National Australia Bank has led a US$24 (AU$32) million Series D round for Toronto-based cloud accounting startup Wave through its VC fund, NAB Ventures.
The round, which saw participation from Silicon Valley VC firms CRV and Social Capital, international VC’s OurCrowd and Harbourvest as well as a handful of Canadian investors, marks the fourth deal for the fund, following its launch last year.
NAB Ventures General Partner Melissa Widner, said the investment reflects NAB’s interest in investing in emerging technologies that help benefit the customer and provide them with a “connection experience”.
“We were impressed with how Wave’s offering gives entrepreneurs the tools they need to be successful, along with the fact their invoicing and accounting software are free with customers able to purchase additional financial services to suit their requirements as needed,” she said.
“We’re looking forward to working with Wave, which has developed an interesting approach to cloud software and financial services aimed at small businesses with under ten employees.”
Targeting startups and small businesses, Wave offers affordable accounting, invoicing and payroll software accessible through the cloud. The platform integrates with financial services such as lending and credit card processing and sports a ‘pay-as-you-go’ model, where businesses are charged per transaction, rather than a monthly subscription rate.
Wave cofounder and CEO, Kirk Simpsons, said the startup’s payment and service model is able to cover the entire “spectrum” of business needs.
“By helping business owners manage their cash flow, prepare for tax time and gain actionable business insights, Wave covers the spectrum of a small business owner’s financial life, and helps their businesses grow and thrive,” he said.
Since its inception in 2009, the startup has grown to reach over 2.5 million business owners across more than 200 countries, with above 35,000 active users in Australia. With the close of the Series D round, the business has raised just shy of US$80 (AU$107) million to date. NAB will also be able to appoint someone to Wave’s board.
Simpsons said the partnership with NAB will open up opportunities for the business to cater more towards Australian small businesses.
“We all know that small businesses power the global economy, and nobody understands Australian small businesses better than NAB. We look forward to exploring together how to serve those business owners better,” he said.
San Francisco-based foreign exchange startup Veem was the last company to receive investment from NAB Ventures, with the bank fund leading a US$24 (AU$32) million round Series B round. Veem uses blockchain technology to ensure an international payment is only touched once during its journey to its destination, rather than pass through several intermediary banks.
The $50 million capital fund made its first investment in Sydney-based data exchange marketplace Data Republic, helping contribute to the company’s $10.5 million Series A round, before backing Australian healthtech startup Medipass Solutions earlier this year.
Image: Melissa Widner & Kirk Simpson. Source: Supplied.
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