The financial solutions platform for companies Stark Bank announced this Monday (11) that it received a contribution of US$ 45 million (R$ 213.8 million) led by the investment fund Ribbit Capital and which included, among others, the Lachy Groom fund. and Bezos Expeditions, by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
The announcement comes just over four months after the fintech created in 2018 made its first fundraising from venture capital investors, of US$ 13 million (R$ 61.8 million), illustrating how the deadlines between investments in Brazilian startups have declined rapidly, as the dispute with large banks grows.
Founders of Airbnb, Kavak and executives from DST, Visa and Coinbase also participated in this new round. The company did not reveal how much it was valued in the new investment, but its founder, Rafael Stark, said the transaction puts it “close to unicorn status”, in a reference to startups valued at at least US$ 1 billion. 8 billion).
In addition to accounts payable and receivable management solutions, Stark Bank sells foreign exchange, corporate card, payroll and collection management products via boleto and Pix. In addition to transactional operations, the company has been expanding services such as expense control, reconciliation and financial management, as it seeks to take space from large retail banks.
The company claims to have more than 300 customers, between medium and large, most of which are also technology-based businesses, including Quinto Andar, Loft, Buser, Bitso, in addition to Colgate.
According to the executive, the new features will allow fintech to add investment products, offer credit and receive payments via card.
The fintech will also start to rent its infrastructure to serve other fintechs and financial institutions, with APIs (technology for interface between applications) for direct and indirect participants of Pix, issuance of cards with the customers’ brand and issuance of CCBs (Cédula de Crédito Bancário). ).
“We want to boost fintechs and allow them to lend money using our CCB and for any company to issue their branded card in less than a week,” Stark told Reuters, revealing that the startup’s plan is to grow its revenue 10 times this year. year.
After a first wave of retail-focused digital banking, digital businesses in Brazil are gaining popularity among companies of all sizes, catalyzed by regulatory innovations led by the Central Bank, such as Pix instant payment and open banking, which have increased competition. in the highly concentrated financial sector.
Last August, the fintech specialized in small and medium-sized companies Cora received a contribution of US$ 116 million. In November, Omie bought another fintech focused on SMEs, Linker, for R$120 million.
E-commerce giants in the country, such as Magazine Luiza and Mercado Livre, in addition to the digital banks with an original focus on retail Nubank, C6 and inter, are bringing together thousands of small businesses in their marketplaces, offering them logistics and financial services.
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