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Wagestream secures £300m in debt funding to scale financial wellbeing loans
Wagestream, a UK-based FinTech firm specialising in financial wellbeing solutions for employees, has secured a £300m debt financing facility from global banking giant Citi.
The financing will support the expansion of Wagestream’s Workplace Loans product, which was launched in late 2024 through an early access programme. The product has already been adopted by thousands of users, and the funding will allow the company to scale it further across its UK membership base.
Wagestream offers financial tools aimed at improving employee wellbeing by helping them manage their pay, budget in real time, and access coaching and savings support. The firm’s Workplace Loans are uniquely structured to align with varying income schedules rather than traditional monthly cycles, with repayments made directly via payroll deductions. The loans are also designed to be transparent, with no hidden fees, and carry interest rates starting as low as 5.9% APR. The average representative APR is expected to range between 13.9% and 16.9%.
With the new facility, Wagestream plans to invest further in its Workplace Loans offering, making it more widely accessible to UK employees. The firm also aims to continue innovating within its platform to ensure users can build long-term financial resilience.
Currently, Wagestream’s services are available to over three million employees through more than 2,000 organisations. The platform processes over 10 million transactions each month and facilitates more than £2.5bn in payments.
Wagestream co-founder Portman Wills said, “In just a short period, we’ve seen significant uptake and positive feedback from our members benefiting from fair, accessible credit. This credit facility will allow us to scale our offering dramatically, reaching more employees, with an alternative to the high interest loans offered by traditional financial institutions.”
Fincite and Harvest unite to create European WealthTech powerhouse
Two of Europe’s most prominent WealthTech firms, Fincite of Germany and Harvest of France, have announced a strategic merger to create a new European leader in wealth management software.
The union is supported by private equity investors TA Associates and Montagu and aims to drive growth through acquisitions and an expanded geographic footprint. Both firms will operate under the Harvest Group umbrella, with a shared vision to consolidate the fragmented WealthTech space and build a pan-European champion.
Fincite and Harvest have each developed robust B2B wealth management platforms designed to support financial institutions in delivering tailored, efficient investment solutions. Their software spans the full investment value chain, including onboarding, KYC/AML, advisory, execution, and reporting. By combining forces, they plan to offer deeper, more integrated solutions that can meet the evolving demands of banks and financial firms across Europe.
Fincite co-founder and co-CEO Ralf Heim said, “Today, banks struggle with fragmented and often outdated software systems. We are talking about legacy solutions that are 25 years old or more. This results in a complex and costly IT landscape with limited interoperability. Clients are looking for fewer but stronger partners who can provide deeper and more advanced WealthTech solutions from a single source. Together with Harvest, we are fulfilling this need on a European scale.”
The partnership is expected to accelerate the group’s growth trajectory, with a goal to double revenues within four years. Key markets for expansion include the DACH region, France, Benelux, Italy, and Northern Europe. This growth strategy will be supported by targeted acquisitions to bolster product capabilities and expand into new regions, aiming to position the combined entity as the go-to solution for wealth management technology.
Virginie Fauvel, CEO of Harvest, said, “We are seeing an ongoing wave of modernization in financial institutions. Banks must offer a seamless digital experience, similar to what has become standard in retail banking. The market demands modular and tailored solutions that integrate effortlessly.
“Together with Fincite, we are unlocking synergies and elevating wealth management to a whole new level. This merger represents a major new step for the creation of a solid European group, resolutely focused on development, innovation and customer satisfaction – and it marks the beginning of something truly significant.”
Both brands will continue to operate independently, retaining their current teams and offices. Ralf Heim will join the Harvest Group board while maintaining his role at Fincite. Alongside co-founders Friedhelm A. Schmitt and Stefan Post, and managing director Paul Kammerer, Heim will help steer the next phase of growth.
Doppel lands $35m funding round to boost AI-powered digital risk platform
AI-powered cybersecurity company Doppel has raised $35m in a Series B funding round to strengthen its social engineering defence platform for enterprises.
The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from 9Yards Capital, Sozo Ventures, and existing investors including a16z, South Park Commons, Strategic Cyber Ventures, Script Capital, and Sabrina Hahn. Doppel’s valuation now stands at $205m, bringing its total funding to $54.4m.
