May 17, 2023

Funderbeam – an angel investing and trading platform – announced a deal with VentureWave in which they have agreed to enter into a transaction to create a leading global entity that will serve institutional and angel investors in venture deal execution and secondaries. As part of the deal, VentureWave led the $40 million investment in Funderbeam. Mistletoe, Draper Associates, and Ruusalepp also joined the funding round. VentureWave is going to take an active and strategic leadership role in scaling Funderbeam’s ground-breaking technology across venture assets. And the Group now has an evolved US market entry strategy through Vestiver, the institutional venture platform. Following the completion of the deal, the group will target the entire life cycle of global venture investments and secondaries, from early-stage angel funding until pre-IPO secondaries. Funderbeam is going to continue to serve investor networks and provide Private Market as a service; ‘Angel Market’. Following the transaction with VentureWave, it will now additionally serve institutional clients: VC funds, family offices, brokers, and investment banks. Until the transaction is approved by the regulators in the UK, Singapore, and Estonia, no further corporate-level actions and decisions will be made. KEY QUOTES: “This transaction creates a powerful platform to fast forward Funderbeam’s vision which is to serve venture investments across borders and create a unique secondary market for private assets. The timing of the transaction couldn’t be better – we are strong at a time when the market is ready for our solution.” – Kaidi Ruusalepp, founder and CEO of Funderbeam “VentureWave’s investment in Funderbeam is a game-changer for the industry, shaping the future of venture markets and enabling access to global venture deals and secondaries. Together, we have the necessary assets, technology, and capital to take on the entire venture investment life cycle. This represents a transformative moment to put impact at the centre of the investment industry.” – Alan Foy, VentureWave Chairman “Private companies from venture investments have a long history of difficult liquidity. Our portfolio company, Funderbeam together with VentureWave allow venture backed start-ups to be liquid. This is a major breakthrough and the new liquidity will allow for GPs and LPs to more easily trade otherwise illiquid positions.” – Tim Draper, founder of Draper Associates “Mistletoe is supporting impact companies. Companies that introduce change for the better in a way we live and do business. Funderbeam has been a pioneer in changing the way that the venture market works – democratising investments in startups and enabling exits when needed. Solution that puts founders first in their mission. It takes endurance and resilience to introduce novel models in the financial sector and we are very happy that the other impact investor, VentureWave, is joining in.” – Taizo Son, founder of Mistletoe