Artificial Intelligence, AP Automation Prove Hot Tickets With VCs

News of AvidXchange’s impressive $300 million investment round may have gotten overlooked, as it was announced at the same time the company revealed a new partnership with Mastercard to launch a B2B payments hub. But Avid’s latest boost wasn’t the only funding round to have made a splash in the B2B FinTech world.

SME accounting, AI, blockchain and accounts receivable all received attention from venture capitalists this week, with another healthy $103 million investment round going to one Canadian company. Find out who below.

SME Accounting

Ceterus

Based in the U.S., Ceterus provides automated accounting and reporting solutions for small businesses, linking them with performance metrics, peer benchmarks and other data points. The firm operates Ceterus Edge, which integrates data from POS, bank and payroll platforms to automatically manage accounting and financial assessments. This week, it revealed $6 million in new funding. Grotech Ventures led the A-1 funding round, according to reports, while existing backers TechOperators, the IDEA Fund and Alerion Ventures also participated. Ceterus said it will use the investment to expand its team and enter into new SME markets. The company also plans to integrate added capabilities, though it didn’t elaborate on exactly what it’s working on.

Artificial Intelligence

Element AI

In the second-largest funding round on the list this week, Canada’s Element AI announced $102 million in Series A funding, which the firm said will go toward hiring new staff, business development and investing in the very solutions developed within its own incubator. The company helps companies build their own artificial intelligence-based solutions.

“Our goal remains to lower the barrier for entry to commercial applications in AI,” CEO Jean-François Gagné said in an interview with TechCrunch. “Everyone wants to have these capabilities. It’s hard for most companies to pull it off because of the lack of talent or access to AI technology. That is the opportunity.”

Data Collective led the funding round, reports said, and other backers included Fidelity Investments Canada, Hanwha, Intel Capital, Microsoft Ventures, National Bank of Canada and others.

Commercial Cards

Boost Payment Solutions

With a focus on promoting the acceptance of commercial cards among B2B suppliers, Boost Payment Solutions, based in the U.S., secured new funding from Mosaik Partners, reports said this week, though the company didn’t reveal how much it raised. Boost operates Boost Intercept, a B2B payments platform that supports suppliers’ virtual card acceptance capabilities and automatically integrates payment and remittance data into ERP systems. With a presence in the U.S., Europe, Canada, the UAE and Canada, Boost said it will eventually expand into Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and various parts of Asia.

Blockchain

Stratumn

The $7.8 million in new VC funding for blockchain startup Stratumn, based in France, will help the company launch in the U.S., the startup said this week. Backers at CNP Ventures led the Series A round, according to reports, and Nasdaq, Digital Currency Group and Otium Venture also participated. Stratumn provides a platform for developers to create enterprise-level applications using distributed ledger technology.

Accounts Payable Automation

AvidXchange

Coming in at No. 1 on our roundup is AvidXchange, which announced $300 million in new funding late last week, thanks to institutional investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, as well as Temasek, PayPal founder Peter Thiel and Mastercard, with which AvidXchange has recently partnered to launch the credit card company’s new B2B payments portal. This is the largest funding round to date for the AP automation company, reports said, and will go toward growth as well as support of the new Mastercard partnership as Avid targets the mid-market space.

Misc.

HyperTrack

Founded in 2015, HyperTrack enables companies to track people and products in real time on its platform. The U.S.-based company, which also has a strong presence in India, raised $7 million from investors at Nexus Venture Partners and Founders Fund. The Series A funding will go toward product development and engagement with clients, especially as it adds C2C person-tracking capabilities to its offering. There are multiple use cases for its solution, though top clients include logistics, education and ridesharing businesses.

Honorable Mention

Lendingkart

This India-based alternative SME lender announced $7.8 million in debt financing raised from Yes Bank. Lendingkart said it will use the funds to expand operations across India and strengthen its loan book, emphasizing that it lends to small business borrowers directly instead of acting as a matchmaker between other lenders and SMEs. Only weeks ago, Lendingkart announced it raised $4.6 million from Anicut Capital LLP.