Doppel specialises in tackling digital threats like phishing, deepfakes, and brand impersonation. Its platform, Doppel Vision, identifies and eliminates attacker infrastructure across channels such as domains, email, social media, and apps, combining large language models (LLMs) with expert human analysis to deliver real-time protection.
The company plans to use the funds to scale its platform and meet growing enterprise demand. Since its Series A in January 2024, Doppel has seen 400% growth in enterprise customers, 3X growth in annual recurring revenue, and an 8X increase in expansion revenue.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Elliott Robinson said, “Doppel is quickly emerging as the market leading social engineering defense company by leveraging its proprietary AI-powered approach that is critical in today’s environment as these new threats become increasingly sophisticated for corporation’s brands, executives and employees.”
Doppel CEO Kevin Tian added, “We’re really excited to partner with Bessemer Venture Partners, a firm that understands what it takes to build a generational, category-defining company. We’ll use these funds to double down on our core products, serve the rapidly growing demand from enterprises across all sectors, and build the first social engineering defense platform.”
FinTech firm Surfin Meta Digital Technologies secures $26.5m to fuel global expansion
Surfin Meta Digital Technologies, a Singapore-based financial technology solutions provider for underserved communities, has announced the successful completion of its latest funding round.
The company raised $26.5m, with participation from Woori Venture Partners, Washington University in St. Louis, and Phillip Private Equity. This round builds on an earlier investment led by Insignia Ventures Partners in October 2024.
Surfin Meta Digital Technologies specialises in offering digital financial services to the unbanked and underbanked across emerging markets. Its platform delivers a range of solutions, including consumer lending, credit cards, payments and remittances, wealth management services, and B2B financial offerings.
With the newly raised capital, Surfin plans to accelerate its entry into new markets and invest heavily in research and development. The company aims to create a holistic suite of intelligent financial products designed to serve the needs of underserved populations.
Haitong International Securities Singapore acted as a financial advisor for this round, supporting the company in securing the investment.
Surfin Meta Digital Technologies CEO and founder Dr. Yanan Wu said, “I have always believed that financial inclusion is critical towards helping less privileged people who face difficulties to access even the simplest of financial services in emerging markets.
“We are proud to close our funding round with strong interest from well-known institutional investors that also stand testament to Surfin’s outstanding performance and potential to grow into a truly FinTech company.”
LendPro and SPLICE Software Announce Strategic Partnership to Enhance Retail Financing Engagement
LendPro, a leading provider of cloud-based consumer financing solutions, and SPLICE Software, an award-winning customer engagement platform, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership aimed at transforming the retail financing experience.
This collaboration integrates LendPro’s multi-lender application waterfall system with SPLICE’s Data-Driven Dialogs®, enabling retailers to deliver personalized, timely, and compliant customer communications across multiple channels. The joint solution empowers merchants to increase financing approvals, drive higher ticket sales, and enhance customer satisfaction through seamless, automated engagement.
“Our partnership with SPLICE Software represents a major advancement in how merchants can engage with their customers after the initial financing conversation. By combining LendPro’s multi-lender application waterfall with SPLICE’s intelligent communication platform, we are creating a powerful ecosystem where merchants don’t just capture leads they nurture them.” Said Matt Dishman CEO of LendPro
“Through this collaboration, merchants will now have the ability to drive Pre-Qualified Offers and Open-to-Buy financing opportunities back to the consumer all tied directly to the original merchant who created the lead. This means merchants maintain ownership of their customer relationships, create more buying moments, and ultimately increase ticket sizes and lifetime value.”
“At LendPro, our goal has always been to empower merchants to serve more customers and close more sales. This partnership ensures that no opportunity is left behind it brings financing full circle, from initial application to ongoing personalized engagement.”
“We are excited for what this means not only for our retailers, but for the future of embedded consumer financing and customer-centric marketing.”
“Our partnership with LendPro brings a new level of personalization and efficiency to retail financing communications,” said Tara Kelly, President & CEO of SPLICE Software. “Our combined technologies will enable retailers to engage customers more effectively, fostering stronger relationships and driving business growth.”
