Valiant secures $12.5m equity raise

Business loan marketplace platform Valiant Finance has announced that it has secured $12.5 million in its series B equity funding round, with contributions led by ANZi Ventures and Salesforce Ventures.

Westpac’s venture capital fund Reinventure also contributed to the round, along with Carthona Capital and Full Circle Venture Capital.

The Valiant platform acts as a comparison engine for over 75 of Australia’s online SME loan providers, and pairs business owners with appropriate loan options to suit their needs.

Valiant’s existing partners include Westpac, Connective and Yellow Brick Road Group, where they assist bankers, mortgage brokers and financial advisers with their SME customers.

The platform also allows for a streamlined application process from inquiry to settlement.

According to Valiant, the newly secured funding will be used to “accelerate” its product roadmap, as well as support various future partnerships, to expand their product offerings for SME clients.

Alex Molloy, co-founder and CEO of Valiant, stated that the funding round will allow the start-up to strengthen its place as a player in small-business lending.

“We’re very excited to take investment from ANZ and Salesforce Ventures,” Mr Molly said.

“The additional capital from this round enables us to consolidate that growth, accelerate our platform roadmap, and build partnerships with equipment dealerships offering point-of-sale finance to their customers,” he added.

Speaking of ANZ’s investment, ANZi managing director Ron Spector commented: “Valiant is changing the way businesses access capital. This investment is aligned with our strategy to support the leading innovative companies which can create value for Australian SMBs [small and medium-sized businesses]. 

“We are excited about supporting the team and partnering to help them grow the business.”

Mr Spector will now join Valiant’s board alongside Reinventure’s Simon Cant and Carthona Capital’s Dean Dorrell.

Salesforce Ventures also invested in the series B round in one of the first deployments of capital from the companies’ US$50 million Australian Trailblazer Fund.

“Valiant is a trailblazer in business finance in Australia and has developed a compelling proposition and experience for customers using the Salesforce platform,” said Rob Keith, principal at Salesforce Ventures. “We’re proud to join ANZi Ventures in this funding round.”

Valiant Finance co-founder and chief product officer Ritchi Cotton highlighted that the funding will be used, in part, to fund greater partnerships with institutions, to expand its ability to deliver the most appropriate SME lending options for customers.

Speaking of the future, Mr Ritichie said: “Where our platform shines is intelligently selecting the best option for the customer and building a unique digital application for that product in real time, giving customers the experience they expect even if the end lender has limited digital capability.

“We are building on this base and adding more globally unique capabilities for our partners, like collaboration and machine learning features for accountants and point-of-sale vendors,” he said.

[Related: Australian fintechs see 80% revenue growth]