysis.

“We’re proud to support Wave as they continue to bring solutions to market for entrepreneurs in Canada and around the world,” said RBC Head of Strategy and Corporate Development Mike Dobbins in another statement. “This investment is part of our commitment to support the scale up of emerging FinTech companies in our economy, recognizing the critical role they play in Canada’s innovation agenda.”

Earlier this year Wave announced a partnership with alternative small business lender OnDeck to launch Lending By Wave, allowing small business users to access financing facilitated by OnDeck.