Tag Archives: startup

Star-Investor Yair Goldfinger ab sofort im Advisory Board des deutschen KI-Trading-Startups Velvet AutoInvest

LIMASSOL, Zypern, 14-Jun-2022 — /EPR FINANCIAL NEWS/ — Star-Investor und ICQ-Mitbegründer Yair Goldfinger ab sofort im Advisory Board des deutschen KI-Trading-Startups Velvet AutoInvest

  • Durch Funding von Investoren und Accelerator Programmen erreicht Velvet ein Seed-Investment von über 1,3 Mio. USD
  • Velvet erhält außerdem Funding und Auszeichnung durch HubSpot Accelerator
  • Fintech-Startup beschleunigt KI-Technologieentwicklung und Kundengewinnung

Das Fintech-Unternehmen Velvet Software Technologies erhält ein Seed-Investment in Höhe von 1,3 Mio. USD, sowie Unterstützung von Star-Investor Yair Goldfinger. Der ICQ-Mitbegründer sichert sich einen Platz im Advisory Board des in Stuttgart gegründeten Startups. Die Finanzierung erfolgte nach Zielerreichung von exponentiellem Kundenwachstums sowie starkem Performance-Ausbau der KI-basierten Velvet-Algorithmen. Neben dem Investment von mehreren Investoren wurde Velvet in die Microsoft und Hubspot Accelerator-Programme aufgenommen, im Rahmen derer sich das Fintech-Startup ein weiteres 6-stelliges Funding und Zugriff auf modernste KI-Infrastruktur sichern konnte.

Velvet Software Technologies bietet mit Velvet AutoInvest eine neue Art des Investierens für Privatanleger aller Erfahrungsstufen an. Mission ist es, Privatinvestoren mittels modernster Technologie eine Geldanlage bereitzustellen, die bislang hauptsächlich Hedgefonds vorbehalten ist. Der Handelsalgorithmus Velvet AutoInvest ist zur Ausführung seiner KI-basierten Trades an einen durch ASIC regulierten, international renommierten australischen Broker angebunden. Zur Nutzung von Velvet verbinden Kunden ihren zuvor beim Broker erstellen Account mit Velvet AutoInvest. Daraufhin werden die von der Velvet-KI automatisiert generierten Trades auf das Kundenkonto beim Broker übertragen.

Julius Franck-Oberaspach, CEO von Velvet: “Dass Velvet AutoInvest, ursprünglich für den Eigennutzen entwickelt, bereits nach kurzer Zeit so sehr Fahrt aufnimmt, ist für uns unglaublich. Velvet bietet Privatinvestoren an, mittels unserer KI-Algorithmen den fehleranfälligen, manuellen Investment-Prozess nun wie Investmentbanken zu automatisieren und zu optimieren. Die extreme Komplexität und Tiefe der am Finanzmarkt verfügbaren Informationen waren Ideenbringer zur Gründung von Velvet.”

“Velvet AutoInvest bietet ein für Privatpersonen in der Finanzwelt sehr revolutionäres, benutzerfreundliches Anlageprodukt: Die schlichte Verbindung zu einem KI-Algorithmus, der in seiner Komplexität normalerweise nur von institutionellen Anlegern verwendet wird. Privatanleger können technisch hochgerüstet und mit weitreichendem Risiko-Management damit wie Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan oder BlackRock am Finanzmarkt investieren”, ergänzt Jonathan R. Hirsch, CMO von Velvet.

Yair Goldfinger: „Für mich sind junge, talentierte und motivierte Teams, die unglaubliche Ergebnisse erzielen, der wichtigste Baustein in einem Unternehmen. Bei Velvet sehe ich das auf das nächste Level gehoben. Das Produkt, das sie entwickelt haben, ist einfach großartig. Ich verfolge den Markt seit Jahren sehr genau, aber etwas Vergleichbares zu dem, was Velvet anbietet, habe ich noch nie gesehen. Das Team hat in den letzten Monaten nicht nur eine herausragende Performance der KI-basierten Handelsalgorithmen erreicht, sondern es ebenso geschafft, daraus ein intuitives Produkt für Privatpersonen zu bauen – und nun steigt das Kundeninteresse explosionsartig. Diese Kombination aus Team-, Produkt- und Marktinteresse zeigen zweifelslos absolutes Potenzial für weiterhin exponentielles Wachstum des Startups.“

Mit der neu erhaltenen Liquidität wird Velvet sein Fintech-Angebot von der Integration bis hin zum Nutzererlebnis weiter optimieren und beschleunigt skalieren. Dazu zählt unter Anderem die Einstellung zusätzlicher Analyst*innen zur kontinuierlichen Weiterentwicklung der Handelsalgorithmen wie auch der Ausbau des Customer Supports Teams. Hinzu kommt der Einsatz fortschrittlicher CRMs, gesponsert vom HubSpot Startup Accelerator, zur weiteren Support-Automatisierung, um so für künftige Expansionen gerüstet zu sein.

