Which Are the Best VC Firms for FinTech Startups?

Venture capital (VC) investors give a helping hand to startups. Thousands of entrepreneurs ask famous experts for the money they need to grow and develop their startups. In this article, we reveal the most trusted VC firms that pour money into financial startups in the US, Europe, and Canada. 

But before we name the most trusted VC FinTech investors in these regions, let’s make sure you know precisely what venture capital firms are and what they do.

What are venture capital firms?

Venture capitalists are asset funders who provide money to young organizations that show solid growth. Additionally, VC investors assist companies by providing useful advice, connecting them with influential people, and helping them effectively establish internal processes. 

In return, VC investors get an ownership stake in the company and are liable to have a say in vital company decisions. Dealing with VC funders has both pros and cons. Here are the main ones you need to pay attention to.

Advantages of venture capital funding

1. Expert assistance

Venture capital funding gives startups not only financial support but also essential help in the form of supervision and consulting.

2. No need for repayment 

If a startup fails, its founders don’t have to repay venture capital investors. If the startup has a credit from the bank, the startup will have to repay the total loan amount.

3. Guidance at any stage of investment

VC funders help startups at all fundraising rounds and are ready to invest large sums into great ideas. 

Disadvantages of venture capital funding

1. A little possibility of getting financing

VC companies get hundreds of applications from startups every day, so the competition is exceptionally high. Venture capitalists choose only outstanding ideas and startups that can prove their viability.

2. Need to give up shares in the company

VC funds take a stake in a startup. That’s the first requirement for their cooperation. More than that, VC companies can participate in decision-making concerning strategic plans. 

Since each VC investor has its own conditions for cooperation, let’s take a look at the best venture capital firms and the peculiarities of working with them. 

Best American VC firms

FinTech Collective

Location: New York, New York

The FinTech Collective was established in 2012 by Gareth Jones. Since then, the firm has funded more than 30 successful startups. FinTech Collective works with startups globally at all fundraising stages. Its goal is to increase the prospects for the monetary field and bring clarity to advanced trading. 

FinTech Collective funds startups that concentrate on:

• Capital trading
• Wealth and asset management
• Banking, lending, and payments
• Insurance
• Alternative lending
• Bitcoin
• Wealth management
• Blockchain
• Cyber investments

FinTech Collective has helped such startups as MoneyLion, Anyfin, Embroker, and Contabilizei. 

Cota Capital

Location: San Francisco, California

Babak Poushanchi and Bobby Yazdani founded Cota Capital in 2014, making it relatively young in comparison to other American FinTech VC firms. But Cota Capital has already captivated the world’s attention by taking a distinctly new approach to technology funding. They deal with startups at all fundraising stages, from seed to C round. 

Cota Capital funds startups that concentrate on:

• Cloud computing
• Big data
• Blockchain
• International payments

Cota Capital has helped a lot of startups, including Cloud Lending, Seed, Boomtrain, and Zeta. 

Blockchain Capital

Location: San Francisco, California

Blockchain Capital is a VC enterprise in the blockchain sphere. It was established in 2013 by Bart Stephens and Bradford Stephens and funds early-stage and late-stage startups. Blockchain Capital is known for supporting projects in the financial sector. Currently, they’re working with more than 80 projects. 

Blockchain Capital funds startups that concentrate on:

• Blockchain
• Risk management
• Cyber investments
• Business banking
• Corporate banking
• Payments

Blockchain Capital has helped Bison Trails, TRM Labs, Securitize, OpenSea, and many others.

Foundation Capital

Location: New York, New York

Harlan Milkove, a young and energetic businessman, established Foundation Capital in 2016. Since then, the FinTech ventures fund has funded more than 50 financial startups. Its approach is to assist ambitious startups with short-term prospects. Foundation Capital helps startups only at the seed stage. 

Foundation Capital funds startups that concentrate on: 

• Financial management solutions
• Alternative lending
• Payments
• Transaction monitoring

Foundation Capital has helped Nextview, Camber Creek, Lerer Hippeau, and many other startups to succeed. 

Top four American VC firms

Best European VC firms

Speedinvest

Location: Vienna, Austria

Speedinvest is an Austrian VC firm established in 2011. Speedinvest works with first-time technical startups at the early fundraising stages. The firm supports projects connected with the FinTech industry and all its branches. 

Speedinvest funds startups that concentrate on:

• Data, infrastructure, and security
• Payments
• Asset management and capital trading
• Personal finance
• Alternative lending
• Insurance
• Financial administrative solutions

When Speedinvest considers the size of investment appropriate for a particular startup, they take into account such factors as product demand, future prospects, and the size of stakes the startup is ready to give. Speedinvest has funded startups, including Actiondesk, Aircloak, and Cashpresso.

