While the funding landscape remains challenging for many, Europe’s most dynamic startups are still capturing the imagination—and the wallets—of investors. The latest to ride this wave is Finom, a five-year-old Amsterdam-based challenger bank laser-focused on empowering small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the continent. In a testament to its rapid ascent, Finom has just clinched a €115 million Series C equity round (about $133 million), TechCrunch has exclusively learned. This follows hot on the heels of a $105 million growth funding injection from General Catalyst, a steadfast backer since 2021. If 2024 was a year of doubling revenue for Finom, 2025 is shaping up to be even more transformative.
Finom’s secret sauce? A comprehensive financial platform that bundles banking, invoicing, and a fast-expanding suite of features—including AI-powered accounting. “In theory, entrepreneurs shouldn’t need an accountant at all,” quips CEO Andrew Petrov, hinting at a future where financial admin is as easy as clicking a button. The company’s ambitions are as bold as its technology. Petrov admits that the goal of reaching one million business customers by the end of 2026 is more inspirational than set in stone, but with fresh capital in hand, that milestone feels tantalizingly within reach.
Investors seem to agree. The Series C was spearheaded by AVP (formerly AXA Venture Partners), with new participant Headline (formerly e.ventures) joining through Headline Growth. Familiar faces—Cogito Capital, General Catalyst, and Northzone—rounded out the round, signaling strong ongoing belief in Finom’s mission. Yet, Finom’s real battleground isn’t just with traditional banks. While it’s easier to lure customers away from legacy institutions, the crowded fintech arena presents a stiffer test. Despite this, Finom’s funding journey is notable for its efficiency. With total external funding now at roughly $346 million, it’s playing in a different league compared to unicorns like Monzo, N26, Revolut, or Wise, each of which has raised over $1 billion. Instead, Finom’s trajectory is more akin to French unicorn Qonto, though the comparison isn’t exact.
Timing, it seems, was on Finom’s side. While the company is tight-lipped about its unit economics (beyond boasting 125,000 users), General Catalyst’s deep dive into the business likely fueled investor confidence and accelerated the fundraising process. Their endorsement—and vested interest in seeing Finom succeed—proved a powerful catalyst for others to jump aboard. But the new war chest isn’t just for customer acquisition. Petrov reveals that the funds will also support strategic, opportunistic acquisitions, expanding both Finom’s reach and its product portfolio. This marks a shift from its previous, more conservative approach—so far, Finom has made just one acquisition, snapping up UK-based cross-border payments provider Kapaga in 2022. Since then, the company has doubled down on continental Europe, targeting major markets where challenger banks for SMBs are still relatively rare and traditional banks have left much to be desired. Operating primarily under an electronic money institution (EMI) license in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain (after ending its partnership with Solaris in Germany earlier this year), Finom has nevertheless managed to roll out lending in the Netherlands—a crucial testbed for its credit offerings. Petrov sees lending as an essential pillar for any fintech serving business clients.
Horizontally, Finom is building out a full suite of deposits and loans; vertically, it aims to cover everything from opening a bank account to tax payments and regulatory reporting. AI is the thread running through it all, both in customer-facing products and internal operations. With a team of 500, Finom is hiring, but selectively. “We’re adding some people, but mostly we’re onboarding new types of AI agents to work internally,” Petrov explains. “So we’re hiring fewer humans than we otherwise would, and seeing great results from automating routine tasks.” Leadership at Finom has evolved too. Once co-CEO alongside Yakov Novikov, Petrov now leads solo, with Novikov and Oleg Laguta serving as advisers. All three previously co-founded Russia’s Modulbank, but this time the mission is squarely European: to serve the entrepreneurs who, as Stiskin puts it, are “the backbone of the European Union economy.” With fresh funding, a bold vision, and a knack for innovation, Finom is poised to help Europe’s SMBs write the next chapter in the continent’s fintech story.
The article: SMB-focused Finom closes €115M as European fintech heats up | TechCrunch
