US-based business finance provider BlueVine has increased its series E round to $72m with $12m from M12 and Nationwide Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiaries of software provider Microsoft and insurance firm Nationwide.
The $60m first tranche closed in June this year, with the funding being supplied by venture capital firm Menlo Ventures and SVB Capital, a branch of venture finance provider Silicon Valley Bank, as well as what BlueVine said was all of its major existing investors.
BlueVine provides financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, giving them the means to cover short-term expenses, buy additional inventory or equipment, or scale their operations. It also offers six and 12-month credit lines through partner bank Celtic Bank.
The extra investment took BlueVine’s overall funding to $185m since it was founded in 2013. E-commerce firm Rakuten invested in the company through its FinTech Fund as part of a $40m series C round led by Menlo Ventures in early 2016.
SVB, Lightspeed Venture Partners, 83North and Correlation Ventures also backed the series C round, and joined Rakuten FinTech Fund and Citi Ventures, financial services firm Citi’s strategic investment arm, for a $49m series D later the same year.
M12 partner Elliott Robinson said: “We are excited about BlueVine’s suite of technology-enabled working capital solutions for small and medium-sized businesses.
“The company’s market traction to-date has been impressive and we believe their technology and talent have set them on the path for continued growth. We look forward to seeing what they do next.”