Data-driven precision finance company ArK Kapital has made a very exciting announcement today – its capital pool has been extended to €300 million. The firm is committed to enabling European startups to grow faster and smarter, and this is a big boost to the firm and the wider startup ecosystem.
Just a couple of months since its raise of €165 million – earmarked to support Europe’s early-stage tech-driven startups – ArK Kapital has doubled its capital pool to €300 million. It’s now one of the biggest lending pools available to European tech founders. The loan facility comes from a Swedish bank.
They say that amid uncertainty, there is always a glimmer of light shining toward good things to come. In recent months, with looming doom and gloom surrounding a possible economic collapse, there’s been a fair share of uncertainty in the investment and startup space. However, at the same time, there are positive signs of the resilience Europe has cultivated and money is still circulating.
Launched in 2021, ArK Kapital fuses banking and artificial intelligence, operating as a data-driven precision finance company that enables technology companies to grow faster and smarter through long-term loans – maintaining control for founders and reducing risk for investors.
The Stockholm-based firm has optimised the process through its proprietary AI platform: the ArK Intelligence Machine (AIM). The AIM connects to the raw business data of a company and combines insights with relevant external market data. The result is that hidden possibilities for growth are unlocked and strategic foresight is uncovered.
Potential insights include when a customer will become profitable, when they will require new capital injection, and how quickly they can reasonably repay a loan. Based on that intelligence, ArK customises loans and other financial tools that fuel growth for founders with fewer mistakes and less equity dilution.
Oliver Hildebrandt, CEO and co-founder, said: “AIM, and our AI-driven, always-connected approach to underwriting seems to be exactly what the financial markets have been waiting for, which makes it possible for us to onboard more and more financial partners to the AIM-platform, unlocking more growth-money for the European founder community.”
Now, with this new raise, the Swedish fintech innovators can provide an incredible total of €300 million to investment-worthy founders through non-dilutive loans of €1-10 million. It’s undoubtedly an important step in the company’s wider mission to become a leader in growth financing and intelligence.
ArK stands apart from first-generation revenue-based financing (RBF) products, which normally oblige companies to begin repayments instantly and pay back the full amount in a short timescale. However, with ArK, founders have more legroom and breathing space – fitting the reality of many tech companies’ growth journeys. The ArK Growth Loan lasts up to seven years, with repayments not starting for two-to-three years– letting founders build without having to start repaying with borrowed money. The second loan product in the portfolio allows founders to get instant access to the money they’ve earned through various marketplaces, letting them reinvest into growth peaks.
Henrik Landgren, CPTO and co-founder, explained: “We find ourselves right in the eye of the current storm. We are honestly the only ones that offer a real option to equity funding, with big loans stretching over several years. That is why more money is being put into our pocket this early on, as the demand is so high. Getting funding from us should however not be seen as a rescue package, but a sign of strength. We take a DNA-test of companies’ growth; if they get a loan, it means that they are showing the type of growth the whole capital market is scouting for.”
