Tallinn-based startup RAISON, which is developing a mobile application for investments in private companies, has closed its new round of funding of €125K from an angel investor. In total, since the founding, the company has raised about €1 million. The first round took place in 2018 via convertible notes, at which point the investment in the startup amounted to €700K.
Founded in 2017, RAISON app allows users to invest in large private companies such as SpaceX, Airbnb, Robinhood from €100. The startup has developed one of the world’s first legal structures for digitizing shares of private companies; the register of investors and all transactions with securities are conducted via blockchain. This provides a unique opportunity to invest with lower costs and simplified process.
This structure of digitization of shares also meets the requirements of the European Union legislation, and the startup operates under a virtual currency service license. The structure additionally includes a regulated fund and an investment management company licensed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Alexander Zaitsev, co-founder and CEO of RAISON commented: “Our startup is entering the stage of scaling: we have a unique product, more than 5K users — their number is growing by 40% every month — and a clear development strategy. We recently passed the benchmark: we sold the entire stock of SpaceX, the first company in our portfolio. By the end of November, we plan to launch a secondary market for tokenized shares — a new stage in the development of RAISON will begin with it. We continue to move within the framework of our mission — make investments available to clients with different capital.”
Andrey Berezin, co-founder and CFO of RAISON explains how exactly the startup democratizes the investment market, expanded: “Shares of private companies are usually not available to smaller investors: the minimum investment is €200K. At the same time, private companies grow faster than public and bring more income to shareholders. RAISON gives an opportunity for everyone to invest in promising businesses.”