Rauno is Managing Partner at Metaplanet Holdings. His previous experience includes operating and consulting roles at Solaris Keskus and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
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 London investment platform secured backing from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Virgin Group, and Richard Branson to fund its European expansion.
"Having lived and worked on both sides of the pond, I’ve seen first-hand the pain points for Europeans trying to access the financial markets as easily as their counterparts in the US. Lightyear is trying to fix this with a platform that customers not only love and trust, but one that understands the nuances between different regulations, languages, exchanges and cultural investing norms. There is no single neobroker offering products across the continent right now, and the potential is enormous. Martin and Mihkel have assembled an all-star team to achieve this goal, and we couldn’t be more excited to support them all on this journey."
