B2B FinTech Stays Resilient Amid Investment Slowdown

FinTech funding had already seen a dip in Q1 this year, but the pandemic may be further suppressing investor appetite.

A new report provided by Buy Shares found global FinTech funding was less than $4 billion during Q2, compared to about $5.8 billion raised in the Q1, according to Forrester.

Several B2B FinTechs topped the list in Q2, however, including commercial card startup Brex, which raised $150 million, as well as global business account service provider Airwallex with $160 million and small business alternative lender Fundbox with a $200 million raise — the largest of the quarter.

The stats suggest the strength of the B2B FinTech market’s ability to attract big-ticket funding rounds despite an overall dip in investment. This week, only a handful of new funding rounds were announced, though the roundup saw one of the largest deals in recent times landing with a Robotics Process Automation startup. PYMNTS outlines the latest investments below.

TradeDepot

Based in Nigeria, B2B eCommerce and supply chain technology startup TradeDepot raised $10 million in a pre-Series B equity round led by Partech, International Finance Corporation, Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative and MSA Capital. Local reports in Naija247News noted the company aims to digitize retail supply chains and address the industry’s fragmentation as it looks to expand into new markets on the continent. Further, the company is stepping into the FinTech arena, with plans to roll out financial products like credit facilities for retail buyers.

Privacy.com

Though this FinTech began with a focus on consumer spending, Privacy.com, which facilitates the generation of secure, single-use virtual cards to make payments, recently announced a new funding round that will propel the firm’s entrance in the corporate payments arena. TechCrunch reported this week that the company raised $10.2 million in Series A funding led by Teamworthy ventures, while Tusk Venture Partners, Index Ventures, Quiet Capital, Expr Seeds and Rainfall ventures also participated. The company will use the investment to launch its Card Issuing API out of beta testing; the technology enables corporates to issue their own virtual cards to employees or for accounts payable purposes.

Ravelin

The U.K.’s Ravelin secured $20.6 million in Series C funding this week, with the fraud detection technology company noting Draper Esprit led the round. Existing backers Amadeus Capital Partners, BlackFin Tech and Passion Capital also provided funding, which will be used to expand into new markets and industries. Starting out with a focus on the food and cab-ride sectors, Ravelin’s machine learning technology enables companies to accept payments while mitigating fraud risk. The firm has since expanded into additional market segments, including travel, entertainment, retail, gaming and more.

UiPath

By far, the largest investment round of the week goes to robotics process automation company UiPath, which secured $225 million in Series E investment, announced this week. The firm, which now has a valuation of $10.2 billion, saw the investment led by Alkeon Capital Management, while Accel, Coatue, Dragoneer, IVP, Madrona Venture Group, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, Tiger Global, Wellington and others participated. UiPath’s RPA technology aims to support digital transformation of corporate back offices and connect employees with tools that can expand the value of existing enterprise software. In a statement, UiPath Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Dines said the investment will be used to meet growing customer demand and scale up as it further augments its platform.