Today, Lightyear announces a $23 million Series B, unveils a new suite of AI market intelligence tools, taking the technology behind European retail investing to a new level; and expands into three new markets.

“With just three years live in Estonia, Lightyear has been a catalyst for a cultural shift in investing, pushing local banks – who until Lightyear lacked any real competition – to drop their prices, making investing better for all Estonians. Competition heating up is a great step towards empowering more people to grow their wealth, which is Lightyear’s end goal” says Martin Sokk, CEO of Lightyear. “With our new Series B funding we’re excited to turn the heat up even more, by continuing to build Lightyear to cover an investor’s every need.”

Building for Europe, backed by local know-how 

The new funding round includes investors with strong experience across Europe, highlighting the importance of supporting the innovation behind Europe’s tech ecosystem with local experts and local know-how.

In addition to lead investors NordicNinja and Superangel, the round saw participation from SpecialistVC. Existing investors – VCs Lightspeed Venture Partners, Metaplanet, and Skaala (by Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi); as well as angel investors Kaarel Kotkas, Hardi Meybaum and Ott Kaukver – also increased their stakes.

New additions in the round are Bolt’s founder and CEO, Markus Villig and Wise’s UK & EU Director Lars Trunin, who, having spearheaded some the fastest growing companies in Europe, are uniquely positioned to support Lightyear’s next stage of growth.

“We’re excited to lead Lightyear’s Series B as they continue to make waves across Europe,” said Rainer Sternfeld, Partner at NordicNinja. “Our goal as investors is to find companies solving real problems with next-level solutions. We believe that AI will play a powerful role in every aspect of our future, and the investing sector is not immune to that. Martin and Mihkel have an unparalleled vision for how it will shape the future of retail investing in Europe, and we couldn’t wait to join in on that.”

“Investing should be accessible to everyone – with low fees, intuitive design, and a strong selection of instruments,” added Marko Oolo, Partner at Superangel. “Today, managing your personal finances is as essential a life skill as eating healthy. As a long-time advocate for financial literacy, I’m proud to support Lightyear’s mission to make investing more accessible to retail investors across Europe.”

“It can be challenging to scale a business across multiple countries in a heavily regulated sector. So it takes a talented and fast-moving team with a laser focus to build a product that is helping Europeans grow their wealth, with a great user experience. I’m excited to back Martin and Mihkel in disrupting that market,” commented Markus Villig, CEO of Bolt.

A focus on AI-powered investing

According to Sokk, Lightyear’s role in Estonia’s success story could become as transformative as that of Skype or Wise. “Skype showed that technology could become a flagship export for Estonia. Wise proved that financial innovation could be born right here in Tallinn. Now, Lightyear is on the path to transform Europe’s entire investment landscape – by building AI into the accessibility and scale we already offer,” he noted.

Starting today, Lightyear users will gain access to the company’s first AI-powered tools – breaking open access to high-quality, concise insights on stocks, funds, and market sentiment which is often locked behind paywalls. The first  – “Why Did It Move?” – allows users to see a summary of what caused a spike or dip on an instrument chart. The second, “Bulls Say, Bears Say,” analyses reliable sources and presents arguments both for and against an investment. The third, “Lightning Updates,”provides bite-sized summaries related to the instruments you hold or watch, as well as updates on macroeconomic trends and market sentiment.

Expanding the map 

This Series B will be used to further expand Lightyear across every European country, starting today with the brand new additions of Denmark, Sweden and Bulgaria to its coverage. Lightyear’s expansion into new Nordics and Central Europe cements the company’s position as the fastest expanding investment company in Europe, which now operates across 25 markets in 10 languages.

“Europe has long been lagging behind the likes of the US when it comes to people taking charge of their finances. Largely, because most countries here just haven’t had user-friendly providers helping them do so — until Lightyear. Hitting $1 billion in customer assets is only the beginning for us but already shows the strong trust investors place in us, as well as the need for a truly customer-friendly investment platform. We don’t take this trust lightly, as we continue to build Lightyear to become the biggest investment firm in Europe.” comments Sokk.