Berlin-based fintech Pliant has closed a $40 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to over $100 million. The latest round was led by Illuminate Financial and Speedinvest, with continued support from existing investors including PayPal Ventures and Motive Ventures.
The Series B capital will help Pliant strengthen its position in Europe and support its planned expansion into the U.S. market. The funding reflects investors' strong confidence in Pliant's long-term strategy and growth potential.
Operating in one of the most underserved areas of finance—B2B payments—Pliant offers businesses a platform that addresses outdated, manual processes. Investors believe the company's technology provides vital automation and flexibility for corporate transactions.
"B2B payments remain one of the most underserved and inefficient areas in global finance," said Konstantin Koenig, Principal at Illuminate Financial. "Pliant’s platform brings a much-needed layer of automation, flexibility, and intelligence to corporate payments."
With a strong customer base in Europe, Pliant is now setting its sights on North America. The company plans to scale its team to over 200 employees, expand its partner ecosystem, and strengthen its technical infrastructure to meet the needs of U.S. businesses.
Pliant’s recent partnerships, such as its collaboration with Commerzbank, illustrate its ability to adapt to new markets and support a broad range of payment use cases. Building on this momentum, Pliant aims to bring its flexible payment solutions to a wider global audience.
Founded in 2020 by Malte Rau and Fabian Terner, Pliant has rapidly expanded across Europe, now serving over 3,500 businesses. Its modular, API-first platform simplifies business payments, making spending more efficient and cash flows more predictable for fast-growing companies.
Recent strategic moves include Pliant’s acquisition of hi.health, an Austrian Insurtech, which marks its entry into the insurance sector. This acquisition supports Pliant’s vision of using targeted M&A activity to drive growth and innovation across industries.
"We have proven that our platform delivers real value at scale," said Malte Rau, CEO and co-founder of Pliant. "With a strong foundation in Europe, we are ready to bring our solution to the U.S. market."
Pliant’s investor roster includes Speedinvest, known for backing startups like Bitpanda and GoStudent, and Illuminate Financial, an international fintech-focused venture firm. Existing investors PayPal Ventures and Motive Ventures also joined the round, signaling their continued belief in Pliant’s model and market potential.
