Funding for Finovate alums rebounded significantly in the first quarter of 2025, year-over-year. Nine Finovate alums raised more than $232 million in funding, topping 2024’s first quarter tally by more than a million dollars.
Previous quarterly comparisons
- Q1 2024: More than $113 million raised by nine alums
- Q1 2023: More than $453 million raised by 13 alums
- Q1 2022: More than $365 million raised by 11 alums
- Q1 2021: More than $3.3 billion raised by 26 alums
January was the biggest funding month of the quarter, with two of the quarter’s top three equity investments coming in the first month of the year. That said, the fact that two of February’s investment totals were undisclosed means that February—often the lowest funding month of the quarter—might have been a bigger funding month than it appears.
Top equity investments from the quarter
- Highnote: $90 million
- Zeta: $50 million
- Method Financial: $42 million
As noted above, the big investment bucks arrived early for Finovate alums in 2025. The largest fundraising for alums in Q1 was Highnote’s haul in January. The company, which offers modern card issuance and program management, secured $90 million in a Series B round led by Adams Street Partners. Highnote made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2022 in San Francisco.
The Highnote investment was almost as large as the next two biggest funding rounds for Finovate alums in Q1 2025. Method Financial also announced a major fundraising in January, securing an investment of $42 million in a Series B round led by Emergence Capital. Zeta announced raising $50 million from an undisclosed “strategic investor” in February.
Here is our detailed alum funding report for Q1 2025.
January 2025
More than $164 million raised by four alums
February 2025
More than $50 million raised by three alums
March 2025
More than $18 million raised by two alums
If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the first quarter of 2025 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at [email protected]. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.
Photo by cottonbro studio
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