Orbital, a London-based traditional finance and crypto solutions platform for global enterprises, has raised €5.8 million in an oversubscribed growth round led by Golden Record Ventures. The company pointed out that the operation was done at an attractive valuation in which the founders are maintaining a large majority.
Participants in the round include New Form Capital, GSRV, Psalion and Luminous Futures. The funding marks Orbital’s first institutional capital raise, having been bootstrapped and profitable since being founded in London in 2017.
Orbital is a licensed provider of a range of traditional payment and global FX solutions, but where it deviates from the norm is that it’s also licensed for crypto payments, especially focusing on the business use cases for stablecoins in cross border payments.
Luke Wingfield-Digby, co-founder and CIO of Orbital, commented: “We believe all modern, global companies will require access to both blockchain and fiat payment rails, from one single platform, to effectively manage their business in the future. Orbital has been built by veterans who deeply understand the needs of large enterprises, which until now have been massively underserved. Our combined expertise in both traditional finance and crypto means that we are uniquely positioned to serve their demands. We’ve both grown rapidly and raised financing in a very difficult crypto bear market. Now we’re ready to scale even further and push our platform towards the bleeding edge of fintech.”
Orbital combines fiat and crypto business accounts to enable traditional, global enterprises, particularly those with exposure to emerging markets, to integrate stablecoins, as well as other major cryptocurrencies and traditional currencies, into existing payment flows. Its APIs further act as an embedded finance solution for stablecoin payments.
Orbital is licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority as an authorised payment institution in the UK, and as a virtual currency service provider in Estonia, with other licences to be announced in the coming months. The company was founded by Chris Mason (CEO), Luke Wingfield-Digby (CIO) and Paulius Grigaitis (CTO), all seasoned industry veterans with years of experience in technology, banking and payments.
Orbital’s first institutional capital raise comes ahead of it raising a Series A round, and, despite the current crypto bear market, off the back of its seven-digit monthly revenue having grown over 40% in the last 6 months. It has around 80 clients processing $250 million of value every month. Orbital’s headcount is 95 globally, with four offices across London, Estonia, Gibraltar and Manila.
The funding round will enable Orbital to continue its rapid growth, secure additional licences in new jurisdictions, and further develop its product.
Jad Benabdelkhalek, General Partner at Golden Record Ventures, added: “The annual volume of B2B payments is larger than worldwide GDP and yet the architecture of cross-border flow is a patchwork of legacy methods mired with friction and inefficiencies. The Orbital team has developed a best-in-class, compliant technology platform that caters specifically to large corporates and enterprises. The global business community is starting to internalise the value and importance of stablecoins settlement, and we are delighted to back Orbital in its mission to overhaul traditional banking coverage.”
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/08/london-based-orbital-raises-e5-8-million-to-help-enterprises-adopt-blockchain-and-fiat-payments-rails-in-one-single-platform/
