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    London-based 9fin, an AI-native platform for global debt markets, has raised $170 million in Series C funding at a $1.3 billion valuation, adding to the short list of Black-led unicorns in Europe’s tech ecosystem.

    The round was led by HarbourVest, with participation from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and existing backers Redalpine, Highland Europe, Spark Capital, and Seedcamp.

    The fresh capital will help 9fin sharpen its AI capabilities, deepen its proprietary dataset, and fuel its U.S. expansion.

    Related Post: UK Fintech 9fin Secures $50M To Expand Operations

    9Fin is Modernizing a Debt Capital Market Stuck in the Past

    Debt capital markets are the world’s largest asset class at $145 trillion, but their tech support still lags decades behind. As loan, bond, and private credit markets converge, getting better information faster is more crucial than ever. AI can help, but only if it is trained on reliable data. However, more often than not, these insights are stuck in data rooms, emails, and PDFs.

    9fin centralizes this information, fueling next-gen AI that enables credit professionals to identify, analyze, and act on opportunities within a single platform. These tools help clients win mandates, outperform competitors, and save hours of manual work. 

    Currently, over 300 top banks, asset managers, law firms, and advisory firms use 9fin for deal sourcing, risk analysis, and debt market monitoring. Remarkably, CPP Investments was a client before investing, a tangible proof of the platform’s value.

    The debt capital markets intelligence provider was founded in 2016 by two former investment banking analysts, Steven Hunter (Co-founder and CEO) and Huss El-Sheikh (Co-founder and CTO). The London-headquartered startup has delivered multiple consecutive years of 100% ARR growth, industry-leading retention, and even faster expansion in the United States.

    “AI will redefine the credit markets, but only if it’s powered by proprietary data and embedded into how professionals actually work. That’s exactly what we’ve built at 9fin,” Hunter said in a press release seen by UrbanGeekz. 

    “We’ve scaled our product rapidly across geographies and asset classes to provide clients with an unmatched breadth and depth of data in an AI-native platform. Our ultimate goal is to be the only platform credit professionals ever need. This capital gets us there even faster.”

    Related Post: UK-based Lenkie Raises $62M To Transform Small Businesses’ Lending

    Why Startups Solving Real Problems Will Thrive Even During a Crisis

    Besides the fact that this financing comes at a time when capital market infrastructure and workflows are being reshaped by artificial intelligence, it also comes at a critical juncture amid the market volatility and conflict happening in the Middle East. 

    Rather than weigh in on investor sentiment, 9fin raised funds at a $1 billion valuation. Hunter believes it “speaks to the quality” of 9fin’s business despite the crisis, “this was an opportunistic raise, we didn’t need to raise the capital.” 

    Firms like 9fin are in demand as bankers and traders seek intelligence and data to gain a competitive edge over their colleagues. A former rival company, Octus Intelligence Inc. (formerly Reorg Research Inc.), was acquired by Permira from Warburg Pincus for about $1.3 billion in 2022.

    The company, a technology firm rather than a data or software business, is benefiting from the convergence of all debt asset classes, providing a “one-stop shop” amid the paradigm shift toward AI. 

    The co-founders got the idea for the startup while working as investment bankers. Hunter was a debt markets investment banker at JPMorgan Chase & Co., while co-founder Huss El-Sheik previously worked at Deutsche Bank AG.

    Related Post: 10 Black Startup Founders in Europe You Should Know

    What Next for 9Fin

    With the new capital, 9fin aims to modernize debt capital markets, which have remained largely unchanged since the 1980s. By centralizing complex information, the company wants to enable faster decision-making. Clients can identify opportunities, stay ahead of competitors, and cut down hours of manual research that traditionally defined the sector.

    “Debt markets are undergoing a profound transformation as AI reshapes how financial professionals work,” said Michael Guiness, Principal at HarbourVest Partners. 

    “9fin has built a powerful platform combining proprietary data with AI-driven workflows – exactly what we’re looking for in next-generation market leaders. We’re excited to support the company as it scales globally.”

    9fin plans to use the latest funding to boost engineering and product capabilities, growing its headcount by double-digits. Furthermore, it will support the expansion of its proprietary dataset and continued growth in the United States.

    9Fin Becomes The Third Black-led European Unicorn Startup

    This $170 million Series C funding brings the startup’s total to more than $250 million since its founding, at a valuation of $1.3 billion. Hence, 9Fin joins the enviable ranks of European unicorn startups. Moreso, it’s just the third Black-led startup to ever attain that position.

    Related Post: Top London-based Investors Investing in Black Founders

    WorldRemit (now rebranded as Zepz) was the first Black-founded unicorn in the UK, achieving a $5 billion valuation in August 2021 after raising $292 million. Founded by Ismail Ahmed, a Somali-born entrepreneur, the company operates a digital cross-border payments platform serving over 11 million users across 150 countries. 

    Marshmallow, founded in 2017 by identical twins Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham, along with David Goate, became the second Black-founded unicorn in the UK in September 2021, after raising $85 million in a Series B round that valued the company at $1.25 billion.  

    The London-based insurtech provider initially targeted expats and immigrants with car insurance, utilizing machine learning to offer affordable rates, and has since grown to over 100,000 customers while planning expansion into other personal insurance lines

    This achievement stands out against a backdrop of severe funding disparities in Europe over the years. A 2021 study by Atomico found that, among a sample of 4,684 European tech companies raising over €1 million, only 1.8% of total capital went to Black founders.

    Main Image: Steven Hunter L and Huss El-Sheik R, 9Fin cofounders. Image Credit: David Miller Studios

    The post 9fin Raises $170M Series C, Becomes One of Europe’s Few Black-Led Unicorns appeared first on UrbanGeekz.

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