Circle rolls out global payment network for banks and FinTechs
Circle, a global FinTech firm, has announced the launch of Circle Payments Network (CPN), a new initiative designed to connect a wide range of financial institutions and enable real-time cross-border payments through regulated digital assets.
The launch of CPN comes in response to ongoing challenges in cross-border payments. Despite technological advances, such transactions still frequently take over one business day and cost more than 6%, according to the World Bank.
These inefficiencies, driven by intermediary layers, compliance requirements, and jurisdictional fragmentation, have particularly impacted emerging markets. Circle aims to provide a streamlined and modern alternative.
CPN is designed to modernise the fragmented cross-border payment landscape by allowing financial institutions to move money globally with internet-level speed, transparency, and programmability. It supports real-time settlements and ensures regulatory compliance through a governance framework requiring licensing, AML/CFT compliance, cybersecurity protocols, and risk management standards.
CPN supports a broad spectrum of financial use cases, from supplier payments and remittances to treasury operations and capital markets settlement. It is built on smart contract infrastructure and modular APIs, allowing third-party developers to create advanced financial modules, services, and workflows atop the network.
To ensure CPN meets high standards for operational integrity, Circle has partnered with leading global banks including Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, and Standard Chartered. These institutions are helping shape the network to meet the demands of complex global payment systems.
A wide array of design partners, including Alfred Pay, BCB Group, Flutterwave, Coins.ph, Zodia Markets, and more, are already working with Circle to build out CPN. Additionally, digital asset infrastructure providers such as Fireblocks are integrating with CPN to broaden institutional access to secure, efficient payment capabilities.
Circle co-founder, chairman, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said, “Since our founding, Circle’s vision has been to make moving money as simple and efficient as sending an email. CPN is a significant step in making that vision a reality for businesses worldwide.”
Standard Chartered Bank global head of transaction banking Michael Spiegel said, “Standard Chartered is continuously looking for opportunities to make cross-border payments more efficient, secure, and compliant to various regulatory requirements, globally. Circle’s compliance-first approach to building products like CPN is a game changer for how money moves across borders, and we are pleased to build on our partnership and offer them our global expertise to support the success of CPN.”
Circle chief product and technology officer Nikhil Chandhok said, “Circle Payments Network is a foundational layer for the always-on economy — enabling trusted institutions to move value across borders, instantly. With programmable infrastructure at its core, CPN makes it possible to embed value transfer into modern financial applications in ways that weren’t feasible before.”
Checkbook Recognized as a Leader in Digital Payment Solutions by Frost & Sullivan
Checkbook, a leading innovator in digital payment solutions, has been named a leader in B2B Digital Payments by Frost & Sullivan in B2B Digital Payment Systems 2025. This recognition highlights Checkbook’s commitment to transforming outdated payment systems into seamless, scalable, and cost-effective solutions for businesses.
Frost & Sullivan’s fact based analysis identified Checkbook for its innovative approach to digitizing checks, enabling real-time, secure, and scalable payments across multiple rails, including ACH, RTP, Instant Pay, and newly added support for direct wallet transfers. This recognition validates Checkbook’s leadership in addressing inefficiencies in traditional payment systems by delivering a unified platform with real-time tracking, instant settlement, and unparalleled ease of use.
“Our mission has always been to simplify and modernize payments for businesses of all sizes,” said PJ Gupta, CEO of Checkbook. “Being recognized by Frost & Sullivan is a testament to our dedication to solving critical payment challenges while offering scalable and efficient solutions. We are thrilled to see our efforts acknowledged on a global stage.”
Checkbook has been lauded for its unique Digital Check, which eliminates the need for paper-based processes and reduces operational costs while converting payments from paper to digital. The platform’s seamless integration capabilities and user-centric design make it a standout choice for businesses seeking to digitize their payment workflows. Frost & Sullivan also highlighted Checkbook’s ability to provide end-to-end visibility and enhanced security, empowering businesses to manage their payments with confidence.
