Neonomics Raises $4M After Slashing Costs by Half

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-16

Neonomics, the Norwegian open finance platform, just raised $4 million. But here's the kicker: they did it after cutting operating costs by nearly half. That's not your typical startup story. Most companies raise money to spend more. Neonomics raised money because they figured out how to spend less. ### The Funding Details The $4 million came from existing shareholders, though the company didn't name which ones wrote checks this time. Its backers include Newmark Capital, Bankify, FirstMark Capital, and TTU Private Equity. To date, Neonomics has pulled in over $50 million in private investment. Not bad for a company founded in Oslo back in 2017. ### What Neonomics Actually Does If you're not familiar, Neonomics connects businesses to bank data and payment rails across Europe. Think of it as a bridge between apps and your bank account. Their PSD2 network reaches over 3,500 banks, with particularly strong coverage in the Nordics—more than 20 million consumers there. The product suite, branded Nello, breaks down into three parts: - Nello Data: real-time account verification and transaction access - Nello AI: turns raw transaction data into financial intelligence for credit and income decisions - Nello Pay: account-to-account payments that undercut card fees They're licensed by the Norwegian FSA as a Payment Institution, Payment Initiation Service Provider, and Account Information Service Provider—and that authorization works across the EU. ### The Cost-Cutting Story Here's where it gets interesting. Alfonso Muñoz joined as CFO in 2025 and became Interim CEO in February 2026. Under his watch, the company tightened its financial governance and operational discipline. The result? Operating costs dropped by almost 50%. That's a massive swing for any company, let alone one in a capital-intensive space like fintech. > "We have fundamentally strengthened Neonomics, creating a more focused and efficient business with a clear direction for growth," Muñoz said in a statement. "The combination of a significantly improved cost structure, growing customer demand and continued shareholder support puts us in a strong position to execute on our strategy." And the numbers back him up. New customer acquisition has grown over 60% since the start of the year, across both payments and financial data segments. ### Beyond Payments: The Data Play Neonomics isn't just about moving money. As API-level access to bank data becomes more commoditized, the company sees a bigger opportunity in structuring and interpreting that data for clients. They're targeting consumer-facing financial services, personal finance tools, accounting software, ERP systems, and any business building workflows around financial data. "Providing access to financial data is only the starting point," Muñoz added. "The real value lies in turning that data into intelligence that improves financial products, workflows and decisions." That's a smart pivot. Payments are becoming a race to the bottom on price. But intelligence? That's where you can build a moat. ### What This Means for the Ecosystem For European startups and businesses, Neonomics' raise signals that investors still believe in open banking infrastructure—but they're rewarding efficiency, not just growth. The days of burning cash to scale are fading. Companies that can prove they're lean and focused are the ones getting funded. For US-based fintech observers, Neonomics offers a case study in how European open banking is maturing. The regulatory framework (PSD2) forced banks to open their APIs, and now companies like Neonomics are building the intelligence layer on top. It's a model that could inform similar efforts stateside as open banking rules take shape. The fresh capital will fuel growth in those areas—consumer finance, accounting, ERP—and help Neonomics double down on its data intelligence play. With a leaner cost base and growing demand, they're in a good spot. Now it's about execution.