Propel Venture Partners, a seed-stage venture capital firm, has closed its Fund V with $100 million in commitments, bringing its total raised to over $436 million. Co-led by Jay Reinemann and David Mort, Propel focuses on early-stage investments in the intersection of technology and financial services, as well as crucial horizontal technologies.
The firm targets opportunities in the financial services sector, a significant part of the global economy, where legacy infrastructure and regulatory hurdles often hinder innovation.
Since its founding in 2016, and with support from long-term limited partner BBVA, Propel has backed 62 companies. They primarily invest $1-4 million in pre-seed and seed rounds across modern banking, wealth platforms, crypto infrastructure, and enterprise SaaS.
Key portfolio highlights include:
- Scaling Businesses: Ten companies generate over $100 million in annual revenue, such as Coinbase, Docusign, Groww, Guideline, Hippo, Neon, Newfront, and Nomad Global.
- Global Reach: Portfolio companies are headquartered in 8 countries, including Brazil (Neon, Nomad Global), Colombia (Akua, Truora), and India (Groww).
- Public Listings: Investments include Coinbase, Docusign, and Hippo.
- LatAm Commitment: $98 million has been invested across 13 companies in Latin America, with a strong focus on São Paulo.
Propel’s Fund V has already made five new investments in emerging sectors, including AI-native companies for financial planning, payment processing infrastructure, and energy infrastructure.
KEY QUOTES:
“Propel is a deeply founder-aligned firm that aims to remain true to the craft of venture capital. Our smaller fund size allows us to invest early, be aligned with founders and take product risk appropriate with the earliest stages of investing. We’re actively investing in the new economy, where AI is rebuilding every aspect of financial services, crypto is establishing new rails for economic activity and emerging technologies are helping large enterprises be competitive in this new paradigm.”
General Partner David Mort
“The disequilibrium between financial services incumbents’ technology needs and their ability to quickly innovate creates ample opportunities for startups, no matter the economic climate. Propel helps execution-focused founders build enduring businesses that rethink how financial value is created, moved and secured. Our portfolio companies consider us true partners and confidants, and we’re committed to helping them shoulder the burden when challenges inevitably arise.”
Founder and General Partner Jay Reinemann