In March 2025, Checkbook extended its payment capabilities by integrating additional rails for direct digital wallet payouts. This enhancement allows businesses to send funds directly to customers’ preferred digital wallets with the same speed and reliability as Checkbook’s other payment rails, furthering its mission to offer flexible, secure, and user-friendly payment experiences.
Forter launches innovative Predictive Payment Routing beta
Forter, a global provider of digital commerce trust solutions, has launched major enhancements to its Payment Optimisation suite, including a beta release of Predictive Payment Routing and a new GenAI agent detection tool, as part of its spring product release.
These developments come in response to rapid changes in the digital commerce landscape, where evolving consumer behaviours, the rise of GenAI technologies, sophisticated fraud tactics, and increasing regulatory demands are reshaping how businesses approach payments and risk, according to FF News.
The firm offers a comprehensive Trust Platform that helps merchants fight fraud, improve identity verification, and optimise payments all while ensuring seamless customer experiences.
Its platform is used by some of the world’s largest brands to protect their online transactions.
The newly launched Predictive Payment Routing tool builds on Forter’s existing Payment Optimisation solution. It not only determines when and how to apply authentication, but now also recommends the most suitable processor, card network, and whether to use network tokenisation for each transaction.
This intelligent routing boosts authorisation rates, reduces costs, and gives merchants enhanced control over their payment strategies.
The spring release also includes GenAI agent detection, allowing Forter’s platform to identify when AI-powered agents are shopping or interacting on behalf of customers.
This feature helps differentiate between beneficial bots that assist shoppers and malicious bots that exploit vulnerabilities or commit fraud.
In addition, Forter has improved its device takeover detection by 20% and increased its ability to identify connection manipulation methods, such as VPNs and proxies, by 15%.
These advancements are vital as such attacks continue to grow in both frequency and sophistication.
To further enhance transparency and user confidence, Forter now offers a GenAI-powered feature that automatically generates plain text explanations of its decision-making process. This includes clear insights into the user profile, transaction details, and network behaviours that inform each decision.
Forter has also strengthened its global partner ecosystem, achieving Premier Partner status in Shopify’s Enterprise Technology Partner Program.
This designation places Forter among only 23 global partners and recognises its unique capabilities as the only fraud prevention provider in the group. Through this partnership, Forter helps Shopify’s largest merchants secure transactions, recover lost revenue, and deliver smoother customer journeys.
Forter chief product officer Cyndy Lobb said, “Digital commerce today doesn’t look the same as it did 12 months ago. Changing consumer behaviour, advanced GenAI technology, sophisticated fraud and new regulations have all fundamentally changed the industry. Our focus is on helping businesses stay a step ahead, tackling their payments, fraud and identity challenges head-on all within one platform. No matter how commerce evolves, Forter is positioned to ensure our customers grow by knowing exactly who they are doing business with.”
Amsterdam-based SMB banking platform Finom lands $105m from General Catalyst
Amsterdam-based Finom, a digital banking platform tailored for small and medium-sized businesses, has reportedly raised $105m in growth funding.
The capital injection, equivalent to €92.7m, comes from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund, according to a report from TechCrunch. In a notable move, the round did not involve any equity exchange, making it an unconventional investment structure.
Finom said the funds will be used solely to support growth activities, rather than operational or product development costs.
Founded with a mission to streamline financial services for entrepreneurs, Finom offers an integrated suite that combines banking, accounting, invoicing and financial management in a single mobile-first platform. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company currently operates in over 10 European countries, including key markets like Germany and France.
Finom intends to deploy the new capital to expand its customer base and geographical footprint across Europe.
The firm currently serves more than 100,000 businesses in Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. Finom reports positive unit economics in all markets and has adopted a subscription-based revenue model, alongside income from transaction fees and interest on credit lines from its new lending arm.
Turris and Loro Insurtech join forces to simplify insurance compliance
Turris, a provider of compliance and payment automation solutions for the insurance sector, has partnered with Loro Insurtech to deliver a unified solution aimed at modernising how insurers and MGAs handle compliance and broker onboarding.
The partnership accelerates broker and agent onboarding, streamlines quoting and binding, and automates compliance checks and filings—boosting efficiency and reducing risk.
