Gilion raises €10M to fund growth-stage companies

Swedish financing platform Gilion — formerly Ark Capital — has raised a €10M equity funding round, bringing its total equity raised to €40M.

Gilion provides loans to growth-stage companies. Its analytics platform generates customised deal terms based on a wealth of up-to-date data analysis and predictions powered by machine learning; in effect, using large-scale automation to supercharge the due diligence stage of fundraising. Terms on offer have included Growth Loans with up to 2 years interest only periods before amortisation starts, and up to 6 years to repay the loan. In 2023, the company expanded its operations to include Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Finland.

This significant investment follows a 400 percent year-over-year revenue increase and an 800 percent increase in companies using the platform. Its popularity comes on the heels of Europe's 'drought' in VC funding over the past year.

The new round includes a mix of existing investors such as Annika Falkengren, former CEO at SEB and former Managing Partner at Lombard Odier as well as new investors. Notable among the newcomers are Oscar Werner, recently appointed CEO at Gilion, Göran and Henrik Garvner, investors and founders of SignUp Software, and Andrew Konopelski, investor and former Head of EQT Credit.

"In today's economy, founders increasingly require diverse funding options tailored to their unique needs. By adding debt to their cap table founders get an additional, and different, funding partner that can reduce dilution of the best companies, and provide funding in times equity owners may not. This is very strategic for all companies." commented Oscar Werner, CEO at Gilion. 

"The pace of innovation that Gilion has shown over the past two years is truly remarkable, and I believe their product suite is a game-changer in debt financing and the wider startup funding ecosystem," said Andrew Konopelski, Investor and former Head of EQT Credit. "With more flexible financing options, tech companies around the globe will be able to access critical programmatic funding that is designed for the specific needs of their business and will fuel innovation in ways that haven't existed before."