Chinese ecommerce giant Tencent has led an $18 million funding round into London-based fintech Previse.
Other investors joining the Seires B round include Augmentum Fintech and Reefknot.
Previse operates a business finance service aimed at small and medium businesses, using machine learning to analyse business trading data Products enabled by Previse’s infrastructure include flexible cash advances that are driven by business needs and automated day-1 early payments that are not dependent on a buyer’s approval process.
The company has so far raised $25 million through nine rounds of financing.
Paul Christensen, co-founder and CEO of Previse, comments: “We’re delighted to have completed this first phase of our Series B round, which will allow us to accelerate the adoption of our working capital finance solutions. To have Tencent lead our round is a great endorsement of our model and the opportunity we are addressing.”
It is not the first time Tencent has invested in the UK’s tech market. It currently holds stakes in digital bank Monzo and medtech firm Ultraleap.