Brightside Accelerates Plans to Help Employers Provide Financial Care to Employees with $33M in Series B Funding

Brightside, the leading financial care platform for employers, today announced it has raised $33 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Trinity Ventures, as well as Clocktower Technology Ventures and Chestnut Street Ventures. This investment will support Brightside's rapid growth and platform enhancements, including AI-driven capabilities to improve its best-in-class product experience.

Egyptian Fintech Blnk Raises $32 Million

Blnk, a fintech startup that enables instant consumer credit in Egypt, raises $23.7 million in equity and debt funding, and $8.3 million in securitized bond issuance to accelerate financial inclusion within underserved communities across the country. The funds will support the further development of Blnk’s Artificial Intelligence-powered lending infrastructure and financing the company’s fast-growing portfolio of customers.

TRM Labs Raises $70 Million in Series B

Goldman Sachs, PayPal, American Express and Citi have joined in a $70 million funding round in blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. The latest investment, an extension to the company's $60 million Series B round in December, was led by Thoma Bravo, with participation from first-time investor Goldman Sachs and previous TRM investors including PayPal Ventures, Amex Ventures, Citi Ventures.

Former Tink Employees Raise €5M for Payments Startup Atlar

A gaggle of former Tink employees has raised €5 million in seed funding for their startup promising to help businesses automate all of their payment activities. Joel Nordström, Joel Wägmark, and Johannes Elgh formed Stockholm-based Atlar earlier this year following open banking outfit Tink's €1.8 billion acquisition by Visa. The startup, led by Index Ventures, is automating manual payment processes with seed funding.

Glow Raises $22.5 Million to Optimize Insurance for Small Businesses

Glow, the digital insurance agency for small businesses, announced that it has closed a $22.5 million round of series A financing led by Cota Capital. AV8 Ventures, Markd, Startup Venture Capital, Maiden Re, and others also participated in the round. Glow's digital insurance platform automates small business insurance with the funding. Glow uses data to ensure a business has the right insurance coverage at a lower cost, not just when they buy but every year.

Quona Capital Announces $332M Fintech Venture Fund to Accelerate Financial Inclusion Investments in Emerging Markets

Emerging markets venture capital firm Quona Capital announced the final close of its Fund III at $332 million, significantly exceeding its $250 million target. This is the third fund from Quona Capital since its inception, bringing the firm’s aggregate committed capital to over $745 million. Quona invests in innovative technology startups that provide financial services to underserved customers and businesses in Latin America, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and MENA.

Pyypl Accelerates Growth with $20 Million Series B Investment

Pyypl – pronounced “People” – the Middle East and Africa (MEA) focused financial services platform and Hub71 company has closed its target Series B raise of $20 million from a diverse group of international investors and ten existing investors. Due to investor interest, Pyypl is considering a second investment tranche. Pyypl has raised almost $40 million since 2017, and the Series B raise will allow it to expand across the MEA region.