Upvest Secures $125M to Modernize European Banking Tech

Jan de Vries · 2026-03-17

Berlin-based investment infrastructure provider Upvest just announced a massive $125 million funding round. This capital injection is all about accelerating the modernization of legacy banking and brokerage systems across Europe and the UK. Think of it as a major upgrade for the financial plumbing that powers how we invest. ### The Funding Breakdown The round consists of $90 million in equity led by heavyweights Sapphire Ventures and Tencent, with strong support from existing backers like Bessemer Venture Partners and BlackRock. On top of that, they're finalizing a $35 million debt facility to really solidify their financial foundation. That's a serious vote of confidence in their vision. Martin Kassing, Upvest's CEO and co-founder, put it simply: banks and wealth managers are choosing them for the scalable infrastructure needed to profitably serve a new generation of investors. "This round, just a year after our Series C, shows our momentum," he said. The plan? To expand into Europe's largest markets, enable better local pension products, and support the emerging AI-driven investment economy. ### A Rising Tide in FinTech Infrastructure This isn't happening in a vacuum. There's a steady flow of capital into financial infrastructure startups right now, especially in payments, open banking, and API-led modernization. To give you a sense of the landscape, here are a few notable raises from adjacent players: - Devengo (Madrid): $2.2 million for account-to-account payments - Open Payments (Sweden): $3.3 million for B2B financial integration - Payrails (Berlin): $30.5 million for product development across EMEA - Two (Norway): $14.3 million for B2B payments infrastructure - Navro (UK): $39.6 million for global payments - Yaspa (UK): $11.1 million for open banking solutions - Due (London): $6.9 million for a stablecoin payments API Combined, that's about $108 million in funding for these companies. Upvest's single $125 million raise actually tops that total, which really signals where investor interest is deepening. ### What Makes Upvest Different? While others focus on payments, Upvest is digging into the more specialized layer of securities and investment infrastructure. They're helping banks and brokers overhaul their core trading, custody, and back-office operations through APIs. Founded in 2017, they're a regulated institution, so they provide both the software and the end-to-end services. This lets financial institutions modernize legacy systems, cut overhead, and scale more profitably. Andreas Weiskam, a Partner at Sapphire Ventures, highlighted the team's achievement: "They've built a scalable, enterprise-grade platform trusted by the region's most innovative banks and FinTechs." That client list speaks for itself, including digital banks like DKB and Santander's Openbank, plus global FinTechs like Revolut, N26, Webull, and Raisin. They're processing over 100 million trades annually. ### The Road Ahead So, what's next with all this new capital? Upvest plans to absorb complexity for its clients, particularly around new local tax wrappers and regulations. With retail investing accelerating across Europe, they're expanding into new asset classes and AI-enabled capabilities to power more personalized investing. It's about building the backbone for the next generation of financial services, making it easier and faster for institutions to offer what modern investors actually want. For professionals watching the EU fintech space, this is a major move worth paying attention to.