FinTech News

Digital Banking Platform Oxygen Raises $20 Million

A FinTech neobank that serves both individuals and small business owners has revealed two major pieces of news. First, this week, Oxygen announced that it raised a $20 million round. The Series B was led “largely by return investors,” although Oxygen did not specify which investors in their press release. To date, the startup has now raised a total of $45 million, including a $17 million Series A in January 2021. That round included participation from Runa Capital, S7V, 1984.vc, EFG Hermes Rucker Park, and Inventures as well as individuals, such as Plaid co-founder William Hockey and NFL great Larry Fitzgerald among others. With the new round of funds, Oxygen says it plans to increase investment in product development as well as expand its workforce.

Accompanying the news of the Series B raise, it was also announced that David Rafalovsky had been appointed as Chief Financial Officer. Rafalovsky takes over the role from Oxygen founder Hussein Ahmed, who will shift to the position of Chief Product Officer. Previously, Rafalovsky served as Global Head of Operations & Technology for Sberbank (according to Reuters, he left the Russia-based bank following that country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022) as well as CTO of Global Functions for Citi.

In a statement, Rafalovsky said of his appointment and the company’s future, “This marks a new era at Oxygen where we will build upon the incredible foundation created by Hussein and the Oxygen team. I look forward to charting the path forward for the company, building world class solutions for small businesses and gig economy participants.”

Elaborating on his vision for the firm, Rafalovsky added, “According to the U.S. Small Business Association, small businesses of 500 employees or fewer make up 99.9% of all U.S. businesses – Oxygen is planning to play a significant role enabling small businesses success.”

Meanwhile, Ahmed said of the new CEO, “As the company prepares to scale its operations and further accelerate growth, David’s legacy of success as a global leader and board member ensure the value of Oxygen’s technology will continue to inspire – and engage – customers and investors. His roots in disruptive engineering allow us to deliver on our commitment to serve anyone looking for the best digital banking solutions in the market.”

While there are plenty of neobanks to be found these days, Oxygen has found plenty of success since launching in 2020. It’s also evolved heavily since then, including introducing its uniquely-branded Elements account options. Now, with a new CEO at the helm and an extra $20 million in capital, the firm seems well positioned to continue that momentum and double down on the small business banking offerings. Although the landscape remains competitive, perhaps these latest updates will give the FinTech what it needs to continue its growth.

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