NordicNinja led the financing round alongside Lightspeed, Superangel, and several prominent angel investors.
"This Series B round is a huge vote of confidence in the untapped potential of investing in Europe and Lightyear’s ability to make the difference. Driving meaningful progress in this market means removing barriers to entry and demystifying investing for ordinary people. That’s why we feel so strongly about our vision for AI and the future of investing. Europe is still a society of savers with completely independent tax systems, different regulations and complicated infrastructure – it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all solution. We’re making huge leaps forward in our mission to enable 750 million Europeans to build meaningful wealth, so it’s an incredibly exciting time for the business right now."
Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital led the Series C round, which will fund international expansion and product development.
"Despite one of the toughest fundraising environments for tech companies in the recent past, this funding round was significantly oversubscribed. Vortexa has doubled its valuation since its Series B funding round in 2021 and, having grown three times faster than the median SaaS business over the last year, is near profitability with an immense untapped market opportunity ahead. It is truly a privilege to partner with Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital. We have been extremely impressed with the caliber of the team, who saw past the complexity of the industries Vortexa serves and recognized our unique opportunity to create value and impact globally. I am excited to work with the Expansion Capital team to build the future of the company."
Amadeus Capital Partners and Octopus Ventures co-led the seed round to support product development and team expansion.
"The entire team is very excited about the opportunity that this financing has given us to develop Unlikely AI and its technology, and we are delighted to partner with our new investors."
The financing round was led by Octopus Ventures and will support a major recruitment drive.
"Foodsteps has been helping dozens of the UK’s most ambitious food companies to reduce their environmental footprint through our farm to fork data platform and labels. However we need to do so much more. This funding will help us bring in the brightest minds in data and technology to accelerate our work. We’re also looking for food businesses and partners that are hungry to accelerate change and reduce their environmental impacts. Our commitment is to be a force for transparency, collaboration and ambition in the drive to fix our food system."
The round was led by Mosaic Ventures to support the rollout of the company investment application to the UK market.
"Compared to mature markets such as the US, retail investment across Europe is still at the beginning of its growth journey. The customer experience hasn’t really been cracked, and the majority of current offerings serve just their local country. Lightyear’s mission is to offer access to global markets for pan-European investors, providing all the necessary data and education they need — with a simple, transparent business model that removes all the hidden and confusing fee structures. We’re delighted to support co-founders Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer, two veteran execs from TransferWise, at the start of their journey to empower retail investors – experienced and new alike – across the continent"
Protocol Labs and Metaplanet led the Series B round to accelerate product development for mainstream users and enterprises.
"We’re delighted to have been in a position to choose two more mission-driven investors who back companies that will improve the internet to benefit humankind,"
The pre-seed round was led by Taavet Hinrikus, Sten Tamkivi and Jaan Tallinn.
"Investing in Europe is a very long way away from where it needs to be. Professional and experienced investors have good options open to them with clear pricing and best-in-class tools, but ordinary investors don’t have that. Lightyear is going to be Europe’s first truly commission-free investment platform, and using our experience with transforming how the world approaches currency conversion, our goal is to completely change the name of the game when it comes to investing."
