Seapoint: Ex-Stripe Execs Launch AI-Powered Financial Platform for European Startups

Dublin finance platform built by Stripe alumni raises $3m

Seapoint, dubbed as a 'financial home for start-ups', has also launched a private beta for the platform with a waiting list open from today. Seapoint, a financial management platform for European start-ups, has raised $3m in pre-seed funding, according to an announcement released today (18 September). The platform, which the Dublin-headquartered company has dubbed as an "AI-powered financial home for start-ups", was founded last year by a group of former Stripe and Tide employees, including CEO Sean Mullaney - the former European CIO for Stripe. The pre-seed round was led by Frontline, with backing from Tapestry VC and the former chief operating officers of Stripe, Revolut, Tide and Tines. Seapoint caters to start-up founders by combining a range of financial tools - such as business accounts, corporate cards, payments and treasury management - into one platform where AI technology is used to streamline some of the processes. The platform uses AI to automatically process invoices from a founder's email, manages payroll, categorises expenses and creates financial reports. Many on the team are ex-founders themselves, including Mullaney, and were inspired by the frustrations they themselves experienced first-hand. "AI can transform finances for scaling companies," says Mullaney, who was also CTO at AI unicorn Algolia, and has previously advised the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. "Within minutes, Seapoint connects to a company's bank accounts, its accounting software and email. At which point we can give them a real-time view of their business, automate bookkeeping, pay invoices and manage payroll. "It puts founders back in control of their finances." The company is primarily targeting mid-market European companies (comprising 10 to 250 employees) - including start-ups and scale-ups - which Seapoint says are too big for neobanks, but not big enough for traditional corporate banking and suffer from "fragmented" financial stacks. Will Prendergast, partner at Frontline, said: "Neobanks have built great products for consumers, but mid-market companies have more complex needs that aren't yet properly served. "With a deeply experienced fintech team, Seapoint is leveraging recent advances in AI to transform the finance stack and solve this tedious issue for all scaling companies." After nine months of development, Seapoint has now launched a private beta of the platform, which the company says is being used by "dozens" of VC-backed start-ups. From today, start-ups from across Europe and the UK can apply to the platform's waiting list. One early user of the platform is former Start-up of the Week Kota (formerly known as Yonder), which recently raised $14.5m in a Series A funding round. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Stripe alumnus launches AI-powered business account for European startups

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Seapoint is the brainchild of Sean Mullaney, who was previously European CIO at Stripe, CTO at AI unicorn Algolia, and has advised the ECB and the Bank of England. He argues that European companies with 10 to 250 employees are poorly served by today's financial institutions. They are too big for neobanks, who cater to consumers and the smallest businesses, but not big enough for traditional corporate banking - they are stuck in the middle with no clear financial home. This means, according to Seapoint's research talking to founders, that these mid-market firms are working with a financial stack that is fragmented, manual and costly. Depending on their stage, startups use four to six different financial products, moving money between them and relying on expensive accountants to stitch things together. Already launched in private beta, dozens of VC-backed startup are using Seapoint's business account that handles payroll, expenses, invoice payments, reporting and more. The firm is not a bank but provides e-money accounts through a deal with Dutch firm Modulr Finance. Mullaney has put together a team of former colleagues from Stripe's European payments operations and executives from Tide. Meanwhile, investors include Frontline Ventures, Tapestry VC and the ex-COOs of Stripe, Revolut, Tide and Tines. Mullaney says: "AI can transform finances for scaling companies. Within minutes, Seapoint connects to a company's bank accounts, its accounting software and email. At which point we can give them a real-time view of their business, automate bookkeeping, pay invoices and manage payroll. Seapoint is broader and more powerful than traditional banking. And it puts founders back in control of their finances."