Turris automates back-office tasks like license verification and regulatory reporting. Loro offers a digital platform for MGAs, carriers, and agents to manage quote-to-bind workflows.
The joint solution is live for both customer bases, with rollout support available. Key benefits include faster market access and real-time compliance automation.
Together, Turris and Loro aim to let insurance pros focus on growth while back-end operations run automatically.
Loro CEO and co-founder Peter Tilbrook said, “The Loro partnership with Turris showcases two key things modern MGAs and insurers should be aspiring to achieve: speed to market and real-time, painless compliance. By integrating with Turris’s operations automation platform, we’re adding a critical layer of verification that protects our clients while streamlining back-office operations.”
Turris CEO and co-founder Douglas Ver Mulm said, “Our partnership with Loro represents a significant leap forward in partner onboarding and compliance automation. Real-time license verification for every policy sold is eliminating compliance risks and driving down operational costs.”
He added, “The solution is already solving additional challenges for joint clients, including E&S policy stamping by automatically sharing state-specific agent licensing data.”
Canadian mortgage tech firm Pineapple Financial raises $1.5m in public offering
Pineapple Financial, a Canadian mortgage technology and brokerage company, has announced the pricing of a $1.5m public offering.
The Toronto-based firm provides digital solutions aimed at transforming the mortgage experience for brokers, lenders, and clients.
The company’s public offering includes 10 million units, with each unit comprising one common share and one warrant to purchase an additional common share. The units were priced at $0.15 each.
- Boral Capital is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the transaction. Legal counsel for the offering was provided by Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP for the company, and Lucosky Brookman LLP for D. Boral Capital.
Pineapple Financial is known for offering a suite of technology solutions that streamline the mortgage process. Its tools cover marketing automation, analytics, and client engagement, helping professionals in the mortgage ecosystem deliver enhanced experiences.
FinTech unicorns Qonto and Mollie team up to tackle Europe’s £275bn late payment crisis
Two FinTech unicorns, Qonto, a leading European business finance platform for SMEs and freelancers, and Mollie, a financial service provider, have entered into a strategic partnership to deliver integrated financial services and tackle the region’s £275bn late payment challenge.
The partnership aims to simplify fragmented financial infrastructure by bringing together banking and payments into a single platform.
By doing so, Qonto and Mollie seek to alleviate cash flow issues and reduce the time businesses wait to get paid an issue that affects nearly half of European businesses, according to the European Commission’s 2024 Annual Report.
Qonto is a business finance solution designed for SMEs and freelancers across Europe. It offers a full suite of digital banking services including invoicing, cards, team expense management, and local IBANs all accessible through a streamlined, user-friendly platform.
Mollie is a FinTech provider specialising in payments, enabling merchants to accept a variety of payment methods with speed and transparency.
Its infrastructure is built for scalability and ease of use, supporting fast settlements and a wide array of payment options without hidden fees.
The collaboration launches in two parts. Firstly, Qonto customers in France, Germany, and the Netherlands now have access to ‘Payment Links’ powered by Mollie Connect.
This feature allows businesses to generate secure payment links, send them to clients, monitor payment status, and receive funds directly into their Qonto accounts. Benefits include seamless integration with invoicing, real-time tracking, automatic reconciliation, transparent pricing, and support for multiple payment methods.
Secondly, Mollie is integrating Qonto Embed, a white-label banking product, to offer banking services directly from its platform.
Mollie customers in France and soon in Germany will be able to open business accounts with features such as 24-hour terminal settlements, real-time financial insights, and support for cards, SEPA, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more.
Qonto Embed enables sub-account creation, spending controls, and starts at competitive pricing from €9 per month.
The partnership allows both firms to strengthen their positions in Europe’s FinTech ecosystem by offering SMEs a consolidated, efficient, and scalable financial experience.
“This partnership with Mollie marks a milestone in our mission to simplify finance management for European businesses,” says Qonto CEO and Co-Founder Alexandre Prot. “By combining our expertise in business banking and finance management with Mollie’s advanced payment capabilities, we’re addressing the unique needs of European businesses, from accepting card payments to managing their finances seamlessly in one single place. Our collaboration is more than just a strategic partnership. Together, we’re uniting our strengths to build fintech champions that can compete on a global level.”
