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L to R: Henrik Landgren (CPTO); Elin Bäcklund (CTO); Axel Bruzelius (COO); Oliver Hildebrandt (CEO); Julia Ehrhardt (CFO) | Image credit: LinkedIn

Stockholm-based ArK Kapital, a data-driven precision financing company that empowers technology startups to grow faster, announced that it has raised SEK 1.5B (approximately €145.13M) in a mixture of debt and equity funding.

This fundraise follows ArK’s recently announced Seed round led by Local Globe with participation from Creandum and angel investors, including Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen, iZettle founder Jacob de Geer, and EQT Ventures founding partner Hjalmar Winbladh.

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The investor

Pollen Street Capital claims that it has supported the round in a new partnership, providing a €150M senior secured debt facility. The firm has deep expertise in tailored debt funding and strategic insight for SME lenders, with this deal representing Pollen Street’s first facility in Scandinavia.

Michael Katramados, Partner at Pollen Street, says, “We are thrilled to partner with ArK and support the business as it empowers technology startups and entrepreneurs to grow smarter, Pollen Street has significant experience in backing agile and innovative SME lenders and we are excited to work with ArK in what will be our first facility in Scandinavia. The team at ArK have built a data-driven business that applies state-of-the-art AI modelling to create tailored funding and instant access to AI-powered growth analytics tools for founders, ultimately helping them unleash their potential and power positive impact.”

Pollen Street Capital is an independent alternative investment management company, focused on accelerating the progress of the financial and business services sectors. Founded in 2013, the firm operates across private equity and credit strategies on behalf of investors, including leading pension funds, asset managers, banks, and family offices from around the world.

The precision finance company

ArK Kapital is a data-driven precision finance company that helps startups to grow smarter through long-term loans, maintaining control for founders and reducing risk for investors. Its aim is to break down financial barriers and empower entrepreneurship through building the ‘best financing solutions’ for tech businesses.

The fintech firm was founded in 2021 by six-time entrepreneur Oliver Hildebrandt (CEO), veteran banker Axel Bruzelius (COO), and Spotify’s ex-VP of Analytics and former EQT Ventures partner Henrik Landgren (CPTO).

Offering an alternative to equity-based funding, ArK focuses on non-dilutive loans to multi-sector European startups ranging from €1M to €10M. The fintech startup offers longer-term loans, lasting up to eight years, to give early-stage startups time to grow. The loans are based on predictions of a company’s future revenue. The firm then shares daily access to its analytics and insights in a borrower dashboard, so companies can optimise their business performance.

Oliver Hilderbrandt says, “At ArK, we understand entrepreneurs and we know that traditional finance can often fail to serve their needs. We base our lending solutions on the real potential of fast-growth businesses and help them realise that potential. This is where the power of an AI-driven approach becomes clear: companies can benefit from tailored financing options based on their potential, backed up by data. As an entrepreneur-first company, we want to offer the best network and support for founders.”