Cash flow is the best indicator of a company’s financial health and optimizing cash flow can be the difference between keeping the lights on and having to shut down. As global macroeconomic conditions worsen and businesses are scaling back, managing cash flow becomes even more critical. Monspire is a cash flow management platform for small businesses that also provided integrated lending options for working capital needs that leverages AI to understand when and where a business will need additional funding. The platform leverages open banking so that businesses can get a full understanding of their business’s cash flow in real-time, while also getting accurate forecasting. For any periods of gaps, Monspire steps in and plugs the hole with its lending solutions. While finances are critical for any business, many business owners just don’t have the time to dedicate to managing finances while juggling all other facets of operations. Monspire, short for Money Inspired, makes it seamless by proving a singular view of a company’s financial health. London TechWatch caught up with Monspire Cofounder Simon Draper to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Business
Bundlr Network Raises $5.2M for its Decentrazlized Platform That Makes Data Storage on Web3 Seamless
Arweave is a permanent hard drive built on the blockchain that can serve as a permaweb archive. Anything you want to be stored across a decentralized network can be verified cryptographically with its own currency token incentivizing host nodes and miners. While the possibility of storage amount is infinite, transactions can be slow as the protocol scales and user interest increases. Bundlr Network is a decentralized multichain platform that speeds up data storage on Web3 on Arweave. Users pay a one-time fee with any major token, receive unlimited storage, and can upload data from any major blockchain while having instant access to the data. The company reports that upload and read speeds are 3000x faster than using Arweave on its own. Bundlr Network is currently views NFT marketplaces as its target customer but the solution is versatile enough to handle anyone with decentralized data storage needs. London TechWatch caught up with Bundlr Network Founder and CEO Josh Benaron to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Why the Potential of Big Data is Yet to be Realized in a Tech Market Ripe for Innovation
In the high stakes game of evolving into an unpredictable and new industry like the metaverse, data will be seen as more of an asset for businesses, in a similar way as ROI is valued as a key metric today. This will pave the way for greater industry growth and the opportunities are certainly far-reaching for businesses looking to move quickly to deliver innovative solutions for a tech market that’s ripe for the introduction of advanced big data solutions.
Fidel API Raises Another $65M for its Payment Data Infrastructure Platform
Companies like Klarna, Venmo, and Afterpay all have made modernized the payment landscape by providing consumer convenience. However, in the backend they have built massive troves of consumer purchase data that they are able to package, serving as a valuable lifeline for merchants that enables them to promote sales promotions, target, segment, and more. The ability to collect and democratize purchase information instantly at the point of purchase unlocks a world of new opportunities and this is exactly what Fidel API focuses on. At its core, it’s a payment data infrastructure that layers on top of existing payment stacks with APIs that allow developers to build timely and contextual experiences in real-time for an expanding collection of use cases. Some applications of the company’s platform include powering digital receipts, loyalty and rewards programs, insurance claims, expense management, and also personal financial management apps. With the advent of open banking and consumers granting permissions to their transactions opens us a world where consumers are willing to give up their once highly coveted data in order to receive both functional and hedonistic benefits. Fidel API’s core technology is being used across the globe, servicing millions of cardholders and hundreds of thousands of merchants. London TechWatch caught up with Fidel API VP of Strategy Patrick Nealon to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $86M, and much, much more…
Konfir Raises £1.6M for its Instant Employment and Income Verification Platform
Institutions are increasingly using automated models to accelerate credit and hiring decisions leveraging AI/ML. In order to build the next-generation models to handle these tasks, organizations must design systems that are reflective of the dynamics of a modern economy (prevalence of gig/flexible workers) and have the appropriate supporting data to assess. Konfir is an instant employment and income verification data platform that provides companies with real-time access to employment and income data for any UK-based worker that can be used in decisioning. All the data on the platform is user-permissioned, protecting the personal information of the applicant, and therefore compliant with GDPR. In terms of employment, decisioning models have far too long stringently relied only on traditional income for assessing worthiness, limiting access to the financial system for otherwise qualified potential borrowers. With Konfir, banking, lending, loan servicing, leasing companies, and potential hiring companies can get verified, real-time income data straight from the source. London TechWatch caught up with Konfir CEO and Founder Chris Milligan to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Lavanda Raises Another $7.25M for its Property Management Platform for Flexible and Short-Term Rentals
With the pandemic ushering in flexible work from home options where location is no longer critical, the popularity of short-terms has exploded. Property managers and landlords have scrambled to accommodate this new dynamic. Lavanda is a property management platform that is built specifically to address the needs of flexible, short-term, and medium-term rentals. The all-in-one solution automates inventory management, marketing, distribution, and design, allowing property operators to reduce vacancies, diversify their revenue streams, and increase demand. Renters are able to receive tailored solutions that match their needs without the onus of a long-term lease. Short-term rentals are estimated to be 30% more profitable for owners and investors than traditional leases. Leading real estate companies like Greystar, Blackstone, Hines, Nuveen, and Aldar are all Lavanda clients. London TechWatch caught up with Lavanda CEO Fred Lerche-Lerchenborg to learn more about the inspiration for the business including an interesting pivot story from laundry, the company’s strategic plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Finch Capital and Starwood Capital.
