• Flagright is a Berlin-based startup helping companies prevent fraud and comply with anti-money laundering regulations
  • Backed by Moonfire Ventures, Pioneer Fund and Y Combinator
  • Flagright’s no-code software allows any team to become AML compliant within two weeks

Flagright, a Berlin-based startup, has announced a $2.8M seed raise, to accelerate their mission of helping fintech startups prevent, and defend themselves against, financial crime.

Moonfire Ventures led the $2.8 million round, with participation from Pioneer Fund, Louis Beryl (former a16z and YC), Sundeep Ahuja (Duro Ventures), Fredrik Thomassen (Superside) and Charles Delingpole (ComplyAdvantage). Existing investors for Flagright include Y Combinator (Winter Batch ‘22), Erik Muttersbach, Donald Bringmann, and Kevin Costa.

Financial services have become vastly more sophisticated - and complicated - in recent years, with the creation of a new digital banking system, digital wallets, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrencies.

These technologies can deliver financial services more swiftly and securely, but they also pose their own set of crime and compliance issues.

Fintech startups are expected to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) standards, yet technology has made traditional techniques of detecting and combating financial crime insufficient or unaffordable.

Baran Ozkan, co-founder and CEO of Flagright, says “As our world becomes ever more complex, companies need to comply with a broad spectrum of regulations around financial crime and money laundering. Flagright gives companies the tools they need to do so, allowing them to focus all their attention on their true mission.

We are thrilled to have our mission validated by such an exceptional group of investors. We are looking forward to developing our tech stack, offering new products and expanding the team to take a leadership role in this space.”

Flagright can automatically detect bad actors in the system and prevent fraud from occurring. Additionally, Flagright helps companies comply with ongoing international sanctions in their operating territories. In times of heightened tension, it is critical for fintech startups globally to make sure they aren't breaching sanctions and exposing their businesses to unexpected fines, or even shutdown.

Flagright’s no-code web platform allows operational teams to collaborate, have transparency, and investigate all possible fraud with full control over the system.

Their API-first solution is specifically tailored for fintech startups, allowing for quick adoption. On average, it takes customers 1-2 weeks to integrate Flagright’s services, a 70% reduction on the industry benchmark of 2-4 months.

This, combined with their usage-based pricing scheme, means that startups can protect their customers and themselves using services that were either previously out of reach or out of date.

Mattias Ljungman, founder of Moonfire Ventures said: “Financial crime is a serious problem and every day brings new technologies and associated risks that could harm people and institutions. I am very happy to support Baran and his team’s mission to build a platform that protects businesses and customers, and helps startups fight back against money laundering and fraud.”

Flagright helps prevent the very real human cost of fraud and money laundering. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that 2 - 5% of global GDP (800bn - 2trn USD) is laundered every year, financing terrorism, the drug trade, and despotic regimes.

Louis Beryl, founder of Rocketplace and former a16z and YC said: “As a 3x founder and investor, I know the problem Flagright is solving first hand. Startups are underserved with financial crime prevention solutions. I’m proud to support Baran and his team on their journey of empowering startups with an API-first, no-code product.”

In the near future, Flagright plans to offer blockchain screening and a new customer risk scoring engine that evaluates the money laundering and fraud risk of users.

Contact us to schedule a free demo at https://www.flagright.com/contact