Aria, a fintech startup based in Paris that specializes in invoice financing and B2B payment solutions, has successfully concluded a €15 million Series A funding round. This investment is expected to drive the expansion of Aria’s deferred payment infrastructure, with a specific focus on catering to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) operators.
The round was led by 13books Capital, and it saw participation from Adevinta Ventures, Ankaa Ventures, Otium Capital, along with several notable angel investors, including Laurent Ritter (Voodoo founder), Mark Ransford (former Apax Partners managing director), and Guillaume Princen (former Stripe executive and current Mooncard CEO).
Founded in 2019 by former freelancers Clément Carrier and Vincent Folny, Aria was born out of their frustration with the common challenges freelancers face in managing invoice issuance and payment delays. The founders adopted an innovative approach, reversing the traditional dynamics of invoice factoring to create a direct relationship between businesses, specifically freelancers, and the lending platform – Aria.
Building on the success of this model, Aria has progressed to facilitate relationships between multiple businesses, elevating its services from freelancers to businesses. The platform enables instant payments to service providers while adhering to traditional payment timelines for suppliers, offering payment terms of up to 90 days.
Aria’s service, available through an API compatible with over 100 platforms, provides several security features, including KYC/KYB, debtor risk analysis, anti-fraud analysis, credit insurance, and debt recovery. Since entering the UK market in June 2023, Aria claims to have processed over €500 million in payments in the last 12 months for approximately 30,000 businesses and freelancers, dealing with invoices ranging from €500 to €20,000.
The fintech startup has already established partnerships with various freelance and marketplace platforms, including Malt, Brigad, and Jump. Aria is backed by a €150 million facility provided by investors such as M&G Investments.
