Float Secures $4.8M to Fuel European Tech Without Equity Loss

Jan de Vries · 2026-07-15

Float, a Stockholm-based revenue-based financing platform for tech SMEs, just announced a $4.8 million Series A funding round. The goal? To close the European tech funding gap. It's a big deal for founders who want to grow without giving away their company. ### The Investment and Its Backers The round was led by Hamburg-based CHAPTERS Group AG, a holding company that invests in small and medium-sized enterprises across various industries. Their portfolio includes Swiss wealth management software provider Finfox, German FinTechs Fintiba and Expatrio, and 60 other mission-critical vertical market software businesses across Europe. Notable shareholders include Daniel Ek's family office and Danaher founder Mitch Rales. Jan-Hendrik Mohr, CEO of CHAPTERS, will join the Float board. Jan-Hendrik Mohr said, "Our investment in Float underlines our positive view on the European tech industry. Float's financing service already gives tech SMEs a reliable means of scaling their business. However, as the company expands their offering and explores competitor acquisitions, they are now a driver of a much larger, shared vision to empower founders across the continent. We look forward to working closely with Cedric and Jannis, supporting Float on its growth journey." ### What Float Actually Does Founded in 2019 by Swiss entrepreneur Cedric Notz and German entrepreneur Jannis Koehn, Float is an AI-native financial operating platform. It helps technology SMEs across Europe access growth capital and automate financial operations. The company combines non-dilutive funding with AI-powered financial management tools. This lets founders scale faster without sacrificing equity or getting slowed down by unnecessary bureaucracy. Float CEO and co-founder Cedric Notz explained, "The current global financial system is fundamentally broken for modern tech companies. While startups operate internationally from day one, banking remains stubbornly localised, bogged down by manual bureaucracy and fragmented tools. As a founder in the tech industry myself, I have experienced the difficulties of securing working capital firsthand. At Float, we address these problems head-on. We revolutionise an opaque process that is riddled with delays, unlocking growth and potential for founders across Europe." ### The Bigger Vision Float's mission is to provide liquidity to the European tech sector by offering non-dilutive growth capital, credit lines, and revenue-based financing. This lets B2B SaaS and subscription businesses fund their growth without relinquishing equity or fundraising outside of Europe. The startup now plans to evolve from a provider of simple, flexible credit lines to an AI-native financial platform for startups. This will enable founders to navigate their finances with greater speed and efficiency. However, lending will remain the core of the business. Once operational, the tool will leverage live access to bank accounts and accounting systems. It will provide financial analysis and automate tasks like payments, expense management, and accounting. Cedric Notz added, "However, our ambition runs far wider than fixing financing. We are building the new backbone for European tech – the capital, banking, and data, all in a single AI-native financial platform built for the 21st century. For too long the continent's best founders have faced one brutal choice: give away their company, or leave for America. We want founders to succeed here in Europe." ### Growth and Future Plans Float plans to deploy this fresh capital to double its team size and expand its presence in the UK, already the company's largest market. The company also plans to leverage their strategic partnership with CHAPTERS to enter the M&A market. Operational since 2022, Float has provided over 130 European tech companies with funding. Examples include hotel revenue management company RoomPriceGenie and marketing optimisation platform RedTrack. Over $108 million has been allocated in the past three years, with more than 100% year-on-year growth recorded. ### Key Takeaways for Founders - **Non-dilutive funding**: Float offers capital without requiring equity, so you keep full control of your company. - **AI-powered tools**: Automate financial operations like payments, expense management, and accounting. - **European focus**: Designed specifically for B2B SaaS and subscription businesses in Europe. - **Strategic backing**: CHAPTERS Group's investment signals strong confidence in Float's model. Float is tackling the broken financial system head-on, giving European founders a real alternative to giving up equity or moving to the U.S. It's about time.