Richard Branson takes a stake in Lightyear, a start-up hoping to become Europe's answer to Robinhood
Lightyear, a European challenger to trading platform Robinhood, has raised $25 million of funding in an investment round backed by British billionaire Richard Branson.
Silicon Valley's Lightspeed Venture Partners led the deal, the company told CNBC exclusively — a rare vote of confidence for an upstart brokerage at a time when global stock markets are deep in the red.
Founded in London last year by Estonian entrepreneurs Martin Sokk and Mikhel Aamer, Lightyear offers commission-free trading in over 3,000 global stocks and multi-currency accounts. Sokk and Aamer previously worked at Wise, the U.K.-listed money transfer firm.
«For too long, financial markets have been overly complex with high barriers to entry and confusing jargon,» Branson said in a statement shared with CNBC.
«Martin, Mihkel and the Lightyear team are lifting the lid on the world of investing – making it more transparent whilst empowering people through education – to choose the products which are right for them.»
The air and space travel tycoon took an undisclosed stake in Lightyear through his conglomerate Virgin Group.
It's still a young start-up, having only launched in the U.K. in September. But Lightyear has ambitious expansion plans.
The firm will launch its app in an additional 19 European countries including Germany and France Thursday, expanding its footprint to the euro zone. It's aiming to launch in non-euro countries like Sweden and Norway next.
The deal shows how there's still ample investor appetite for an investment app focused on Europe, even as Robinhood faces a lull in trading volumes stateside, according to Nicole Quinn, general partner at Lightspeed.
«Retail investing last year more than doubled in the U.S. Up to a fifth of all
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