Lightyear closes a new $8.5M funding round and launches its app in the UK
by Startacus Admin
Fintech startup Lightyear announces major funding boost to accelerate its plans to open up transparent and low-cost investing to everyone in Europe
It’s a momentous day for fintech startup Lightyear with the announcement that it has secured an additional $8.5M of funding in addition to launching its app and onboarding the first UK customers from its waiting list. The funding was led by Mosaic Ventures alongside existing investors Taavet+Sten, Metaplanet and a host of angel investors.
Founded by early Wise alumni Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer, Lightyear aims to bring a global mindset into the European investment space, by combining multi-currency accounts with unlimited access to global markets so customers can invest freely without hidden fees. With many platforms charging different types of fees at varying points of the customer journey, there is often very little clarity on the true cost of an investment. Lightyear plans to disrupt this pricing model by giving customers the tools to add, hold and invest money in multiple currencies, thereby removing the need for conversions.
Martin Sokk, Co-founder and CEO at Lightyear, explains: “10 months ago Lightyear was just an idea, so we’re really excited to have raised a total of $10 million, hired a world-class team and to be launching the first iteration of our app. There are more people in Europe investing now than ever before, but there’s still a very long way to go. Our goal is to give all of Europe access to the world’s markets without hidden fees and to make investing cognitively easy. We’re excited to have such a strong group of investors that share this vision with us.”
Lightyear will begin onboarding customers from its waiting list today and will use this latest funding to accelerate its plans to open up transparent and low-cost investing to everyone in Europe.
Exciting times ahead for this innovative fintech!
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Published on: 14th September 2021
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