Rapyd launches Venture Arm to boost fintech innovation globally
The Israeli startup will focus on investing in early and growth-stage businesses developing digital commerce and payment solutions
Five months after raising $400 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion, Israeli fintech startup Rapyd announced on Thursday that it is launching Rapyd Ventures, its new venture arm that will focus on investing in early and growth-stage businesses developing financial services innovation. Rapyd Ventures will be led by Joel Yarbrough, MD of Rapyd Ventures and Rapyd's VP of Asia Pacific.
Rapyd Ventures said it will largely work with startups after their Seed round and through Series B funding that have "unique market and customer insights and are expanding on existing market traction." In addition to capital, Rapyd Ventures said it will provide access to its extensive Fintech-as-a-Service capabilities and network of partners, offering startups strategic advice and giving them opportunities to accelerate their growth.
Joel Yarbrough, MD of Rapyd Ventures and Rapyd's VP of Asia Pacific. Photo: Rapyd "We are engaging with entrepreneurs around the world to create the enabling infrastructure for next-generation financial services and bring to the market new fintech products that create opportunities for individuals, small, and large businesses to transact with lower friction, more quickly, safely, and in new ways," said Joel Yarbrough, MD of Rapyd Ventures and VP of Asia Pacific. "We believe that 'FinTech' will be built into all types of services, and we want to help bring to life a network of innovators and a rich set of new payment, identity, open banking, and embedded finance capabilities to make it happen."
The venture arm will look at two types of projects: Capability providers delivering core infrastructure in areas where the market is heading, including identity and risk management, faster and more seamless money movement and embedded financial services, and End-user platforms that are directly providing innovative financial services to consumers and businesses around the world.
- "Any company we are investing in is a company that makes a difference"
- Israeli resilience: That’s how winning is done
- VC 83North, investor of ironSource and Payoneer, raises new $550 million fund
"The innovations that we are seeing in the payments industry are not evenly distributed. We believe we have a mission and responsibility to support companies building both the infrastructure for next-generation financial services, as well as innovators building on top of these new capabilities around the world, and to accelerate their development," said Arik Shtilman, CEO and co-founder of Rapyd. "Joel's intimate understanding of the global Tech industry and his vast insight and experience in payment technology makes him the ideal person to lead our new venture arm. He knows where the industry is headed and how to build the technology necessary to get there. Just as he has pushed Rapyd forward, we are confident he can do the same for others in this space and the entire digital commerce ecosystem."
Founded in 2015 as CashDash by Arkady Karpman, Arik Shtilman, and Omer Priel, Rapyd offers payment services enabling the transfer of electronic funds across borders through various means of payment, including bank transfers, digital wallets, and cash. Rapyd's platform supports 65 currencies in more than 170 countries and enables global transfers in real-time. Its valuation has significantly increased over the past couple of years, with the company being valued at around $1 billion when it raised funds in October 2019 and at just $300 million in the beginning of 2019.