NFT Ventures

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

In 2014, Johan Lundberg established the NFT Ventures investment firm with a focus on the FinTech industry. This Swedish company is famous within VC investor circles. It has already funded more than 46 startups in the Nordic region and the UK and has grown lots of technology projects. It supports startups in the seed phase. 

NFT Ventures funds startups that concentrate on:

• Payments
• Lending
• Personal finances
• Insurance

Betalo, Toborrow, Mondido Payments, and Nowo are prosperous startups that got financing from NFT Ventures.

Anthemis Group

Location: London, England

Anthemis Group was established in 2010 by Sean Park. Today, it’s the most popular VC investment company in Europe.

Anthemis Group is a single investment corporation that specializes in direct and secondary direct fundings in startups aimed at the financial sphere. They pour money in both early-stage and late-stage ventures.

Anthemis Group funds startups that concentrate on:

• Retail banking
• Consumer finance
• Business and corporate banking
• Payments
• Wealth and asset management
• International payments
• Data trading
• Capital markets and trading
• Security and risk management

Anthemis Group funds startups worldwide, including the US, the UK, and Europe. Fidor Bank, Happy Money, ABAKA, and PayPerks are among the group’s most prominent mentees.

Balderton Capital

Location: London, England

Balderton Capital was founded in 2000 by Bernard Liautaud and Suranga Chandratillake. 

Their goal was to find startups with the ability to unsettle large industries and the intention to scale globally. Balderton Capital invests in early-stage and late-stage ventures.

Balderton Capital funds startups that concentrate on:

• Assets under management (AUM)
• Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA)
• Envy ratio
• High-yield debt
• Liquidation preference
• Taxation of private equity and hedge funds
• Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)

Balderton Capital is a flexible FinTech investor that fully supports its startups, assisting them with organizational questions, helping them adapt to the market, organizing joint events, etc. The most well-known organizations financed by Balderton Capital are Revolut, Cleo, Luno, and Nutmeg.

Top Four European VC firms

Best Canadian VC firms 

National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association 

Location: Toronto, Ontario

The National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association (NCFA) is a FinTech investment firm that offers networking and funding opportunities as well as services to lots of communities. Its CEO, Craig Asano, is an entrepreneur who has spent half his life investing in various projects. He established the National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association in 2012.

The National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association funds startups that concentrate on: 

• Alternative finance
• Crowdfunding
• Peer-to-peer finance
• Payments
• Cyber investments and tokens
• Blockchain and Bitcoin
• Regulatory technologies
• Insurance

As of today, NCFA has invested in 270 Canadian startups at the seed round, and this number is continually growing. Among the startups governed by NCFA are Lending Loop, FundRazr, Ledn, and Consilium Crypto. 

PitchBook

Location: Toronto, Ontario

PitchBook was created in 2007 by John Gabbert. It supports thriving Canadian and American startups at the seed stage and has more than 85,260 partner organizations. 

PitchBook funds startups that concentrate on: 

• Big data
• Blockchain
• Cloud storage

Among the most famous startups that have gotten support from PitchBook are Cascadia, Manhattan Prep, and Correct & Moring LLP. 

Luge Capital

Location: Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Québec

Luge Capital was established in 2018 by David Nault. The VC firm focuses on early-stage FinTech startups that use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for commercial purposes. David’s goal was to inspire modern startups to create best-of-breed financial services.

Luge Capital funds startups that concentrate on:

• Data privacy
• InsurTech
• Lending algorithms
• Robo-advisors
• Next-gen payments
• Blockchain
• Trading services
• Wealth management tools
• Alternative lending solutions
• Process automation
• Bots
• Regulatory technologies

Luge Capital has helped Links, Owl.Co, TipTap, and Aya Payments succeed.

Teralys Capital

Location: Montreal, Québec 

Teralys Capital is a VC FinTech investment firm established in 2009 by Jacques Bernier and Éric Legault. They work with startups from the financial, life sciences, and IT spheres. The goal of Teralys Capital is to assist startups in professional growth, providing them not only with financial help but with infrastructure and expertise. Teralys Capital helps startups from early stages to expansion and technology buyouts. 

Teralys Capital funds startups that concentrate on: 

• Risk management
• Payments
• Data analytics
• Cybersecurity

Idinvest Partners, Information Venture Partners, Vision Critical, and WorkFusion are some of the companies that have partnered with Teralys Capital. 

Top Four Canadian VC investment firms

Wrapping up

In this article, we mentioned the most well-known VC investment firms that deal with startups from the financial industry in the US, Europe, and Canada, highlighting their goals and areas of focus.