Supply Chain Payments Lead Week’s B2B VC Roundup

With Tradeshift securing a nine-figured fundraise, the supply chain payments company was the undoubted leader of this week’s B2B venture capital fundraise. But the company wasn’t the only B2B FinTech to secure fresh funding.

Two industry startups secured their first venture capital rounds this week, with investors targeting an array of service providers — from alternative small to medium-sized business (SMB) lenders to B2B sales automation platforms — and focusing on a variety of geographic markets, from India to California.

Below, PYMNTS looks at how more than $292.5 million landed at B2B startups this week.

Float

With $1.96 million in seed funding, U.K.-based Float said it plans to expand to Australia with its cash flow forecasting technology designed for SMBs. The company secured the new investment from Marchmont Ventures, according to Insider.co.uk reports. Float’s technology integrates with SMBs’ existing accounting platforms, including Xero and QuickBooks, and provides users with real-time analytics to assess cash positions and predict cash flow, while also servicing SMBs’ accountants with technology that can help them provide higher-level advisory services to clients.

TechnifyBiz

In India, B2B wholesale platform TechnifyBiz, which targets the food commodity industry, announced that it raised $2 million in seed funding led by Omnivore and Insitor Impact Asia Fund. Reports in VCCircle this week noted the round also saw participation from Shashank Kumar and Harshil Mathur, the founders of Razorpay. TechnifyBiz plans to deploy the capital to expand its existing customer base of SMBs, as well as broaden its supply base throughout India as it targets farmers and their ability to sell directly to supermarkets, food manufacturers and other corporate buyers.

Akseleran

Alternative small business lending platform Akseleran, based in Indonesia, announced $8.55 million in new funding led by Beenext, reports in IBS Intelligence said this week. The series A round also saw participation from access ventures, Agaeti Venture Capital, Ahabe Group and Central Capital Ventura. The money will be used to invest in Akseleran’s underlying technology and bolster staff levels. At present, the company said it has disbursed more than $71.4 million in financing to more than 2,000 SMBs in the form of invoice finance, inventory finance and other tools.

6Sense

Based in California, 6Sense offers businesses a B2B sales and marketing solution. The company announced a $40 million fundraise this week to connect B2B sellers to automated, artificial intelligence technologies, with investors at Insight Partners leading the series C round. To date, 6Sense has raised more than $105 million and plans to use the latest investment to scale up operations and focus on platform expansion.

Tradeshift

With the largest investment round of the week, supply chain payments company Tradeshift revealed a $240 million funding round, a fundraise that suggests the company is holding off on its previously planned initial public offering (IPO) in favor of focusing on profitability. The company did not reveal who provided the funding, although it noted backers consisted of both new and existing investors. In a statement provided to PYMNTS, Tradeshift confirmed that a previous funding round of $250 million propelled its valuation to $1.1 billion.