The Berlin start-up Airbank was able to collect 20 million US dollars (equivalent to around 19 million euros) with a financing round. The fintech, which was only founded in early 2021, offers software that companies can use to keep an eye on their finances.
In addition to the global venture capital company Molten Ventures, which also has a stake in the Berlin neobank N26, the investors include various private investors.
Small and medium-sized companies need to have their business accounts under control in order to be solvent at all times. In the language of the financial world, this is called cash flow management. Airbank offers a digital platform designed to make this task easier. The program accesses the accounts at different banks and merges the data.
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On a dashboard, users can not only view current and previous account balances, but also create forecasts for future liquidity. Accounting receipts can also be uploaded.
It runs in the browser, so it does not have to be installed on company computers. All data is in a cloud. A tax consultant can also access it via an interface in order to prepare the annual financial statements.
The offer is aimed primarily at companies with ten to 100 employees, says Airbank boss Christopher Zemina. These are, for example, start-ups whose goal is rapid growth. But also classic companies from the catering or hotel industry that have a complex cost structure.
According to Airbank, around 1,000 companies use the platform, including restaurants from the Subway fast-food chain. It is available in 28 European Union countries and the United Kingdom. Depending on the tariff, companies pay between EUR 89 and EUR 249 per month.
Zemina founded Airbank together with Patrick de Castro Neuhaus. The two entrepreneurs met in Entrepreneur First’s talent development program. There they developed their business idea. In 2021, they collected 2.5 million euros in a first round of financing.
But it is no longer a matter of course that a fintech can successfully raise capital. Due to higher key interest rates, many lenders are less willing to take risks than they were last year. Start-ups like Klarna, Nuri or Sumup have already had to lay off employees in order to save. Airbank, on the other hand, is hiring new people. In addition to the current 40 employees, more are to be added.
“We currently have 15 positions advertised,” says Zemina. In contrast to other fintechs, Airbank has a comparatively low-risk business model.
His company will invest the investor money in the expansion of the team and in product development. “We are currently working on a few more modules.”
In the future it should also be possible to trigger payments from the account directly via the platform. In addition, there will soon be company credit cards for employees with individual spending limits and integrated accounting.
