Australia-based fintech firm Finder announced that it has secured its first external funding of A$30 million ($21.52 million) since its inception in 2006.
Finder said in a statement that specialist technology growth investor Future Now Capital has committed the fund which kicks off the capital raise process for Finder after 15 years of being bootstrapped.
According to the statement, the raise implies a pre-money A$650 million ($466.31 million) valuation for Finder, which launched in Australia and now operates as a global personal finance platform available in more than 50 countries.
It said the funding will contribute to Finder’s development of innovative and compelling consumer products in key markets including Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Asia.
“This is a milestone in Finder’s history. We are a 15-year-old technology company that has been bootstrapped since day one. And today we are taking on our first ever partner to help accelerate the accessibility of our innovative financial management platform to a global audience,” said Finder founder Fred Schebesta.
Finder founder Frank Restuccia also said: “We are delighted to partner with Future Now which shares our passion for helping people save and invest money via our unique all-in-one personal finance platform. I believe that people should have the ability to save and invest their money easily, and this capital will help accelerate the achievement of our mission.”
Meanwhile, Future Now Capital partner John Orrock, said: “This investment into Finder is a major commitment for our fund, and we are privileged that they have chosen to partner with us on their journey.”
“The Finder team has an impressive ability to deploy their technology stack to quickly provide consumers with innovative services and products. This ingrained nimbleness allows them to evolve their business and product suite to offer modern financial services,” he added.
Future Now Capital partner Louise Daley also said that Finder had built an attractive and expanding brand presence in Australia, and will now enable customers globally to inform, compare, save and spend and invest on Finder platforms.
“They have a clear vision and capabilities in providing great platforms for wealth management and financial services, as epitomized by their position as Australia’s leading comparison platform, and their innovative crypto products that provide retail investors access to crypto investing,” she said.
Finder is a global financial technology platform which allows members to save, invest and spend via the Finder mobile app and website. Its mission is to help people make better financial decisions and work with partners to connect via API into the Finder platform to offer saving and investment services and products.
Finder was founded in Australia in 2006 and now operates in 50+ countries with 2,600+ product partners and 10+ million visits every month, serviced by 500+ crew passionate about helping our members achieve their full financial potential. The mobile App was launched in Australia in 2020 and will be launched into global markets in 2022.
Future Now Capital is a specialized investment manager focusing on fast growth companies that develop cloud, mobile and enterprise technology services.
In 2019 Future Now Capital executed a world first partnership with Microsoft that sees a unique vehicle, the FNV Fund I, give third party investors direct exposure to companies selected for Microsoft’s accelerated growth programs. Future Now Capital oversees the fund’s investments into, and the growth strategies of, the portfolio companies which so far have included youth platform Year13, grants and project management firm SurePact, compliance and data management firm EncompaaS, journey management and COVID-safe services firm JESI and digital asset management solution Collaboro.
Future Now Capital was born out of Future Now Ventures, a technology sector focused venture capital company established in 2013 by Australians John Orrock and Chris Lee, who have a successful track record growing and monetising cloud related businesses across the world.