Vitesse, a payments and treasury management platform for insurers, raises $93M to fuel US expansion

U.K. fintech Vitesse has closed a $93 million Series C round of funding led by investment giant KKR.

KKR said it’s making the investment through its Next Generation Technology Growth Fund III, a $3 billion fund it closed last year.

Founded out of London in 2013, Vitesse is the handiwork of Paul Townsend and Phil McGriskin, who had sold an e-commerce payments company called Envoy to WorldPay back in 2011.

Vitesse targets insurance companies with an all-in-one treasury and payment management platform, replete with connections to a network of clearing systems designed to streamline international payments. The platform provides easy access to domestic banking services to remove friction from cross-border payments, as well as services like liquidity management, cash-flow forecasting, and real-time visibility into cash positions in myriad accounts and currencies.

Vitesse had raised a $8.4 million Series A round in 2020, followed by a $26 million Series B round two years later. With another $93 million in the bank, the company said it’s doubling down on its U.S. expansion efforts, supported by the appointment of banking veteran Curt Hess, who will spearhead its growth Stateside.

Aside from lead backer KKR, Vitesse’s Series C round saw participation from existing investors Hoxton Ventures, Octopus Ventures, and Hannover Digital Investments.