Venture capitalist Lakestar takes a stake in banking startup Swan. It leads the Series B for €37 million, with existing investors Creandum and Accel also following suit. Swan succeeds in closing the funding in a challenging market phase. The German market is growing the fastest, according to a press release. The company already has 16 enterprise customers, including Ride, Pile, and Getmomo.
Berlin's PayTech Ivy, renowned for its innovative API, has announced its successful raise of $20 million in Series A funding at a $80-$90 million valuation. The funding was helmed by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures round on LinkedIn. This new funding round came just five weeks after Ivy closed its seed financing round of $7.7 million, which saw investments from venture firm Creandum and prominent investors, including N26's founder, Maximilian Tayenthal.