“This partnership is a game-changer for SMEs seeking fast, seamless, and fully integrated financial services. By combining banking and payments in a single platform, we empower businesses to streamline financial management, boost efficiency, and free up capacity for strategic growth,” says Mollie CEO Koen Köppen.
PayPoint partners with Uber and Deliveroo to expand digital voucher services
PayPoint, a UK-based payments and commerce specialist, has partnered with Uber and Deliveroo to expand its digital voucher service for retail partners.
The partnerships have been formed in response to the rising popularity of digital vouchers. PayPoint has observed that more consumers are seeking local, convenient stores to act as one-stop-shops for errands, parcel services and gifting solutions, according to FF News.
Particularly during difficult economic times, digital vouchers have become a preferred option for money management and gifting. In 2024 alone, 93% of PayPoint’s retailers processed digital voucher transactions in-store, underlining their increasing importance.
PayPoint enables retail partners to maximise spontaneous purchases and attract new customers by offering a wider range of digital gift card services. Its platform allows secure, seamless transactions for digital vouchers, further supporting retailers’ ability to serve evolving consumer needs.
Uber provides digital vouchers for customers to top-up their Uber wallets, enabling them to book rides or order meals through Uber Eats. Deliveroo offers digital vouchers allowing consumers to top up their Deliveroo accounts, providing convenient access to quick and reliable meal deliveries from local restaurants and grocers.
The new partnerships allow customers to purchase digital vouchers for Uber, Uber Eats and Deliveroo through the PayPoint retail network, choosing any amount between £15 and £150. These vouchers can be used either for personal use or as gifts for family and friends, offering a flexible and accessible way to manage payments and gifting needs.
Additional information highlights that these new digital voucher services not only increase the product range for PayPoint retailers but also offer customers more ways to interact with trusted brands locally. Customers benefit from fast and easy credit top-ups, while retailers enjoy increased footfall and transaction volumes, strengthening their role within the community.
PayPoint retail proposition and partnerships director Antony Sappor said, “We are delighted to be announcing the partnerships with such major brands and welcome Uber and Deliveroo to our PayPoint network. With growing demand for digital vouchers, as both a money management and secure payment method, as well as a thoughtful gift, we’re excited to provide customers with access to these services through our extensive network of retailers.”
“The expansion enhances our voucher offering, adding value for our retailers. Partnering with such well-known names on expanding our voucher services will ultimately draw more customers into their stores.”
Philippine FinTech LenderLink lands $1.25m to revolutionise real-time credit data
LenderLink, a pioneering FinTech based in the Philippines focused on improving credit data infrastructure, has successfully closed its first external funding round.
The company secured $1.25m in an oversubscribed pre-seed round, with investments from Kaya Founders, Iterative, Founders Launchpad, and local business angels including Manila Business Angels.
LenderLink is developing the first high-tech, real-time credit bureau in the Philippines. Its mission is to modernise the country’s consumer lending market by enabling lenders to access and report credit risk data instantly. Through its API-first platform, the firm aims to lower borrowing costs by tackling high default rates and advancing financial inclusion.
The newly raised funds will be used to enhance LenderLink’s technology, expand its market presence, and establish partnerships with key lenders and financial institutions. These efforts are intended to help reshape the Philippine lending landscape, offering better credit risk assessment tools for lenders and fairer access to credit for consumers.
Already integrating over 25 million records across five ecosystems, LenderLink is building an exclusive network where early adopters benefit from improved lending terms and access to high-quality real-time credit data.
LenderLink CEO Christo Georgiev said, “We’ve spent years in fintech and observed that one of the biggest barriers to affordable lending in emerging markets is the lack of real-time credit data infrastructure.
“With this funding, we are addressing this foundational problem by bringing credit into the tech age, leveraging AI, data science, and automation to empower lenders while enabling consumers to rehabilitate their credit profiles faster and more safely.”
