UK FinTech Tide Closes $100M Funding Deal At $650M Valuation

U.K. FinTech Tide raised $100 million in an oversubscribed Series C funding round that gives the startup a post-money valuation topping $650 million. The funding was led by Apax Digital Fund, with participation by existing investors Anthemis, Augmentum, Jigsaw, Local Globe / Latitude, SBI, and SpeedInvest.

Oliver Prill, Tide CEO, said in a press release on Monday (July 12) that the investment by Apax Digital “validates Tide’s potential” to expand internationally and become a “leading global business financial platform.”

Tide has maintained a steady growth trajectory since launching in 2017 and during the pandemic saw rapid expansion that more than doubled its user base. The company has raised over $200 million to date and serves some 6 percent of businesses in the U.K.  Tide offers digital financial services for SMEs, including payments, accounting, and more, according to the release.

“Small businesses are a key pillar of the economy. Yet, for years, they have been underserved by both financial services and software providers,” according to Mark Beith, Partner at Apax Digital and Niccolò Ferragamo, Principal at Apax Digital. “Tide’s cutting-edge platform is empowering SMEs by providing frictionless, easy-to-use software for their financial needs.”

Headquartered in London, Tide now has over 350,000 members and more than 400,000 business accounts. The startup has its sights set on India and expects to fully launch there in 2022. The fresh round of capital will be used to grow Tide’s platform, market share, and continue its cross-border expansion, per the release. Tide also earned close to $120 million in grants in partnership with ClearBank from the RBS Alternative Remedies Package.

Tide started moving into India at the end of last month and already has a workforce of 200 in place in the country. The company is planning to onboard some 25,000 SMEs this year with the goal of serving 2 million small businesses there. The company plans to initially focus on SMEs looking to go digital.