Cybersecurity, Recruiting Tech Lead B2B VC

U.S.-based B2B FinTechs led the way in this week’s investment roundup, with more than $212 million in new funding falling in the hands of startups targeting a range of enterprise operations. Accounts payable, cloud migration, Big Data and even legal management for startups raising new funding were all targeted among investors. But the larger, later-stage investment rounds focused on enterprise cybersecurity and talent recruitment — plus, rumors of upcoming funding could propel a commercial card startup to a $2 billion valuation.

SeedLegals

U.K.-based SeedLegals is in the startup funding business, but it’s not exactly an alternative lending FinTech. The company instead operates a platform that enables startups to plan and manage their own funding rounds — including compliance and legal document management. SeedLegals also enables startups to top up their funding between rounds via its platform. The company closed a $4 million Series A investment round led by Index Ventures, reports in TechCrunch said, while Kima Ventures, The Family and Seedcamp also participated.

Crowdz

Accounts receivable and invoicing company Crowdz announced a $5.5 million Series A investment round, which it plans to use to deploy its Invoice Exchange platform, the company said in a press release. Crowdz is developing a blockchain platform that enables B2B vendors to submit invoices, receive payment and sell invoices for financing. Investors at Barclays Bank and BOLD Capital Partners led the investment, while TFX Capital Partners, Techstars Ventures and First Derivates also participated. In addition to focusing on the deployment of its platform, Crowdz said it will use the cash for marketing, sales and to grow its team. In an interview with PYMNTS earlier this week, Crowdz discussed the role of promoting AR technology adoption by working with the legacy systems and tools already in-place within the back-office, including paper invoices and checks.

Agosto

As a Google Cloud Platform Partner, Agosto helps enterprises deploy and manage Google Cloud products via technological training, migration services from legacy systems to the cloud and administrative support. The company raised $6.5 million in capital led by Bridge Bank and SG Credit Partners, according to a press release issued this week, and will use the funding to continue its growth plan and go-to-market strategy. Agosto said it will add to its sales and marketing team, and promote its Skykit content management system solution.

Roger.ai

Accounting automation solution provider Roger.ai announced $7.25 million in new funding this week, according to a press release. The company aims to accelerate and automate corporate financial processes through its technology that operates on top of companies’ existing accounting solutions, augmenting their accounts payable, invoice approvals, receipt data scanning and capture, compliance and bookkeeping processes. Targeting the small to medium-sized business (SMB) arena, Roger plans to continue focusing on connecting SMBs with financial automation technologies via the Series A funding. The funding was provided by QED Investors, 9Yards Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Financial Venture Studio, BootstrapLabs and former QuickBooks GM Dan Wenikoff, the company said.

xtraCHEF

Part of the growing community of restaurant FinTechs, xtraCHEF offers a back-office business management platform for industry players, connecting restaurants with a range of apps including electronic invoicing, supplier onboarding and integration into accounting platforms, food spend analytics, cash management and procurement. The company announced in a blog post this week it raised $7.5 million from MVP Capital Partners, while ValueStream Ventures and Laconia Capital Group also participated in the venture capital round. The company plans to use the funding to “innovate on behalf of foodservice operators,” with a focus on back-office transparency, technology access for restaurants, user experience and further investment in artificial intelligence.

BigTime Software

Enterprise Software-as-a-Service company BigTime Software closed a $14 million growth equity round, announced this week, with investors at private equity firm Wavecrest Growth Partners leading the funding. MassMutual Ventures and Migration Capital also participated, with BigTime planning to use to funding to strengthen its position in the SaaS market. The firm connects businesses with integrating project management solutions for the professional services space, including budgeting, tracking and management, and invoicing. BigTime said it will grow its senior management team, strengthen investment in sales and marketing efforts and accelerate product development.

AttackIQ

Operating an ecosystem that enables organizations and their security teams to obtain greater insight into complex cyberattacks, AttackIQ announced a $17.6 million Series B funding round this week led by Khosla Ventures and existing backers Index Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Telstra Ventures, HelpNetSecurity reports said. AttackIQ plans to deploy the investment to further develop its security validation platform and hire new staff.

Equalum

Based in Israel and California, Equalum targets data silos by enabling the enterprise to more seamlessly move data throughout their organizations by aiding data consolidation and enabling real-time analytics. The company raised $18 million in Series B funding, it said in a press release this week, with investors at Planven leading the round. United Ventures, Innovation Endeavors and GE Ventures also participated. Equalum will use the investment to expand its operations across Europe and grow its channel and technology partner network, it said.

SmartRecruiters

In today’s tight labor market, hiring and retaining staff is a significant challenge for U.S. businesses. SmartRecruiters has just announced a $50 million Series D investment round for its platform, which digitizes and streamlines the hiring process for organizations. Insight Partners led the round, while Mayfield Fund and Rembrandt Venture Partners also participated, Pulse 2.0 reports said. SmartRecruiters will use the investment to accelerate its product development with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, as well as to expand across Asia Pacific and Europe.

BlueVoyant

Investors continue to fuel the growth of the enterprise cybersecurity market as cyber concerns grow. The latest funding round landed with BlueVoyant, which this week announced an $82.5 million Series B funding round provided by a range of investors, including Fiserv. BlueVoyant deploys data analytics to identify and mitigate cyber threats; the company said it will use the funding to accelerate product development of its cloud cybersecurity platform.

Brex

While it’s not yet confirmed, startup commercial card company Brex is reportedly looking to raise more venture capital in a deal that sources told Bloomberg would propel the company’s valuation to $2 billion. The investment, which sources said is provided by Kleiner Perkins, would follow previous funding for Brex earlier this year that landed the firm with a valuation of $1.1 billion — though, reports noted, any deal could change and investment talks are ongoing.