Temasek-backed Reefknot, Mastercard co-lead $11m round for fintech startup Previse

It often takes months before invoices are paid in full, reducing the cash flow of many small- and medium-sized enterprises and limiting their investment and growth opportunities.

UK-based fintech startup Previse is addressing this problem by helping suppliers get paid instantly.

Payments giant Mastercard and Reefknot Investments, a Singapore joint venture by Temasek and Swiss firm Kuehne and Nagel, have just co-led an US$11 million funding round for the firm. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Hambro Perks, and Augmentum Fintech also participated in the round.

Previse co-founder and CEO Paul Christensen / Photo credit: Previse

Founded in 2016, Previse’s technology, called InstantPay, analyzes data from invoices that sellers send to their large corporate customers. Predictive analytics then identifies invoices that need intervention so the rest can be paid instantly.

The new funding will support the company’s growth as it rolls out InstantPay to more corporate buyers globally, Paul Christensen, the co-founder and CEO of Previse, said.

“Now more than ever, it is important to increase the resilience of supply chains and support SMEs that economies across the world depend on. The best way to do this is for large corporates to pay invoices fast,” said Christensen, adding that the company aims to see 5 million suppliers get paid instantly within the next five years.

To further its global ambitions, the startup has also cast its eye on the Asian market. The region constitutes the largest proportion of the world’s suppliers and SMEs, Christensen told Tech in Asia.

Previse marks Reefknot’s second global investment. Last year, the joint venture made its maiden investment in UK-based AI startup Prowler, shortly after it announced its US$50 million fund for AI, deep tech, and trade finance opportunities.