Personal money app Ziglu has raised nearly £900,000 through Angel Investment Network, the world’s largest online angel investment network, as part of a £6.1 million seed round.
Ziglu, founded by Mark Hipperson, bridges the worlds of cash and crypto by providing safe, simple access to cryptocurrencies fully integrated with a GBP account and Mastercard debit card.
It claims to ‘bring the challenger bank experience to cryptocurrency’.
Launched by childhood friends, James Badgett and Mike Lebus, Angel Investment Network is an online platform connecting start–ups with a global network of angel investors.
With 40 networks extending to 90 different countries and more than 1.4m users, it is the largest angel investment community in the world.
The raise took just three months and alongside the amount raised via AIN, this round also helped Ziglu raise more and at a higher valuation than Revolut or Monzo at a similar stage. The funding will be used to fund technology and product development, user acquisition and international expansion.
The raise is the latest in a series of high profile raises conducted through AIN as the platform has seen record growth in the first quarter of 2021. The UK angel investment landscape continues to recover strongly from the twin challenges of COVID and Brexit.
“A significant proportion of the UK population would like to be involved in cryptocurrencies, but face barriers in terms of being able to transact confidently and knowledgeably in a safe, familiar environment,” said Yang Li, Chief Growth Officer at Ziglu.
“We address these barriers to participation and empower everybody to take part in the new era of digital currencies. Working with AIN has given us unparalleled access to world class strategic investors and a streamlined fundraising process.
“This will allow us to accelerate growth and continue focusing on building the best product we can for our customers.”
According to Sam Louis, Angel Investment Network: “The profile of crypto has been huge over the past year and continues to grow. Our investor database really saw the potential for Ziglu to revolutionise access to this market.
“As a result, we were able to provide a tailored list of the right investors for them at this stage, as they look to develop their technology and user base in the UK and internationally. It caps the strongest quarter to date for the team.
“We’ve partnered a record number of businesses with leading investors who can power their growth and we’re very glad to have Ziglu as one of them.”
Cryptocurrency