Global investment platform Lightyear has raised 拢17m in a Series B investment round.
Lightyear was founded by ex-Wise duo Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer to allow investors to access global stocks without the traditional costs.
The London-based FinTech will use the funding to bolster retail investing in the UK, alongside unveiling a new suite of AI-powered market intelligence tools.聽
Led by NordicNinja, the largest Japanese-backed VC in Europe, the round also saw additional investment from Superangel and SpecialistVC.
The firm鈥檚 existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Metaplanet and Skaala have also committed fresh capital.聽
Other notable angel investors include Sir Richard Branson, Wise鈥檚 Taavet Hinrikus, Checkout.com鈥檚 Ott Kaukver and Skype鈥檚 Jaan Tallinn.
This fresh funding coincides with a major milestone, as the company has now reached $1bn in customer assets, just four years after emerging from stealth.聽
The platform has now launched in the three new markets of Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria as it continues on its trajectory of being the fastest expanding investment company in Europe.聽
Martin Sokk, CEO and co-founder of Lightyear, said: 鈥淭his Series B round is a huge vote of confidence in the untapped potential of investing in Europe and Lightyear鈥檚 ability to make the difference.
鈥淒riving meaningful progress in this market means removing barriers to entry and demystifying investing for ordinary people, and that鈥檚 why we feel so strongly about our vision for AI and the future of investing.聽
鈥淲e鈥檝e been busy making huge leaps forward in our mission to empower 55m Brits to build meaningful wealth, so it鈥檚 an incredibly exciting time for the business right now.鈥�
Lightyear will use this capital to launch a host of AI-powered market intelligence tools in the first stage of the company鈥檚 AI strategy.聽
As part of the聽 Series B round, Lightyear has welcomed Bolt鈥檚 founder and CEO, Markus Villig.
Villig added: 鈥淚t can be challenging to scale a business across multiple countries in a heavily regulated sector.聽
鈥淪o it takes a talented and fast-moving team with a laser focus to build a product that is helping Europeans grow their wealth, with a great user experience. I鈥檓 excited to back Martin and Mihkel on their mission to disrupt that market.鈥