The DACH region, encompassing Germany, Austria and Switzerland, has been experiencing significant growth in its fintech sector, driven by a combination of factors including technological advancements, regulatory support, and increasing consumer demand for digital financial services.

This growth has elevated the region to the status of leading fintech hubs in Europe, with cities including Berlin, Zurich and Hamburg, in particular, being acknowledged among the world’s top 30 influential fintech cities, a report by fintech research and analytics firm Findexable says.

However, despite the growth, the DACH region witnessed a notable decline in fintech funding in 2023. In Q2 2023, DACH recorded 64 fintech deals down 32% compared to the same period the previous year, data from Fintech Global show. Investment in DACH-based fintech companies amounted to US$376 million, representing a year-on-year (YoY) decrease of 56%.

In spite of the challenges, the fintech sector in DACH managed to secure notable fintech venture capital (VC) funding rounds in 2023. Today, we look at some of the largest funding rounds secured by DACH fintech startups last year, focusing on VC funding solely and excluding debt funding.

Scalable Capital – EUR 60 million, Series E extension

In December 2023, Scalable Capital, a leading European digital investment platform, secured EUR 60 million in equity financing in an extension of its Series E round. The company said it would use the proceeds to deliver further growth and fuel the expansion of Scalable Capital’s brokerage platform across Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Munich, Scalable Capital provides retail investors easy and affordable access to investment opportunities. Originally a digital wealth management service, it expanded in 2020 into a full-service brokerage. The platform now operates in five European countries, allowing clients to invest in a variety of financial instruments, including exchange traded funds (ETFs), stocks, funds, bonds, cryptocurrencies, and derivatives. With over two-thirds of investments in ETFs, Scalable Capital oversees more than 1.2 million savings plans.

Raisin – EUR 60 million, Series E

In March 2023, Berlin-based savings and investment specialist Raisin raised EUR 60 million in a Series E funding round from existing and new investors. With the new investment, Raisin aims to give more consumers access to simple and convenient products by investing in new features, even simpler processes and broader accessibility, and to accelerate growth in expanding markets such as the US, where Raisin entered in 2020 and added over US$1 billion worth of assets under management (AuM) in 2022 alone.

Raisin recently exceeded 1 million customers, for which a total of EUR 850 million in interest has been generated since the company was founded back in 2012. The startup has been profitable for half a year and currently manages a total of EUR 38 billion AuM for customers globally.

Operating in the European Union (EU), the UK, and the US, Raisin is a leading global savings and investments marketplace. The company offers a diverse range of savings, investment, and pension products, providing customers with a broader choice of attractive options for managing their finances.

Raisin operates business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplaces under various brands, including Raisin, WeltSparen, ZINSPILOT (in Europe), and SaveBetter (in the US). In Germany the company offers ETF-based investment and retirement products as well as private equity and cryptocurrency investments, in addition to savings products. Raisin works with over 400 banks and financial service providers from more than 30 countries.

Taurus – US$65 million, Series B

In February 2023, Swiss digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus announced a US$65 million Series B capital raise from strategic investors. The company said it would use the proceeds to support its growth strategy across three main priorities: hire top engineering talent to further develop what is considered as the most complete platform in the industry; get closer to clients and expand the sales and customer success organization of its infrastructure solutions with new offices Europe, UAE and soon after in the Americas and Southeast Asia; and maintain the most stringent security, risk and compliance requirements across product lines, processes and organizations.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Geneva, Taurus provides enterprise-grade solutions for financial institutions to issue, custodize and trade digital assets. The company has established itself as one of the leading digital asset infrastructure providers for Tier 1 banks in Europe, including Deutsche Bank, Pictet, Swissquote and Vontobel. It claims it serves more than 25 financial institutions and corporate clients in eight countries and three continents.

Wefox – US$55 million, Series D

Wefox, the Berlin-based insurtech, secured in May a US$55 million credit facility from JP Morgan and Barclays alongside a US$55 million second close in its Series D at US$4.5 billion valuation from existing investors and new investors including Squarepoint Capital. The new funding is earmarked to further strengthen Wefox’s insurance and distribution business, which includes the recent launch of a global affinity business, and developing the technology platform.

The funding came on the heels of Wefox delivering a record first quarter financial performance, signaling the company’s clear path towards profitability.

Founded in 2015, Wefox is a insurtech platform that is connecting insurance companies, distributors, and customers, to give consumers simple access to digital insurance solutions. The company’s goal is to keep people safe by making insurance 10-times better through technology. Wefox is the parent company of Wefox Insurance, which is the in-house regulated insurance carrier. The company claims two million customers.

Solaris – EUR 38 million, Series F

In July 2023, embedded finance platform Solaris announced the first close of its Series F round, securing EUR 38 million. The company said it would use the proceeds to strengthen governance and compliance and lay the foundation for its next phase of growth.

Despite a challenging year 2022, Solaris demonstrated resilience, closing the fiscal year with net revenues of EUR 130 million representing a 30% growth compared to the previous year.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Berlin, Solaris is a leading embedded finance platform and a pioneer in the banking-as-a-service (BaaS) market. Solaris’ proprietary modular business-to-business (B2B) tech stack and scalable licensing system empowers its partners, including large global non-financial companies and innovative fintech companies, to offer unique, customer-centric financial services. The company currently employs more than 800 people at ten locations in Europe and India.

Upvest – EUR 30 million

Berlin-based investment infrastructure provider Upvest announced in October 2023 the successful closure of a EUR 30 million funding round. The round was led by Upvest’s existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, HV Capital, Earlybird, Notion, ABN Amro Ventures, Partech, and 10x Capital, with a new addition from BlackRock.

Upvest said it would use the proceeds to strengthen its position as the investment API category leader, enhance its product offering and fuel its regional expansion.

Founded in 2017, Upvest enables financial institutions to offer superior investment experiences to their customers. Upvest’s API-based investment infrastructure enables real, physical fractional investing across ETFs, stocks and mutual funds, lowering the entry barriers for investments to as little as EUR 1 in any asset class. Upvest is an investment firm regulated by the German supervision authority. The company currently employs 150+ people across Europe.

Featured image credit: Edited from freepik