Novo, a digital banking platform for businesses, announced it raised $40.7 million in a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures, a New York venture capital firm backed by billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel.
The Miami-based fintech reports it tripled its small business customer base and surpassed more than $1 billion in transactions in the first half of 2021.
“The ability of the Novo team to grow the company rapidly during a year where businesses have faced unprecedented challenges is impressive. Their custom infrastructure and banking platform put them in prime position to expand their services at an even faster pace as we come out of the health crisis,” said Valar Ventures founding partner Andrew McCormack.
CrossLink Capital, a San Francisco venture capital firm that led Novo's 2019 seed round; Los Angeles-based Rainfall Ventures; New York-based Red Sea Ventures and New York investment fund BoxGroup also contributed to the Series A round.
Novo's mobile banking platform supports a range of digital banking features for businesses, including free checking accounts, payment transfers, budgeting, invoicing and e-commerce tracking. The startup reports more than 100,000 small businesses have opened an account since its launch in 2018. Michael Rangel is CEO and co-founder of the company.
The fintech recently moved its headquarters from New York after opening a Brickell office in March, a representative told the Business Journal. The company maintains a presence in New York but intends to scale in Miami. Novo has approximately 60 employees, with plans to double that count over the next year.
Novo is among a wave of fintech, finance and venture capital firms that grew their footprint in South Florida over the past year, a trend that accelerated after Miami Mayor Francis Suarez kicked off his now-viral campaign to recruit new tech and cryptocurrency ventures to the the city.
"This is the Miami story – I want to thank Novo for putting faith in their city and further proving exactly what Miami businesses are capable of," Suarez said in a statement.
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