Regulatory scrutiny threatens FinTech growth: ex-regulators raise $1m to help comply

AMLYZE, a leading RegTech firm specializing in anti-financial crime solutions for FinTechs, neo-banks and crypto businesses, has successfully concluded a $1 million pre-seed investment round.
The round was led by Practica Capital, with participation from the Firstpick accelerator and venture capital fund. The funding will be used to scale AMLYZE’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business, facilitate international expansion, and introduce advanced functionalities to its core product offering. These enhancements will enable AMLYZE to provide a comprehensive suite of integrated compliance services to its clients.

With a current client base primarily located in the Baltic States and the United Kingdom, AMLYZE is experiencing a surge in demand for its transaction monitoring, risk assessment, and case investigation solutions. The global scale of financial crime, estimated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to account for 2% to 5% of the annual global GDP (€715 billion to €1.87 trillion), necessitates innovative solutions to combat these challenges. Furthermore, increasing regulatory scrutiny worldwide, driven by money laundering, terrorism financing, cyber security risks, and geopolitical tensions, has further emphasized the importance of anti-financial crime and sanctions compliance.

Gabrielius Bilkštys, CEO and co-founder of AMLYZE, stated: “As our mission is to help the world overcome financial crime, we have assembled a core team comprising seasoned IT and Anti-Financial Crime professionals, as well as former regulators and supervisors with backgrounds in central banking and law enforcement. We consider ourselves industry experts who possess an insider’s perspective on the sector, enabling us to assist financial institutions in meeting escalating regulatory requirements and enhancing their compliance efficiency.”

Practica Capital, one of the leading venture capital firms in the Baltics, expressed its support for AMLYZE’s mission.

“Given the significant knowledge and experience that has been accumulated across all levels of the FinTech ecosystem in Lithuania over the last decade, it comes as no surprise that a company like this has emerged here. AMLYZE, bringing together an outstanding core team on a clear mission, has firm ground and the potential to bring category-defining products to the vast and growing market,” commented Donatas Keras, Founding Partner of Practica Capital.

The pre-seed round also saw participation from the Lithuanian accelerator, FIRSTPICK, which has been an early supporter of AMLYZE since its inception.

Marijus Andrijauskas, partner of FIRSTPICK, said: “The surge in demand for AMLYZE’s anti-financial crime solutions comes as no surprise given the increasing regulatory scrutiny worldwide, which threatens the growth of the FinTech industry. We, at FIRSTPICK, are proud to support AMLYZE’s mission to combat financial crime and help FinTechs comply with increasing regulations. With their expert team and comprehensive suite of compliance services, AMLYZE is well-positioned to drive innovation in the industry and streamline compliance processes for their clients.”