If you live in Europe and you use a neobank, youâve likely been interacting with Upvestâs investment products without even knowing it.
The Berlin-based startup runs a stock-trading API that integrates into some of the biggest fintechs in Europe â Revolut, N26, Bunq, Plum, Raisin, Shares and Vivid. Through these banks, some 50 million users have access use the companyâs investment products, it said.
Amid a broader neobank boom, Upvest today announced it has raised â¬100M in a Series C funding round led by Hedosophia and joined by Sapphire Ventures. Existing investors, Bessemer Venture Partners, BlackRock, Earlybird, HV Capital, Motive Ventures, and Notion Capital also chipped in. Â
âWith the capital, we will conquer new markets, build exciting new products faster, and serve prime fintechs and financial institutions alike,â said Martin Kassing, CEO and co-founder of Upvest, pictured above.
Kassing didnât disclose an updated valuation but he did tell Sifted that it was twice the previous figure, following its $42mn raise in 2022. According to according to Dealroom data, that was $210m. So Upvest is likely valued at north of $400mn, going by founders calculations.
Armed with a cosy â¬100-mil, Upvest looks to double its 170-strong team and accelerate its expansion into the UK, a country where almost a third of the population already uses neobanks like Revolut, Starling, and Monzo. The company recently secured FCA approval, allowing it to integrate into British fintechs, banks, and wealth managers.Â
Young people are increasingly looking for simple ways to invest, and banks know it. However, building investment infrastructure from scratch is time-consuming and costly. Through Upvest, financial institutions can outsource the hard work, focusing on the mainstay of their operations.Â
Upvestâs software mainly facilitates stock trades but also offers access to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds. The company wants to expand into crypto, derivatives, ELTIFs (European Long-Term Investment Funds), and bonds in any currency.Â
In 2024, Upvest claims to have processed over 20 million stock orders. Recently, its platform has been facilitating 1 million trades per week, with revenues growing 25% per month on average, it said. Given the soaring popularity of challenger banks globally, we can expect to see Upvest double down on this rapid growth in the months and years to come.
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