Spiko, a Paris-based fintech helping businesses earn more interest from their money via government-issued securities, just raised $22m in a Series A funding round led by Index Ventures.
Founded in 2023 by Antoine Michon and Paul-Adrien Hyppolite, both former French government advisors, Spiko aims to help smaller businesses extract returns from cash otherwise left sitting in their bank.
A host of prominent angel investors backed the company, including Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, Wise CTO Harsh Sinha and French software unicorn Pennylane’s seven cofounders.
Other than Index, other participating investors include White Star Capital, Frst, Rerail, Bpifrance and Blockwall.
How it works
The US has long been considered superior to Europe when it comes to liquidity (or how quickly an asset can be turned into cash).
There are a number of structural reasons for this, including a longer history of capital markets funding companies (rather than bank loans) in the US and the fragmented patchwork of laws governing businesses across different European countries.
Spiko aims to reduce the gap between the US and Europe by enabling smaller businesses to earn interest from practically risk-free assets, particularly treasury bills (or T-Bills), a form of short-term debt securities issued by governments in the EU and the US.
Fund shares are tokenised and logged on a blockchain ledger. This enables transfers via stablecoin and customers can top up with digital current and withdraw in fiat, or vice versa.
By allowing customers to access T-bills more easily, smaller European businesses can unlock liquidity and earn more interest with ease. Spiko makes money by charging a 0.25% annual management fee on deposited funds.
“In Europe, there’s a mistaken belief that your money won’t earn interest unless you lock it away or take on risk,” says Hyppolite.
“But as long as central bank rates are above zero, sitting on idle cash means European businesses are missing out on returns that US competitors routinely receive.”
The company declined to share current revenue figures.
“Spiko’s initial product resonates strongly with customers in Europe,” says Julia Andre, partner at Index Ventures. “We’re excited about their vision to tap into huge distribution channels with an expansive product offering over time."