NeuralSpace Raises $1.7M to Unlock Natural Language Procesising for Low-Resource Languages
There are over 7,000 languages spoken globally but English has dominated the innovation and advancements in natural language processing, leaving a massive void for much of the world’s population and those that are building solutions for these audiences. Languages spoken in Eastern Europe, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are considered “low-resource languages”. NeuralSpace is a startup that provides an interface and a suite of advanced functionality through APIs that bring natural language processing capabilities that will work with these often-neglected languages along with more common ones. The platform recognizes intent, detect languages, transliterate, identify speakers in audio files, transcribe speech into text, and more. NeuralSpace is a no-code web interface that can be used without any specialized machine learning or data science background. By eliminating the barrier of language with its seamless solution, the platform ensures that innovators can build truly global and borderless solutions for 6B individuals. London TechWatch caught up with NeuralSpace CEO and Cofounder Felix Laumann to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $1.82M, and much, much more…
Vitesse PSP Raises $26M for its Cross-Border Payments Platform
Despite the pandemic, large corporations continued to deliver high transaction volumes when looking at cross-border payments. By tapping into a globally distributed payment network, payment technology providers are able to provide their customers to have faster, more cost-effective payment solutions. Vitesse PSP is a payment, liquidity, and treasury management platform that provides cross-border payments at a fraction of existing costs and rapidly with enhanced transparency and control. The platform works for use in corporate, financial services, e-commerce but the company has built significant traction in the insurance industry where it’s working with 70% of the insurers within Lloyd’s of London Market. The company charges a fee per transaction as well as a monthly treasury management fee for access to the platform that allows the digitisation of insurance payments, an area that’s been largely dominated by disparate workflows. London TechWatch caught up with Vitesse PSP CEO Phillip McGriskin to learn more about the inspiration for the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding from investors that include Prime Ventures, Hannover Digital Investments, and Octopus Ventures.
OMNI Raises €1.3M for its Direct-to-Consumer Plant-Based Dog Food Brand
There are a host of benefits for plant-based diets including lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cholesterol, cancer, arthritis, and cognitive impairment in addition to reduced inflammation and carbon footprint. Can the same be true for dogs? OMNI is a plant-based dry dog food brand that’s showing the same benefits for man’s best friend. Formulated by a vet, the company offers three types of protein-rich kibble formulated for the needs of growing puppies, adults, and older dogs. Owners have noticed dramatic improvements in their dogs in terms of increased energy, shinier coats, healthier weight, and fewer vet visits. Omni distributes direct-to-consumer through its website with a 2KG bag starting at £10.39. London TechWatch caught up with OMNI Cofounders Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar to learn more about the inspiration behind the business, the company’s future plans, recent round of funding from investors that include ProVeg International, Trellis Road, Purple Orange Ventures, Shiocap, Kale United, Vera Baker, and Brendan Robinson.
DigiDoe Raises £852.5K for its Multi-Currency Secure Payment Platform and Infrastructure
The dynamics of the payments industry are changing as consumers and businesses shift away from cash to digital payment methods. Despite this dramatic change, the frameworks for payment infrastructure have not necessarily adapted as rapidly. As pandemic-driven behaviors now become habits and the new normal, the payment industry is developing new frameworks that are retooling the core. DigiDoe is a multi-currency payment infrastructure platform for businesses and consumers that uses biometrics to provide secure payment solutions. The platform’s proprietary FacePay technology allows consumers to make payments without a card or phone using 7D authentication, eliminating the risk of fraud entirely. This leads to up to an 80% decrease in fees for merchants that they are then able to pass on savings to customers. Payments are also lightning fast and the infrastructure is scalable. Current credit card companies can handle 60,000 transactions per second; DigiDoe dwarfs this figure with its technology able to handle 200,000 per second. London TechWatch caught up with DigiDoe Cofounder Alexandra Vidyuk to learn more about the future of payments, the company’s strategic plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Joint Journey, PLF the seed fund managed by Flashpoint Venture Capital ,and I2BF Global Ventures Ltd.