Upvest raises $125M to build Europe's investment infrastructure backbone
What's the deal? Berlin-based investment infrastructure startup Upvest has raised $125 million in a funding round led by Sapphire Ventures and Tencent, just 12 months after closing a $115 million Series C. The round includes $90 million in equity from Sapphire Ventures, Tencent, Bessemer Venture Partners, and BlackRock, plus a $35 million debt facility, valuing the company at $735 million.
Upvest provides API-based infrastructure that powers trading and back-office operations for banks, brokers, and wealth managers. It counts Revolut, N26, DKBDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and SantanderDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Openbank among its more than 30 clients, processing over 100 million orders annually.
Why now? Demand for modern investment infrastructure in Europe is accelerating as banks and fintechs look to replace legacy systems. Upvest plans to use the capital to expand support for pension products across major European markets and the UK, and to build out AI-powered personalised investing capabilities.
Closing a $125 million round just 15 months after a $105 million Series C signals strong commercial momentum and investor confidence in the company's trajectory.
What could go wrong? Upvest is still loss-making, with profitability described only as a near-future goal. Expanding across multiple European markets simultaneously — each with distinct regulatory frameworks and pension structures — is operationally complex and capital intensive.
The signal: Europe's investment infrastructure layer is being rebuilt from scratch, and Upvest is positioning itself as the picks-and-shovels play. As neobanks and traditional financial institutions race to launch competitive investment products, demand for plug-and-play API infrastructure is growing fast.
The involvement of BlackRock and Tencent alongside specialist VCs suggests this is no longer a niche fintech bet — it is becoming a foundational layer of European financial services.
Sources:
Upvest
EU Startups
Tech.eu
Sifted
Bloomberg
Handelsblatt
Til Rochow's LinkedIn post
J.V.
