CommerzVentures, the venture capital arm of financial services firm Commerzbank, has led a $14m series B round for Germany-based e-commerce anti-fraud technology developer Fraugster.
Munich Re/HSB Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for reinsurance firm Munich Re, also participated in the round, as did Earlybird, Speedinvest, Seedcamp and Rancilio Cube, the family office that represents the Rancilio family.
Founded in 2014, Fraugster has created a software platform that utilises data sourced from a wide range of places to determine whether or not an e-commerce transaction is fraudulent by assessing the trustworthiness of the buyer.
CommerzVentures managing partner Stefan Tirtey said: “Fraud is a huge problem for e-commerce. Fraugster helps merchants to concentrate on selling, while reducing fraud and increasing conversion rates.”
In addition to investing in the company, Munich Re will also insure Fraud Free, the Fraugster product that fully covers liability for each of its clients’ transactions. Fraugster will put the capital towards expansion across Europe, the US and Asia.
The funding comes after a $5m round for the company in January 2017 that was led by Earlybird and backed by Speedinvest and Seedcamp – both described by TechCrunch as existing investors – in addition to an undisclosed Switzerland-based family office.
