Participated · Series F · Jul 2023

Solaris is a Berlin-based provider of an embedded finance and Banking-as-a-Service platform. Founded in 2015 and led by CEO Carsten Höltkemeyer, it offers a proprietary modular B2B tech stack and a scalable licensing system that enables partners from large global non-financial corporations to fintechs to deliver financial services. The company raised €140M in a Series G financing led by SBI Group and Boerse Stuttgart Group, with participation from a diverse group of investors and strategic partners. Solaris said it will use the funds to support its operations and accelerate its ability to seize market opportunities. This round follows a March 2024 Series F that raised €96m in equity and secured financial guarantees of up to €100m. Those prior funds were used to migrate the ADAC credit card program in September 2024 and to further strengthen the platform. Solaris provides white-label banking services as a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform. The fintech has faced industry challenges and recently implemented dramatic job cuts. Reports said the company was urgently seeking between €100m and €150m amid concerns it was running out of money. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was convened to consider urgent financing and, if necessary, a proposal to wind up the business. Solaris announced it has secured fresh funding and described the step as important for a long-term, sustainable financing solution. The company said it will finalise agreements with its investors in the coming days. Solaris is a Banking‑as‑a‑Service pioneer that developed a proprietary modular B2B tech stack and scalable licensing system for partners. Its platform enables large non‑financial companies and fintechs to offer customer‑centric financial products. Solaris is banking‑ and EMI‑licensed and focuses on cards, accounts and lending. The company employs more than 750 people across ten locations in Europe and India and reported net revenues of €130 million in 2022. Solaris plans to enhance partners' product offerings, make regulatory compliance a USP, and invest in platform resilience as it scales. Management frames the strategy around sustainable, profitable growth and extending market leadership. Solaris provides a banking-as-a-service/embedded finance platform used by customers including Samsung, American Express and Coinbase. Its platform exposes roughly 400 APIs across banking and card services, payments, lending, ID verification and digital currencies. The company rebranded from Solarisbank to Solaris in July 2022 and is working to integrate its Contis acquisition to fully exploit its product platform. Solaris reported €130 million in revenue for 2022, a 30% increase, but posted a €56 million loss that year and has been cutting costs to improve efficiency. Leadership changed with Carsten Höltkemeyer becoming CEO in April after Roland Folz stepped down; COO Chloé Mayenobe also left and the role will not be refilled. The company says first-half results show promise of profitability, while it focuses on simplifying operations and concentrating on core products. Solarisbank provides embedded banking via an API-first platform of about 180 APIs that power basic banking, cards, lending, payments and know‑your‑customer services for third parties. Its customers include Trade Republic, American Express, BP, Samsung and Vivid, and it serves roughly 50 partners covering about 2 million customer accounts. The company posted net revenues of €35 million in 2020 and has been growing at 40–60% annually; management says the combined entity will produce "triple‑digit euros" in revenue (hundreds of millions). Solarisbank holds banking licences for Europe and e‑money licences in Lithuania and the U.K., and runs its stack on AWS. Near‑term plans include expanding coverage across Europe, using the Contis acquisition to broaden European reach and making early moves into Asia, with no current plans to enter the U.S. The company says it could be in a position to go public next year if it chooses.

Participated · Equity · Jan 2021

Elinvar is a Berlin-based asset and wealth management platform that connects banks, portfolio managers, third-party providers (such as market data and KYC services) and end clients. Its platform digitises operations including client onboarding, relationship management, onsite advisory support, reporting and invoicing. Founded in 2016, the company has grown to more than 100 employees and opened a second office in Magdeburg. The firm raised €25 million to fuel further expansion; the round was led by Toscafund Asset Management and joined by existing shareholders Ampega Asset Management, finleap and Goldman Sachs, and is subject to BaFin approval. Elinvar plans to expand the business while developing the product to support increasingly complex business models and more self-customisation options. The raise comes as the wealth management sector undergoes digital transformation, positioning Elinvar to capture demand for integrated, digitised services.

