Global
Fintech VCs: 23 startup investors you need to know
Maxim Leer
With an academic foundation from the University of St. Gallen, Maxim brings extensive experience in strategy and entrepreneurship to the venture capital ecosystem. His career journey includes roles in the strategy departments of Siemens and Daimler, tenure at a Swiss strategy consulting boutique, and entrepreneurial endeavors. Most recently, Maxim served as Venture Building Director at Morrow Ventures, the venture-building arm of Jung von Matt in Switzerland. As a certified Board Member, currently, Maxim holds board (observer) seats at multiple high-growth companies, including Yokoy, Fundcraft, Obligate, RaiseNow, Vestr, Taina, and Anapaya.
There are many fintech VCs out there. But to increase your chances of securing funding, you ideally want to work with the VC that matches your growth stage, tech niche, and geographic location.
I’m an investment manager at Tenity and, in this guide, I’ll focus on VC funds that specialise in financial technology. I’ll share 23 fintech VC firms that support startups working across the different sectors, segments, and pain points within the financial industry. I’ll cover:
Looking to grow your fintech startup? Get in touch with us.
23 top fintech VCs for your startup
1. Tenity
At Tenity, we’re a global innovation system and early-stage investor focused entirely on fintech and financial services. We’ve been active since 2016, when we launched as part of SIX, the Swiss Stock Exchange.
Today, we manage two funds:
- SIX Fintech Ventures, the CVC of SIX Group
- Tenity Ventures, which receives investment from major financial corporates, including Generali, UBS, SIX, and Julius Baer.
We’re one of the most active fintech investors globally. In 2023, we closed 43 deals with pre-seed fintechs, and over the years we’ve distributed over €350 million in funding to over 300 alumni.
We primarily work with early-stage startups, whether at the ideation or pre-revenue stage. And that’s why we also run accelerator programmes. To access funding via the Tenity Ventures fund, you’ll need to participate in an accelerator, through which you can access grants of €50,000 or investments up to €100,000, in exchange for 2.5% equity.
Something that makes us stand out is that we’re actively working with financial corporates on a daily basis. Through our accelerators, we’ve facilitated over 100 successful collaborations between startups and incumbents. And this network allows us to give startups access to a wide range of diverse mentors, for industry-specific knowledge and guidance.
You can apply to our accelerator programmes here or find out more about how we work as a fintech VC below.
2. EquityPitcher
EquityPitcher is a VC that also invests in fintech based in Zurich that focuses its investments in the DACH region (Deutschland, Austria, and Switzerland). It’s known for being a very active investor, with a focus on early-growth startups, from series A onward.
This VC proudly emphasises its connections with an active network of investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. It works with a wide range of companies in different industries and sectors, enabling startups to learn from various players.
Contact them via their website.
3. Earlybird
Earlybird was founded in 1997 and has offices in Berlin and Munich. It’s less specialised on any particular growth phase than EquityPitcher, as it offers support to startups of all development phases. It too is highly active though, having made 34 investments of up to €10 million in 2024.
Earlybird has four different funds for startups in different regions and industries, including Digital East for Eastern Europe and Turkey, and the Health Fund. But alongside investment it offers strategic support and access to an international network.
4. TX Ventures
Another fintech VC based in Zurich is TX Ventures. It’s focused on the DACH region as well as the wider European area.
TX Ventures is fintech-specific, working across proptech, insurtech, and digital assets. And its particularly interested series A funding rounds, of between one and five million Swiss francs.
At Tenity, we’ve worked with TX Ventures ourselves, as they’ve invested into some of the alumni of our accelerator programmes.
5. 3VC
3VC is based in Vienna and is interested in working with teams and startups in the DACH region, central and eastern Europe, and the Baltics. This venture fund invests in series A and later, with funding rounds with a value of €2-20 million.
Its approach is highly selective and it only invests in three or four startups a year. Specifically, it’s looking for companies that are “committed to solving significant global challenges through software”.
Something to be aware of is that 3VC measures the ESG performance of all its investments, so you’ll need to perform strongly in that regard.
If it feels like a good fit, submit a pitch.
6. Middlegame Ventures
Middlegame is headquartered in Luxembourg, but it has offices in Dublin, London, and Washington DC. Still, despite the geographic spread of its locations, it has an investment focus on European startups.
Middlegame has €300 million invested in 40+ companies. With an exclusive interest in financial services innovation, it has a specific niche. The technologies it’s looking to invest in specifically are open finance, blockchain and crypto, automated financial data, and ESG.
7. Left Lane
Left Lane is based between New York and London.
It’s interested in “high-growth internet and consumer technology companies driving the digitization of the real economy”. That means it doesn’t just invest in fintech companies, but in AI, edtech, IoT, and healthcare startups—and much more.
