SoftBank Vision Fund leads fintech C2FO's US$200m round

[LONDON] Vision Fund expanded its financial-technology portfolio, leading a US$200 million funding round for supply-chain platform C2FO.

Already this year, SoftBank's US$100 billion-odd fund has invested in the UK's Greensill, another supply-chain financier, and OakNorth Bank, as well as a pending deal in German payments company Wirecard AG.

"Business models are going to get redefined in this macro environment that we're entering, and I don't think banks will be the leaders in that innovation," said Akshay Naheta, a managing partner at the SoftBank Fund. "That's what keeps us excited about this sector."

Based in Leawood, Kansas, C2FO's online marketplace matches suppliers hoping to be paid earlier with counterparts who buy their invoices at a discount and are repaid the full amount. The company says this provides working capital, especially to small businesses, estimating that US$40 trillion is tied up around the world in accounts receivables. C2FO says it has clients in 173 countries and plans to use the funds from this round to strengthen partnerships in India and China and create a presence in South Korea, Japan and Indonesia.

The company declined to provide the valuation implied by the funding round, which included earlier investors Allianz X, Mubadala Investment Co, Temasek Ltd, Union Square Ventures and Mithril Capital.

SoftBank's Mr Naheta said the investment falls under the original Vision Fund and is not part of their newly formed US$108 billion Vision 2, which is due to start investing soon.

BLOOMBERG