Participated · Equity · Mar 2020

Penta is a digital business-banking platform that lets companies apply for business accounts with German IBANs, issue debit cards for expense management, and access other financial services. The company targets small and medium-sized enterprises and markets its product set to streamline business banking. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Berlin, Penta also maintains offices in Milan and Belgrade. CEO Marko Wenthin said the new capital will be used to accelerate growth in Germany and to continue developing the product offering for SMEs. Financially, Penta has closed its Series B at a total of €22.5 million following an additional €4 million tranche; the company previously raised more than €8 million in August 2019. Penta is a Berlin-headquartered business banking challenger that provides banking services for small and medium-sized enterprises and also operates in Italy. It offers fully digital account opening, multiple payment cards with staff-specific limits and permissions, expense management, and integrations with popular accounting tools. The company partners with SumUp to enable offline businesses to order card readers via Penta, save on setup fees, and integrate SumUp-powered payments with their Penta accounts. In April 2019 Penta was acquired by Finleap, which remains a major stakeholder; Penta is also a customer of banking platform solarisBank. The company has offices in Milan and Belgrade in addition to its Berlin headquarters and has undergone leadership change with Marko Wenthin replacing co-founder Lav Odorović as CEO. Penta continues to expand its SME banking product through partnerships and market growth efforts. Penta provides business banking services and a financial platform tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company was founded in 2016 and was recently acquired by fintech company builder Finleap. Penta has a team of more than 50 and operates from offices in Berlin, Belgrade and Milan, the latter added after a merger with Italian micro-business banking startup Beesy. Leadership changed after the acquisition, with Marko Wenthin — a former co‑founder of solarisBank — replacing co‑founder Lav Odorović as CEO. The company is thought to have had more than €18 million invested since inception, including a €7 million Series A in late 2018, and has now secured over €8 million in additional funding. Management says the new capital will be used to invest in product and partnerships and to push internationalisation, starting with Italy. Penta provides a digital business bank account targeting small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany, built on solarisBank's Banking-as-a-Platform rather than holding its own license. Its product includes features aimed at simplifying SME banking and expense management, notably multi-card support called 'Team Access' that issues multiple MasterCards with customizable rules and permissions per employee. Penta launched in Germany in December and pitches itself against incumbent banks by streamlining account opening and lowering fees for payments and international exchange. The company has grown to a team of 40 and plans to expand to 100 employees over the next year. Operating metrics in the article show 68 percent of new customers are switching from existing business bank accounts and 40 percent are newly incorporated businesses. Financially, Penta has raised funding to date and continues to invest in product and team expansion. Penta offers a digital bank account designed to meet the banking needs of small and medium-sized businesses, including startups. It runs on top of Banking-as-a-Platform solarisBank rather than holding its own banking license. The product includes features for tracking employee spending, automating accounting and invoicing, low-cost FX and multiple MasterCards with configurable limits and permissions. Penta plans to launch a marketplace integrating third-party fintechs and service providers to extend its product set. The company launched publicly in Beta to businesses in Germany in December after operating a wait list. It offers free account opening and 10 free transactions per month, with subsequent transactions charged at €0.10 each.

Participated · Series A · Nov 2018

ELEMENT is a German insurtech founded in 2017 that offers cloud-based, white-label non-life insurance products for companies to market under their own brands. The company holds a license from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) as a direct insurer for non-life insurance. ELEMENT provides its insurance products as white-label solutions that partner companies sell under their own branding. According to reporting, ELEMENT was initially seeking to raise €100 million. The startup has raised €50 million in the most recent round from Versorgungswerk der Zahnärztekammer Berlin K.d.ö.R. and Alma Mundi. Prior to this round, the company had raised nearly $100 million. ELEMENT is a Berlin-based insurtech founded in 2016 that builds white‑label digital insurance products which partners market under their own brands. The company holds a full insurer license in 28 European countries and can act as risk carrier, covering most of the insurance value chain. ELEMENT has implemented products for over fifteen partners and its fully digital approach enables development of policies for specific target groups in a matter of weeks. Current solutions include Versicherung09 (homeowner’s and liability combo for German football fans with SIGNAL IDUNA), a flight delay policy with FairPlane, cyber insurance, and warranty extensions. ELEMENT raised €23 million in a Series A to strengthen its platform and network. With the new capital it plans to accelerate platform development, automate relevant functions to roll out products faster, expand into new industries, and enter its first international markets in 2019.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2016

Billfront provides accelerated revenue—advancing outstanding payments—to digital media companies, publishers, and app developers, enabling weekly access to cash flow. The company operates as a fintech platform that advances revenue against outstanding invoices. It was cofounded by Gregor Dimitriou and Christopher Vogt at the FinLeap incubator in Berlin and is German‑founded with offices in London. Billfront plans to use the new funds to further build out its technology and to double its headcount from its current team of 17. The startup is in the midst of forming a partnership with Berlin fintech solarisBank. Prior to this round it raised €1.2 million in a seed round last year.