Mit den Velvet-Strategien Blue, Ultra und dem Flaggschiff Pro verwenden Privatanleger KI-gestützte Anlagestrategien mit Zugriff auf einen breiten Diversifizierungsmix aus über 20 Finanzinstrumenten. Die Produkte folgen dabei unterschiedlichen Risikoprofilen und Renditechancen. Den Kern aller Velvet-Strategien bildet ein Random-Forest-Algorithmus für maschinelles Lernen, welcher Anhand von über 1.300 Datenpunkten mit sehr hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit Erwartungswerte verschiedener Handelstaktiken prognostiziert. Anhand dieser Prognose werden Handelsentscheidungen gewichtet und die Strategie flexibel an neue Marktverhältnisse angepasst. Ziel dabei ist der nachhaltige und kosteneffiziente Vermögensaufbau der angebundenen Accounts, mit aktivem Risikomanagement und Automatisierung. Aufgrund der Benutzerfreundlichkeit und des minimalen Eigenaufwands sind alle Velvet-Produkte speziell auf die Bedürfnisse von Privatanlegern ausgelegt und damit für Einsteiger wie auch für erfahrene Investoren gleichermaßen geeignet.

Neukunden erhalten bei Velvet AutoInvest einen kostenfreien Probemonat, in dem die automatisierten KI-Handelssignale ohne Berechnung einer Gewinnprovision getestet werden können. Nach Registrierung und Eröffnung des Broker-Accounts wird dieser mit der gewünschten Risikoklasse verbunden. Kunden behalten dabei jederzeit die volle Kontrolle und Transparenz über ihr Depot. Die Nutzung der AI-Software ist grundsätzlich kostenlos, Gebühren in Höhe von 15-25 % werden ausschließlich auf erzielte Renditen gezahlt und pro Monat abgerechnet. Velvet AutoInvest kann jederzeit ohne Kündigung deaktiviert werden.

Weitere Informationen zu Velvet Software Technologies und Velvet AutoInvest unter: https://www.vlvt.ai/de/

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Hong Kong’s Innovation and Technology Venture Fund part of insurtech startup Ignatica’s Pre-A round of financing

ZÜRICH, 7-Jul-2021 — /EPR FINANCIAL NEWS/ — Ignatica, the insurance policy administration platform that offers digital self-service and intelligent automation solutions for insurers, is excited to announce that the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund (ITVF) has become its strategic investor.

The ITVF is a HK$2 billion fund established in 2017 by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government to co-invest with selected venture capital funds in local innovation and technology (I&T) start-ups.

“Becoming a portfolio company of the ITVF is core to Ignatica’s love and commitment to Hong Kong and its burgeoning start-up and technology sector,” said Ignatica President and Co-Founder, Travis Callahan.

As the first insurtech investment made by the ITVF, Ignatica’s platform lets insurers quickly and efficiently build and launch new products at low cost, while drastically reducing administration costs and transforming the servicing experience for consumers.

“The investment aligns with the ITVF’s primary objective to support the development of I&T start-ups in Hong Kong. We look forward to supporting Ignatica’s innovative work that creates new markets and value for the insurance industry,” said an ITVF spokesperson.

As of July 7, 2021, the ITVF has invested US$1.75 million in Ignatica.

“As a lifelong Hong Konger, it means a great deal to me to enter into this partnership with the city,” said Ignatica CTO and Co-Founder Adhish Pendharkar. “Ignatica is a reflection of the diversity, innovation, and sense of community of Hong Kong.”

Ignatica’s suite of SaaS offerings allows insurance product managers to create and edit coverages and plans, dynamically adjust pricing, and change product configurations in seconds. They also enable servicing and back-office operations to be automated and pushed to the front edge for digital self-service for even the most complex insurance products.

“The ITVF is an ideal investor as we continue to scale our business globally,” said Manuel San Miguel, Ignatica’s CEO and Co-Founder. “It’s an honor to be chosen by the city’s own, premiere investment fund.”

“We welcome the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund to join as a co-investor of Ignatica. We believe Ignatica will be better positioned growing in the Hong Kong market, and in turn contributing to Hong Kong’s fintech industry,” said Ming Shu, Partner of Lingfeng Capital. “As the lead investor of the company’s Pre-A round of financing, we are very pleased to introduce Ignatica to the ITVF. Moving forward, we aspire to continue our post-investment value-add to our portfolio companies and together building the future of insurance technology in the Greater China region and beyond.”

ABOUT IGNATICA (www.ignatica.io/)

Ignatica was founded in 2018 by Manuel San Miguel, former Manulife CTO for APAC, fellow technology and insurance industry veteran, Adhish Pendharkar, and longtime C-suite executive and entrepreneur Travis Callahan. Its core platform technology enables insurers to profitably provide every person on the planet the type of insurance they need, at the price they can afford, with the service and speed that today’s customers expect.

ABOUT INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY VENTURE FUND (https://www.itf.gov.hk/en/funding-programmes/supporting-start-ups/itvf/)

The ITVF is a HK$2 billion fund established by the HKSAR Government in 2017 with a view to attracting more private capital to invest in local I&T start-ups, thereby creating a more vibrant I&T ecosystem in Hong Kong. The ITVF will co-invest with selected co-investment partners at a matching investment ratio of approximately 1 to 2.

