Asset Class secures $11.6 million Series A funding to help democratize private capital investing
Ireland fintech Asset Class has announced that it has completed a $11.6 million Series A funding round, led by fintech-focused venture capital firm Canapi Ventures with participation from new and existing investors, including Live Oak Ventures, Plexus Capital and TTV Capital.
Formed in 2020, Asset Class provides a range of innovative, custom investment management software solutions to clients across financial sectors, with a focus on private equity, venture capital, financial advisory and commercial lending. Since announcing a seed round of $3 million from Angel Oak Ventures last year, Asset Class has achieved impressive growth as private equity and venture capital fund managers and commercial loan lenders have turned to the firm’s bespoke solutions that help raise capital easily and efficiently and manage the complete end-to-end investor life cycle. Asset Class now services more than 300 funds, totalling $33 billion in assets under management, and a network of over 15,000 accredited investors.
“As we’ve grown, we like to say that the venture capital, private equity and commercial lending firms we work with come for the technology we provide and stay for the network we offer,” remarked Ferdinand Roberts, CEO and Founder of Asset Class. “Our client-first approach has led us to achieve incredible growth, and this new round of funding will only propel us further on our mission to offer a completely integrated, end-to-end investment management platform in the alternatives space.”
The growth capital will allow Asset Class to focus on expanding its employee headcount, specifically in the areas of software and business development. Asset Class intends to capitalize on the positive tailwinds impacting the industry, which include growth in the number of private capital funds and accredited investors seeking access, a digital-first landscape, and trillions of dollars of cash ready to be deployed into the alternative fund strategies that Asset Class serves.
“We have been extremely impressed with the growth of Asset Class over the past year,” said Neil Underwood, general partner at Canapi Ventures. “The company’s unrivaled ability to bring secondary market liquidity to the private capital markets and provide fund managers with better investor oversight has positioned the company at the forefront of the industry, opening up many exciting opportunities for the future. We are excited to help them strengthen their position to become the preeminent operating platform for investment management as the alternatives space continues to accelerate.”
Live Oak Ventures, the investment arm of Live Oak Bancshares, Inc., participated in the round to support solutions for its venture capital and private equity customer base. “We believe there are exciting applications of embedded banking in partnership with Asset Class and as an investment advisor to Canapi Ventures, Live Oak sees firsthand the need for modern, integrated solutions for alternative investment funds,” said Stephanie Mann, Chief Strategy Officer at Live Oak.
