Millions for expansion to America: Pliant receives 35 million euros from new and existing investors

The founders are counting on a "long learning curve" to successfully launch their product in the US. A total of over €88 million has been invested in the fintech.

Berlin-based fintech Pliant has completed a Series B financing round of €35.2 million ($40 million). This brings the total capital raised to over €88 million ($100 million). The credit card startup most recently expanded its Series A round by €18 million to a total of €50 million in April 2024. The Series B round was led by British enterprise software investor Illuminate Financial and Austrian early-stage VC Speedinvest. Existing investors such as PayPal Ventures and Motive Ventures also participated. During their due diligence, the investors focused primarily on "growth with positive, stable contribution margins after marketing costs," Pliant co-founder and CEO Malte Rau told Gründerszene. The startup's current valuation is unknown.

According to Rau, the startup "still has significant liquid assets from the last round." Together with the fresh capital, this gives the company a "year-long runway," Rau told Gründerszene. Therefore, a further financing round is not currently necessary, but is not ruled out either: "If we continue to identify successful investment opportunities such as new markets, then there will be a Series C. However, we currently have everything in our own hands," says the founder. The capital so far has been used primarily to develop the tech infrastructure and expand the team. However, "the majority of the money" is still available. And this will now be invested in expansion.

Pliant is planning to enter the US market – an expansion that has been on the horizon for some time. "We're already seeing strong demand from the US and also from EU customers for a US product," explains co-founder Rau. The market entry will be gradual: "We're planning a longer learning phase, with a small team, so we can ensure product-market fit before we invest too much."

Pliant specializes in corporate credit cards and payment infrastructure for companies. Malte Rau and Fabian Terner founded the startup in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The two founders had previously worked in the fintech scene for years. Both held various positions at the credit broker Lendico and the financing platform Fincompare. According to the company, Pliant employs almost 200 people and has over 3,500 customers in Europe. Most recently, in April 2025, Pliant acquired the Austrian insurtech Hi.Health to expand its product portfolio and attract customers from the insurance sector. With Visa cards in eleven currencies and an API-first platform, the fintech now aims to position itself as a player in B2B payments in the US.