ABOUT LINGFENG CAPITAL (www.lingfengcap.com/)

Lingfeng Capital is a growth capital private equity fund for the fintech sector in the Asia Pacific, particularly in the Greater China region. Its focus is on real applications and underlying tech for the finance industry. Its vision is to become the leading innovative tech fund management company and to facilitate growth and success for the next generation of entrepreneur-driven fintech companies.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

TABS Score™ adds TABS | EU Assessment to their Diligence-as-a-Service (#DaaS) platform

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., United States, 20-Jul-2020 — /EPR FINANCIAL NEWS/ — TABS Score™ has just deployed their newest addition to the suite of products available on their Diligence-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform – TABS | EU Assessment, (available in both Lite and Suite versions). The rollout was strategically timed to complement the rapidly increasing requests by TABS’ existing European (and those that focus on Europe as a market) customers, as there are quite a few differences in terms of rules, processes, and regulations that European ventures face differently than US-based startups. The new model entails the addition of several nested decision trees to augment the already-powerful nucleus of the Machine Learning algorithm, as well as a new ESG, regulatory, and analytics sections to properly address the differences between American and European resources, financing, policies, accounting practices and more. The EU version of the Assessment will mirror the US Assessment in functionality and output but will provide comparative analytics between them and their counterparts on the global market and allow companies to complete the Assessment in a language of their preference.

Mayflower Ventures, a micro-fund being formed by Wall Street Veteran Marshall Sterman, has already made the decision to integrate a Diligence-as-a-Service as part of their investment process which pitching to investors for the fund.

“Both the committed and prospective LPs love the fact that instead of asking for higher management fees to hire an analyst team in house, we are making smart lateral decisions to use a powerful software like TABS to strengthen and accompany our own internal diligence processes,” Sterman says.

As TABS expands to Europe and subsequently, their footprint across the globe, they will soon be modifying the assessment to meet the needs of ventures in other venture hotspots as well, the APAC region being the first. The comprehensiveness and ever-evolving nature of the TABS Score and its customizable solutions has made the Fin-Tech company one of the most sought-after Diligence-as-a-Service providers, with accolades coming from founders, investors, accelerators, and consultants (legal, accounting, fundraising, etc.)

TABS has already gained significant traction in the US markets, partially attributable to the Covid-19 virus and the cancellations of physical meetings. Engineered by successful serial entrepreneurs and veteran seed investors, the TABS Suite, which includes the TABS Score & Valuation assessment, has helped investors assess the viability of a business, significantly augmenting their diligence process in a fraction of the time and cost. Early-stage companies on the other hand increase the probability of attracting the attention of a potential investor by proactively going through the process.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Privus closes funding round led by Silicon Valley and New York-based Rubicon Venture Capital and by a highly regarded Toronto based investment firm

ZUG, Switzerland, 10-Oct-2018 — /EPR FINANCIAL NEWS/ — Privus announced today that it has closed a funding round led by Silicon Valley and New York-based Rubicon Venture Capital and by a highly regarded, Toronto based investment firm with a successful track record in business building and technology investment. The $635,000 raised also includes funding from existing investors and management and will be used to extend Privus’s enterprise software portfolio and commercial footprint, as well as to meet growing demand for its SecurLine Cloud and TurnKey solutions, in line with the company’s government and corporate focus.

SecurLine, Privus’s flagship solution, employs open-source, state-of-the-art, peer-to-peer encryption to ensure the security, privacy and quality of communications between users. SecurLine is offered on an annual, prepaid basis for unlimited use as a cloud-based application, and as a tailored, on-premise solution, allowing clients to manage their own private network. SecurLine is available for download directly from the App Store or Google Play.

“We are focused on privacy first and foremost and have developed the company and its products on that basis. That investors of the calibre of Rubicon have joined Privus is a testament to the quality of our products and to our long-term vision,” stated Henrique Corrêa da Silva, Founder and CEO of Privus. Luis Lavradio, Founder and CFO added, “I am delighted with the success of this round and that we have been able to add two new investors that complement and strengthen an already exceptional shareholder base. They will both actively reinforce our ability to open new markets and grow our business.”

Andrew Romans, General Partner of Rubicon Venture Capital said, “I was introduced to Privus by an old friend as a blockchain-based start-up, with strong existing technology that is hard to replicate and is already generating meaningful enterprise revenue that we see growing very quickly. At Rubicon we share Privus’s vision that communications should be private and free from interference or geofencing, a vision that also makes great business sense. We use SecurLine on a daily basis to ensure our business and personal calls are kept private, and look forward to the roll out of the Privum network, which will allow anyone to access the Internet privately and securely, regardless of where they happen to be. On the treasure map of blockchain and cyber-security start-ups we place a large X on Privus.”

The long-term orientation of the Canadian principal investment firm, as well as its extensive global business network, will underpin Privus’s ability to focus on building a world-class enterprise platform with privacy and digital security at its core, and consolidate its position as a global reference in privacy and digital security.

SOURCE: EuropaWire