Illuminate Financial, the thesis-driven venture capital investor dedicated to early-stage FinTech and enterprise software companies, announced a strategic relationship with Citi. Citi joins existing investors Jefferies, J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Börse Group and S&P Global as a limited partner in Illuminate Financial’s venture capital strategy.

Together, this investor group represents a unique combination of global financial institutions, which will further extend Illuminate Financial’s deep domain expertise and industry network. To date, Citi has co-invested in eight of Illuminate’s portfolio companies – Arteria AI, TransFicc, CloudMargin, Privitar, Genesis Global, Talos, Cosaic and Blockdaemon.

Illuminate Financial Secures Strategic Investment from Citi https://t.co/q9Z66wDxdI #vc #citi #illuminatefinancial #fintech #FinTechNews

— Illuminate Financial (@IlluminateFM) July 13, 2022

Founded by veteran finance executive Mark Beeston and operated with partners Alexander Ross and Rezso Szabo, Illuminate Financial has invested in more than 30 companies addressing core challenges across financial services including digital assets infrastructure, climate and ESG, data and private markets, as well as broader enterprise solutions that target the sector.

“Citi has a strong track-record of partnering with FinTechs to build digital solutions for our clients and believe this strategic investment will provide earlier visibility into new technologies and complement our direct investing program,” said Sandeep Arora, Head of Digital and Chief Investment Officer of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group.

“Citi has been an aggressive adopter of the innovative solutions offered by FinTechs and an active direct investor in 25% of our portfolio companies since we launched Illuminate’s first fund in 2015,” said Mark Beeston, Founder and Managing Partner of Illuminate Financial. “We are delighted to now add Citi to our roster of strategic investors, helping further catalyse enterprise FinTech adoption to the benefit of the whole eco-system.”

Source: Illuminate Financial