Alongside the investment, Left Lane will also support you with other aspects of your startup growth, including customer acquisition and organisational design and recruitment. It also holds regular networking events.
Reach out to them through their website.
8. SpeedInvest
SpeedInvest is a Europe-based VC, with offices in Berlin, London, Paris, Munich, and Vienna. However, its investments are global, having invested in more than 300 startups in over 40 nations since 2011.
It invests in startups at seed, series A, and series B stages, and offers investment ticket sizes of between €250,000 and €15 million. And while it works with many fintech brands, it also invests in deeptech, climatetech, and SaaS brands too.
9. AlbionCapital
Having been in operation since 1996, AlbionCapital is a longstanding London-based VC. Over the years, it’s backed over 200 companies and has seen over 100 exits.
Today, it has a fund managing investments worth £1 billion. Its focus is on deeptech, software, healthcare, and infrastructure business models.
Contact AlbionCapital for more information.
10. Swisscom Ventures
As the venture capital arm of Swisscom AG, the leading telecom and IT provider in Switzerland, Swisscom Ventures is understandably Swiss-focused. It has offices across the country, in Zurich, Bern, and Lausanne.
It has invested in over 80 companies and has $650 million in assets under management. It invests in eight to 10 new companies each year for a total volume of $50-100 million per annum.
New investments are across the full life-cycle of startups. Minority fintech investments typically range from $1 million per company at early stage, up to $20 million in growth rounds.
Send Swisscom Ventures a message here.
11. Index Ventures
Index Ventures is an investment firm based in London, New York, and San Francisco. It’s not just a fintech VC, but supports all kinds of companies at early-stage and late-stage.
It is committed to a personal approach that’s supportive of founders and entrepreneurs. So, it’s not just about investment, but about all-round support for startups.
Get in touch via the Index Ventures website.
12. S&P
Based in New York, S&P is a stock market that tracks the performance of the biggest US companies. It also has a VC fund that invests globally in a range of different tech fields, including in EV, cyber, and decentralised finance (DeFi) brands.
S&P also works specifically with early-stage and smaller growth-stage companies that have validated products as well as an identified key customer. It targets minority investments of a value up to $10 million.
Submit details of your startup to S&P.
13. UBS Next
The Swiss bank UBS has a venture arm—UBS Next—focusing on the fintech sector and enterprise technology. It focuses on investments in themes that it believes can best support its client, including hyperpersonalisation, DeFi, sustainability and impact, and future wealth.
UBS regularly partners with Tenity, both for our VC arm and our accelerator programmes.
Get in touch via their website.
14. FiveT Fintech
FiveT is a Swiss investment company that’s based in Zurich. It’s been investing in fintech since 2016 and has a specific fintech fund, FiveT Fintech. But it has other funds that focus on carbon markets (FiveT Emissionzero), clean hydrogen (FiveT Hydrogen), and cleantech (FiveT Capital).
In general, its approach is to support startups with impact. If that’s you, it could be a good fit.
Reach out to them here.
15. ClearSky
Based in Florida, ClearSky focuses on startups in North America and Asia. It works with a range of different-sized startups, from early- to late-stage companies.
That said, it’s specifically looking for startups that offer tech solutions for the energy transition and cybersecurity. For instance, it’s interested in decarbonisation, network security, and cloud security startups.
While it’s not specifically focused on fintech, then, it still works with promising relevant fintechs.
Contact ClearSky via their website.
16. Balderton
Balderton is based in London and focused on European startups. It’s backed over 250 companies since its inception in 2000 and has raised $5.7 billion to invest over that time.
Rather than being just a VC, though, Balderton offers a holistic approach to supporting startups. It brings together over 500 executives for networking from across the portfolio and offers founders support in health, fitness, and nutrition, along with executive coaching and peer-to-peer support.
17. Sequoia
Based in California, Sequoia is one of the most active venture funds in the world. It has supported some of the biggest tech companies ever, including Apple, Google, WhatsApp, Reddit, AirBnb, and more.
Sequoia invests in companies from seed-stage up that it sees as having promise to define markets and create new business categories. But it sees itself less as a VC than as a “partner”, as it offers additional support alongside investment.
Find out more at Sequoia’s website.
18. Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer has a global presence, with eight offices from San Francisco to Bangalore. It invests in startups in any sector, including fintech, however its emphasis is always on companies that have the capacity to disrupt their industry.
Currently, Bessemer has a portfolio of more than 200 companies, with over $20 billion of assets under management. It’s active in both early- and late-stage venture investments, with the Flagship fund for early-stage startups specifically. The Forge fund invests in software-enabled businesses globally.
19. A16z
Andreessen Horowitz—or A16z for short—is a VC fund based in California. It’s stage-agnostic, working with technology companies from seed to venture to growth-stage. And it has $44 billion in committed capital across multiple funds.
