Berlin’s emerging fintech, Bunch, has successfully completed a €7.3 million funding round, as reported by PayNews42. This round was led by Cherry Ventures, with significant contributions from Ramin Niroumand’s Embedded Capital, which had shown prior interest. Notable investments also came from Kinnevik shareholder Cristina Stenbek, tech stock analyst Philipp Klöckner, Alexander Argyros of Moonfare, and Discovery Ventures.
Founded by Levent Altunel and Enrico Ohnemüller, Bunch (website) aims to revolutionize the angel investment process—a sector that has traditionally faced numerous challenges. The platform initially facilitates the organization of angel investments, simplifying processes that typically require notarized powers of attorney and other cumbersome paperwork. By enabling simpler submission of such documents and centralized voting for shareholder decisions, Bunch supports “pooling” where multiple investors can unite in a single entity. This approach significantly reduces the complexity for startups, who no longer need to manage communications with numerous individual investors.
This innovative platform, which has already commenced a test phase in Germany and the Netherlands, addresses the inefficiencies that have hindered similar initiatives in the past. For instance, Altunel highlights the challenges faced by Business Angels in Germany, attributing their lack of success to an immature ecosystem at the time. With plans to expand into more countries and explore additional asset classes like art, real estate, and other private markets, Bunch is poised to tap into sectors that are currently underserved digitally.
As the platform evolves, Bunch intends to broaden its offerings, potentially creating a comprehensive fundraising tool for investors, thereby democratizing access to investment in private markets. This development signals a promising advancement in fintech, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional investment processes and modern technological capabilities.
In the context of regulatory compliance, Bunch’s operations within the fintech and paytech landscape will require close scrutiny to ensure adherence to evolving financial regulations and investor protection laws, particularly in the areas of anti-money laundering (AML) and the counter-financing of terrorism (CFT). The company’s innovative approach, if executed with regulatory foresight, could set a new standard in simplifying and securing angel investments in the increasingly digital and global financial market.
