40Seas, an Israeli fintech startup that offers a fintech platform for cross-border trade financing, raised $111 million. ZIM and Team8 contributed $11 million as part of a seed round of financing and the rest came from $100 million in credit. So, Startup Nation seems to be getting off to a good start after a dismal Q4 in 2022.
Headquartered in Tel Aviv, with offices in New York City, Toronto and Shenzhen, 40Seas was co-founded by CEO Eyal Moldovan and COO Gil Shiff. 40Seas is a fintech platform for cross-border trade financing that is tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in global commerce. By leveraging data-driven technology, the company is able to offer flexible payment options that are primed to disrupt legacy trade-financing solutions, and make it faster, cheaper and easier for supply chain players – importers, exporters, freight forwarders and sourcing agencies – to access working capital.
40Seas, built in conjunction with Team8’s Fintech Foundry, said it emerged from stealth mode with a view to closing the $1.7 trillion global trade finance gap, providing a solution that enables digital B2B payment functionality while facilitating cross-border trade between SMEs.
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By leveraging AI and data-driven technology, 40Seas says that it is able to offer “flexible payment options that are primed to disrupt legacy trade-financing solutions, and extend the accessibility of working capital for SME importers, exporters, freight forwarders and sourcing agencies.” Since going live with a soft launch in October 2022, 40Seas financed transactions for dozens of SMEs and is slated to finance tens of millions of dollars in the coming months.
Eyal Moldovan, 40Seas CEO, said, “As a kid working in my father’s warehouse, I recall watching him routinely struggle with suppliers and banks to get extended payment terms and financing for his import business. In the 25 years since, the trade financing landscape hasn’t evolved in any meaningful way or kept pace with the needs of SMEs operating in the digital era. Given today’s harsh macroeconomic conditions, now more than ever, SMEs need easy access to financing to have the best chance of survival. 40Seas wants to drive a sea change in how companies access finance, with a unique solution that makes life easier for importers and exporters, serving both directions of a cross-border trade.”