Investors Bolster Startups That Safeguard The Enterprise

Bento for Business, which offers small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) financial management tools, said that it garnered $9 million in investments led by Edison Partners, along with existing investor Comcast Ventures. The new funds will be used to boost staffing in marketing and engineering operations, with an eye, too, on growing its platforms geared toward payments and business banking,

In a statement, Farhan Ahmad, CEO and founder of Bento, stated that “time and again, research says that poorly managed business spend is the single largest threat to the profits of small and mid-sized businesses in the U.S. We solve this problem and bring our customers an intelligent financial management solution that stops unauthorized spending before it happens. We’re excited to bring new products to market that continue to set the standard for modern business banking and treasury management.”

The firm also offers open API, virtual and debit cards.

CashShield

In another example of funding funneled to firms focused on transactions, CashShield, which offers online fraud management solutions for mid- and large-sized enterprises, said it completed a Series B round of funding that brought in $20 million. The round was led by Temasek Capital and GGV Capital. Other investors included Tony Fadell (who has increased his stake in the firm) and Wavemaker Partners. The total funding to date now stands at more than $25 million.

CashShield has said it secures more than $5 billion of transactions annually. The firm stated in its release that online accounts and data can be sold for 60 times more via the dark web and, thus, hold more allure to fraudsters than simple credit card numbers. Funds will be used to strengthen end-to-end fraud technology efforts, said the company, with a focus on financial institutions (FIs) and government organizations.

Celonis

Separately, Celonis, as reported by Business Insider, also had a Series B funding round, with $50 million in place that brings the valuation of the firm to $1 billion.

The data mining company focuses on AI and machine learning, and aims to make companies operate with more efficiency. Using those technologies to conduct a “scan” of a firm, Celonis will offer recommendations on how, for example, to alleviate supply chain issues. The funding, said Celonis CEO Alexander Rinke to Business Insider, will be used as a “strategic war chest.”  In terms of expansion efforts, the firm will expand to more than 1,000 employees from 400 workers through the next year and a half.

Beyond U.S. shores, payroll startup and HR solutions provider PayrollPanda, based in Malaysia, grabbed $700,000 in funding from an investor group that includes family offices from Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. The company focus will remain on Malaysia until next year — and targets having 20,000 paying customers there within five years, up from more than 1,000 at present.

Arrive Logistics

Arrive Logistics, which operates a brokerage, notched Series A funding that had been led by Lead Edge Capital. Specific terms were undisclosed, but the company said this past week that the tally stood at over $10 million and now brings the cumulative amount to $15 million. Freightwaves reported that the company’s revenue was $145 million last year and is on track to log $330 million this year.

LeaseAccelerator

LeaseAccelerator, a software vendor for lease accounting, said it received a $30 million investment from Insight Venture Partners. The company said it has tripled revenues in the past year. Peter Sobiloff, who serves as managing director at Insight Venture Partners, will join the board. The company said that new accounting standards will mandate that firms must move leases onto their balance sheets — thus, opening up huge potential for LeaseAccelerator.