George Osborne backs fintech Capitolis with funding and a board seat

Former chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, has joined Index Ventures and other investors in backing B2B capital markets startup, Capitolis, in a $110m series D funding round.

The company has nabbed a valuation of $1.6bn and says the new funding will be used to “turbo-charge” the growth of its capital marketplace. The fundraise was co-led by Index Ventures, Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital – the Osborne brothers’ venture capital firm – and SVB Capital.

Index Ventures, whose portfolio includes companies such as Dropbox and Slack, has now backed Capitolis through multiple funding rounds. Other existing investors included a16z, Sequoia Capital, Citi, and JP Morgan.

Former chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, co-founded venture capital firm 9Yards with his brother, Theo, and David Fisher in 2018.

 “At 9Yards Capital, we’re impressed by Capitolis and the innovation it is bringing to [...] making our financial system more secure and our capital markets more efficient,” said Osborne.

As a key investor in Capitolis’ latest funding round, Osborne will also be joining Capitolis as a member of its board, alongside other new additions Jeffrey Goldstein and Dan Beldy from Canapi Ventures.

“The additions of Jeffrey Goldstein, George Osborne and Dan Beldy to the Capitolis Board of Directors will strengthen an already world-class board,” said Tom Glocer, executive chairman and co-founder of Capitolis.

“Their years of experience in balancing sound regulatory policy and financial stability with innovation in financial markets will help guide Capitolis as we scale our technology and impact in global capital markets.”

Founded in 2017 and with offices in New York, London and Tel Aviv, Capitolis helps banks manage capital and risk exposures via its compression and novation platform and says it has transacted some $60bn through its marketplace.

The company claims it enables banks, investors, and institutional clients to expand their reach via its platform and by removing barriers that would otherwise restrict their growth. Its client base includes large banking players such as JPMorgan Chase &Co, Citigroup Inc, and State Street Corp.

“Over the past two years, our vision to reinvent capital markets has gained tremendous momentum as we have tripled our revenue, customer base and team,” said Gil Mandelzis, CEO and founder of Capitolis. “We are thrilled to have partners like Canapi, 9Yards, and SVB Capital who bring strategic expertise, a true passion for the mission and a powerful network to leverage as we embark on our next chapter of growth.”