A16z is not exclusively interested in working with fintech, as it has investments in AI, bio and healthcare, crypto, games, and infrastructure startups too.
20. Redalpine
Based in Zurich and Berlin, Redalpine funds companies across Europe. In fact, it’s fairly known as one of the most experienced VCs on the continent.
Redalpine is invested in over 100 companies, including successful brands such as Klarna and N26. Its focus alongside fintech is on AI, the energy revolution, automation, mobility, health tech, and biotech.
21. B2Venture
Another highly experienced European venture investor, B2Venture has offices in Berlin, Munich, Luxembourg, St Gallen, and Zurich. Its emphasis is on the German-speaking area known as DACH.
It’s primarily an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in companies in the pre-seed, seed, and series A financing rounds. The average ticket size typically amounts to €1 million, but can range from €250,000 to €5 million.
22. CVVC
Based in Zug, Switzerland, Crypto Valley VC (or CVVC) is a VC that specifically invests in blockchain. It offers seed funding as well as accelerator programmes.
Since 2018 when it was officially founded, CVVC has worked with 1,000 blockchain companies and has produced 12 unicorns.
23. Polytech
Polytech is a Swiss VC that invests in fintech, insurtech, proptech, healthtech, and ecommerce brands. It also supports you to build your startup, by helping you develop your business concept, connecting you with funding, and supporting you to create a mentor network.
If you don’t need support with building your startup, you could alternatively benefit from their advisory services.
Reach out to Polytech Ventures.
How you can benefit from Tenity’s fintech VC
While there are many VCs out there, there are few that are focused specifically on fintech. At Tenity, we’re a VC, startup accelerator, and global innovation system that’s fully committed to fintech and financial services.
In this section, we’ll share three reasons why you should consider working with Tenity for VC funding.
1. You’ll access the right form of investment for your fintech startup
If you’re a fintech, it can take a lot of effort to find the right funding opportunities for you. That’s why, at Tenity, we offer a range of funds as a VC.
Firstly, we hold the advisory mandate for SIX Fintech Ventures, the CVC for the SIX Stock Exchange. This is a corporate venture capital fund worth 50 million CHF that invests in global early-stage startups. It supports small and highly scalable independent companies that can grow on their own.
Alternatively, you can join one of our accelerator programmes and access funding via the Tenity Incubation Fund. It’s one of the most active pre-seed fintech VCs in Europe and Singapore. We focus on fintechs in EMEA and APAC and have closed 101 deals in 2023 and 2024. So far, we’ve distributed over $380 million in funding to over 300 alumni.
We have a dedicated pre-seed programme that offers $70,000 in investment in exchange for 2.5% in equity. Or startups that have already launched can access equity-free programmes, with options for follow-up funding through the Tenity Deal.
Whether we work as an accelerator or a VC, we can provide you with the investment you need at the right time for you.
2. You’ll work with mentors from across the corporate world
We don’t just offer investment. Our mission is to help fintech startups grow to their full potential.
To make that happen, we’ve built a huge network of experts from across the financial industry, whose knowledge you can access and learn from. For instance, we connect startups to the 120 banks that contribute to the SIX Fintech Ventures fund, to create proofs-of-concept, and to test products.
These are corporates that we’re working with daily—we don’t just say this as a marketing cliche. In our hubs across the world, we’re continually running accelerator programmes with the likes of UBS, Julius Baer, Generali, Franklin Templeton, and more.
Plus, we have connections outside of the VC world, with technology leaders such as ETH Zurich, where lots of startups are founded by professors.
3. You’ll benefit from our local and global presence
Another aspect of our practice that sets Tenity apart from other fintech VCs is where we operate.
Most VCs have a specific location, which means that they may have deep knowledge but a limited reach. Or they may be completely location non-specific, which allows them a wider portfolio but may mean they have less-specific knowledge of local conditions.
In contrast, at Tenity, we have local hubs all over the world—for instance, in Zurich, Madrid, Tallinn, Singapore, and Istanbul. This gives us very local knowledge of a wide range of different geographical regions, and it enables us to support you to grow in the ecosystems that you’re operating in.
Plus, it provides you with the opportunity and connections you need to grow in future, as well as regulatory assistance in specific localities. And, during an accelerator, or after investment, you can also get to know other investors that may want to invest in your startup in future.
Reach out to us for fintech venture capital
In this guide, we’ve shared 23 different fintech VCs that can support your startup—no matter your financial product or growth stage.
If you’re looking for early-stage funding, get in touch with us at Tenity. We can provide support for your startup via the SIX Ventures Fund or Tenity Ventures. Alternatively, join an accelerator to access support from industry-leading mentors and investors.
Ready to hear more? Reach out to us.