Kaya Founders general partner Ray Alimurung said, “What sets LenderLink apart isn’t just the technology it’s the caliber of the founding team and the clarity of their vision. Founders Christo Georgiev, Dimitar Manolov, Dimo Hristov, and Petya Dimitrova bring to the table deep domain expertise in fintech, credit assessment, and data science. Their years of industry experience has helped to inform their insight that lenders can only make optimal lending decisions through real-time credit intelligence.”
Clean energy FinTech Crux raises $50m to expand capital markets platform
Crux, a capital markets technology company focused on clean energy and manufacturing, has raised $50m in a Series B funding round.
The investment was led by Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from new investors Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, and OMERS Ventures. The round also saw continued backing from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Ardent Venture Partners, CIV, New System Ventures, and The Three Cairns Group, alongside Acrew Capital and Giant Ventures.
Having launched in 2023, Crux operates a platform that facilitates financing solutions for the clean economy. It enables developers, manufacturers, investors, and lenders to navigate capital formation through features such as tax credit transfers and debt product marketplaces. The platform has attracted more than 630 participants and helped close over 70 tax credit transactions across sectors including battery storage, geothermal, and solar energy.
The newly secured funding will help Crux scale its software platform, expand its team, and deepen the functionality of its financial ecosystem.
Crux also plans to explore growth through both new technologies and potential acquisitions.
Crux CEO and co-founder Alfred Johnson said, “Last year, we announced that investors with over 100 GW of pipeline had invested in Crux. We’ve been proud to partner with these strategic investors to execute deals and improve our offering. Today, we are adding insurance and pension investors with hundreds of billions of assets under management. We look forward to partnering with our new investors Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, OMERS Ventures, and MassMutual Ventures as we grow the platform and deploy billions into energy and manufacturing infrastructure.”
1Fort Raises $7.5M to Automate Business Insurance with AI
1Fort, the AI platform for business insurance, today announced it has raised $7.5 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Bonfire Ventures. The round also included Draper Associates (Tim Draper); Karim Atiyeh, the founder of Ramp; and participation from all existing VCs: Village Global, Operator Partners, 8-Bit Capital, Character VC and Company Ventures. This latest round brings the 1Fort total funding to $10 million.
Insurance brokers and agents face manual, time-consuming processes when serving businesses. Yet 70% of businesses still rely on them for coverage, according to the Hiscox. Despite this reliance, 75% remain underinsured—leaving nearly 24 million businesses exposed as risks grow in severity and frequency with advancing technologies, such as cyber attacks and supply chain disruptions.
1Fort solves these challenges by empowering brokers to bind more top-tier insurance policies for businesses faster using AI. The platform leverages AI to automate various broker workflows, including autofilling insurance applications, retrieving quotes from carriers; comparing coverages; and integrating payment and financing options. Brokers who use 1Fort save on average up to two hours per submission and increase their bind rate by up to 20 percent. Brokers also better retain clients with 1Fort’s complementary risk management software, which businesses manage their policies and proactively prevent claims or losses.
1Fort grew revenue nearly 200% month-over-month in 2024, and has already partnered with over a dozen leading brokerages and A-rated carriers, including Arch, Tokio Marine HCC and Markel. The funding will allow 1Fort to continue to improve the broker experience through AI innovations and talent acquisition and further expand partnerships with carriers and brokers.
“Our mission is to help every business obtain the financial protection they need to keep up with today’s fast-moving risks, and empowering insurance brokers with AI to automate their antiquated workflows is the way to achieving it,” said Anthony Marshi, 1Fort Co-Founder and CEO. “This investment will allow us to grow even faster by doubling down on our AI features and strengthening our broker and carrier partnerships. We’re grateful for our investors who share our vision in transforming business insurance.”
“1Fort has been a great resource for our team, allowing us to move even faster and deliver great products for our clients,” said Travis Hedge, Co-Founder of Vouch, a leading VC-backed broker for startups from idea to IPO.
“Building AI-powered, service-as-software solutions to modernize legacy workflows in the insurance vertical is one of today’s most exciting opportunities,” said Jim Andelman, Bonfire Ventures Co-Founder and Managing Director. “1Fort has already built impressive momentum and is poised to revolutionize this trillion-dollar market.”