Illuminate Financial

🌟 Announcing Our 2024 Charities of the Year! 🌟 At Illuminate Financial, we are proud to support causes that make a meaningful difference in communities around the world. For 2024, our team has chosen to champion a diverse range of charities, each addressing critical needs and driving impactful change: 💙 Smile Train 🧡 MS Society 🚁 CORNWALL AIR AMBULANCE TRUST 💜 BC Cancer Foundation 🛟 Lifeboats-Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) 🧵 Common Threads 👑 The Little Princess Trust 💡 MicroLoan Foundation This year, we’re donating the equivalent of one day’s revenue to these incredible organizations. Our team personally selected each charity to represent the causes closest to us. From advancing healthcare and supporting underserved communities to empowering individuals and saving lives, these charities are doing inspiring work, and we’re honoured to contribute to their missions. #IlluminateFinancial #CharityOfTheYear #CommunityImpact

🚀 Private Markets 2.0: How Fintech is Transforming the Landscape Private markets are booming, with assets under management (AuM) expected to exceed $15 trillion by 2025 and surpass $18 trillion by 2027. As companies stay private longer and private markets consistently outperform public ones, the demand for innovation in this space has never been greater. At Illuminate Financial, we’re proud to support early- and growth-stage businesses building the next generation of tech-enabled private market solutions. From automating manual workflows to unlocking data-driven insights, fintech innovations are reshaping how asset managers and investors operate. Key trends driving this transformation: ✅ Explosive growth: Private markets are growing at twice the rate of public markets. ✅ Demand for efficiency: Manual processes, legacy systems, and fragmented data are ripe for disruption. ✅ Game-changing tech: Companies like Accelex and Pontoro (part of our portfolio) are building tools that drive operational efficiency and unlock new opportunities. The next decade presents unprecedented opportunities for fintech companies to reimagine private markets' technology stack—delivering faster, smarter, and more accessible solutions for all participants. 🌟 Read our latest thesis blog by Shivani Shashidar to learn how private markets are evolving and how startups are leading this transformation: https://lnkd.in/eBh2c_Df 📩 Let’s connect! If you’re a founder or investor in this space, we’d love to hear from you. #PrivateMarkets #FintechInnovation #IlluminateFinancial

🌍 Illuminating the Way Forward: Our ESG Journey 🌱 At Illuminate Financial, we believe that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles are no longer optional in today’s financial landscape—they are essential. In our latest blog written by Shivani Shashidar, we share insights into how we’ve integrated ESG considerations into our investment processes and how we’re working to make a positive impact across our portfolio. From aligning with global sustainability goals to supporting companies that innovate responsibly, our commitment to ESG isn’t just about compliance—it’s about driving meaningful change. 💡 Why is this important? - The finance industry has a unique role in addressing global challenges, from climate change to social inequities. - ESG practices aren't just ethical—they're increasingly linked to better long-term returns and resilience. We’re proud to share this milestone in our journey and invite you to read more about our approach here: https://lnkd.in/ebTu-KWv #ESG #SustainableFinance #IlluminateFinancial

We had an incredible time at FIMA Events in London last week, connecting with investors - quantitative, fundamental, ESG - and data professionals from some of the world’s leading asset mangers, pension funds and investment banks. To cap off an amazing first day on the main stage, Theia was honoured to be shortlisted to pitch in the data world's answer to Dragon's Den alongside other innovative start-ups, and we were thrilled to take home the trophy! 🏆 A big thank you to Rosie Zehtab and the team at Illuminate Financial, Daniëlle Bourgondiën from PGGM, Albert Yumol from ING, and Rob Goodliffe from Wells Fargo for the insightful questions and interest in what we're building. And, of course, a big shoutout to the Worldwide Business Research (WBR) team for organising such an outstanding event. #data #FIMA2024 #artificialintelligence #innovation #startups

Illuminate's Rosie Zehtab will be hosting the Dragons Den panel at FIMA Events today. Three start-ups will battle it out to be crowned the winner! 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬: Rob Goodliffe | Wells Fargo Daniëlle Bourgondiën | PGGM Albert Yumol | ING 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐔𝐩𝐬: Ye Tian | Theia Insights Nicolas Hourcard, CFA | QuestDB Gregg Bernstein | Citrusx #data #analytics #fima2024

It's a double whammy for our London Partner Rezso Szabo as he takes the mic at two events tomorrow! 💼 Future of Funding: VCs Talk Investing 📍 Main Stage at Finance Magnates London Summit 🔍 Discussing the evolving VC landscape, the trends shaping investment strategies, and what the future holds for funding. 🤖 AI in Wealth – Executive Breakfast 📍 Schroders x Pangea 🔍 Diving into the role of AI in wealth management, sparking discussions on how AI's adoption, adaptation, and evolution has changed the wealth industry. Apply to join: https://lnkd.in/gKRHrF6R #fmls24 #aiwealth #illuminatefinancial

Yesterday we had the pleasure of hosting 20 INSEAD students at our Singapore office. It was great to share insights about our fund philosophy and receive lots of questions about exit opportunities in Southeast Asia and the future of fintech! cc: Ting Yan Luca Z. INSEAD Private Equity Club (IPEC) #insead #vcmentorship #illuminatefinancial

Heading to Helsinki for Slush next week ❄️ Excited to connect with new and familiar faces. Feel free to drop me a message if you want to catch-up! Rosie Zehtab Illuminate Financial Grant Spradlin Composable

Congratulations to Notabene on their $14.5M Series B funding round! 🎉 “As the existing market leader for Travel Rule compliance, we believe Notabene has the potential to become the “SWIFT network” for blockchain transactions. There is a desperate need for a secure network to share all transaction metadata. This will enable compliance with global regulations and is a key pillar to unlocking mass adoption of stablecoins for payments. We have been working with the founders since 2021 and believe they are the best positioned to execute this vision.” - Alexander Ross, Partner, Head of NYC Shoutout to DRW for leading the round and we are pleased to return as an investor and be joined by Apollo Global Management, Inc., Jump Capital, Wintermute, NextBlock VC, F-Prime Capital, CMT Digital, Y Combinator, ParaFi Capital, Signature Ventures and Green Visor Capital Management Co., LLC Well done to Pelle Brændgaard, Alice Nawfal and the entire team. Onwards!

Wrapping up an incredible week at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2024! 🌏 The Illuminate Financial team didn’t just attend; we made our mark with four hosted events, countless conversations, and an energy-filled week alongside the world’s fintech visionaries and leaders. Being in Singapore brought a unique chance to unite our network—Strategic Partners, investors, financial services connections, entrepreneurs, and friends of the firm! Here are some highlights that made the week unforgettable: 🍜 Exclusive Private Dinner at Min Jiang: We gathered senior leaders from top global and regional financial institutions and some of the most innovative founders in our portfolio for a memorable evening of connection and insight. 🎤 Enterprise Fintech Forum 2024: With the support of SGX Group, Barclays, BNY, Citi, Deutsche Börse, and S&P Global, we co-hosted another impactful session filled with fresh perspectives and actionable content. 🥂 Money Movement & Fintech Evening: Together with Mastercard, Gunderson Dettmer, Stripe, and Hyphen Partners, we hosted a full-house evening event that brought together fintech enthusiasts for a night of networking and inspiration. Thank you, Singapore, and everyone who joined us this week. The future of fintech is brighter, and we’re thrilled to be shaping it with such an extraordinary community! cc: Mark Beeston, Luca Z., Ting Yan, Rosie Zehtab, Molly Day, Alexander Ross, Rezso Szabo