Alternative finance, cybersecurity and logistics providers landed the majority of the more than $205 million in funding placed for B2B startups in venture capital and debt. Investment rounds flowed through the U.S., Canada, Africa and Israel this week, with appearances from B2B payments, payroll and artificial intelligence (AI) players. This week’s B2B startup rounds are highlighted below.
Alternative Lending
Cerebro Capital
Targeting middle-market corporate borrowers, Cerebro Capital offers a marketplace platform for businesses and lenders to source and manage credit facilities. The U.S. company announced Series A funding this week, though it didn’t reveal exactly how much it secured from Sterling Partners. In addition to the investment, Cerebro also revealed its platform has so far helped to facilitate more than $1 billion in corporate loans. In addition to helping businesses access financing, Cerebro noted it provides borrowers with analytical data to enhance transparency in the corporate lending process. With the funding, the firm said it plans to focus on scaling its marketplace, enhancing its infrastructure to handle more complex transactions and expanding sales, marketing and engineering teams.
The largest investment round of the week goes to Wunder Capital, a U.S. company that provides financing to businesses that want to install solar technologies. The company raised $112 million in debt and equity financing for its service that connects institutional investors to businesses that need financing. The Series B investment was led by Cyrus Capital Partners while Techstars Ventures also participated; 90 percent of the round comes in the form of debt, reports said this week.
B2B Payments
With $4.5 million in Series B funding, Africa FinTech MFS Africa will focus on expanding its ePayments services throughout the continent. The company provides electronic and mobile cross-border payment services for both consumers and businesses; MFS Africa’s tool enables multinational corporates to transact with customers that use an array of mobile wallet solutions, including Vodafone, Orange and Airtel. LUN Partners Group led the investment, which also saw participation from Goodwell Investments and angel investors, reports this week said.
Payroll
Instant Financial, based in Canada, provides employees access to earned wages in real time. The company announced $11.4 million in Series A funding for its solution, which will be used to focus on customer acquisition, product innovation and market penetration across North America. The company said more than 275,000 workers currently use Instant Financial; in addition to helping employees better manage their cash flow and financials, its solution supports employee retention and satisfaction for employers. TTV Capital, based in the U.S., led the investment, reports said.
Logistics
U.S.-based logistics startup project44 announced $35 million in Series A funding this week for its logistics solution. The company said OpenView led the investment, which also saw 8VC, Emergence Capital, Omidyar Technology Ventures, Chicago Ventures and Pritzker Group Venture Capital participate. The startup provides services to an array of large logistics players, including GE Transportation and Worldwide Express, linking clients with shipment data and transparency supply chain visibility to better manage pricing, scheduling, tracking, documents and payments.
Cybersecurity
Israel’s empow announced $10 million in Series B funding led by Ascent Venture Partners, reports this week said. The company provides cybersecurity solutions to businesses. With the investment, it plans to focus on global sales, marketing and finance. The company targets middle-market firms and large enterprises with its artificial intelligence- and machine learning-fueled solution that identifies and responds to security threats.
U.S.-based Onapsis announced $31 million in Series C funding led by LLR Partners, while .406 Ventures, Evolution Equity Partners and Arsenal Venture Partners also participated, reports in VentureBeat said. The company provides cybersecurity solutions for ERP and enterprise applications like SAP and Oracle Financials. With the funds, Onapsis said it plans to focus on growth via sales and marketing efforts.
Artificial Intelligence
A $1.25 million Series A-2 funding round will help DimensionalMechanics expand its B2B service that links the enterprise to artificial intelligence development tools. The company offers a suite of solutions on a development platform, allowing corporates to build their own AI solutions. Reports in FinSMEs did not say who provided the funding, however.
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