Yahoo Finance Goldman Sachs invests €25m into Berlin savings startup Raisin
German savings-and-investment platform Raisin announced on Tuesday that it had received an investment of €25m ( £22m, $28m ) from US bank Goldman Sachs. It plans to use the latest capital injection to power its entry into new European markets and fund its 2020 US launch.
The Goldman Sachs investment follows a recent Series D round of €100m and brings the total primary investment volume in Raisin to €195m.
“Raisin has developed a unique savings marketplace with a solid business model, impressive growth, and a loyal customer base,” Rana Yared, managing director at Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investments, said in a statement. “We are excited to support the company’s outstanding management team in executing their vision.”
The Berlin-based savings marketplace launched in 2013, with the goal of helping Europeans get the highest yields on their savings via a one-stop portal where they could suss out the best rates across EU borders.
Raisin’s investors also include Paypal Index Ventures, Orange Digital Ventures, Ribbit Capital and Thrive Capital. It announced in January that it would buy Frankfurt-based MHB bank. In May this year it hired Paul Knodel, formerly of Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, to spearhead its US launch next year.
It has six country-specific platforms in Germany, the UK, France, The Netherlands, Spain, and Austria, and offers savings products from some 80 European banks. Raisin says it has brokered €14 billion for more than 185,000 European customers since 2013.
“This investment from such a renowned brand is a very encouraging confirmation for us that our core business, as well as growth strategy, are on the right track,” Raisin CEO and founder Tamaz Georgadz said about the Goldman investment.
Raisin is one of the hottest startups in Berlin’s burgeoning fintech sector. Investment in German fintech topped €1 billion for the first time in 2018, with Berlin attracting the lions share, and is on track for a record-breaking 2019.
According to Barkow Consulting in Dusseldorf, investors shovelled €686m into German fintech companies in the first quarter of this year, and international investors are increasingly interested as its startups reach critical size.
