Austrian fintech startup linx4 receives a multi-million investment

The Austrian fintech startup linx4 offers a platform for pay-per-use financing of machinery and equipment in cooperation with financial institutions and machine manufacturers (OEM). Now, linx4 is expanding its offering with the establishment of an investment fund (linx4 – Equipment Finance Fund 1) for institutional investors who want to participate in the attractive asset class and other IoT data-based financial products.

The startup has now secured a seven-digit investment and strong expertise from the financial sector to further develop the platform and build the fund.

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Cash flow optimized machine financing

The linx4 platform with its head office in Vienna was founded by the father-son team Paul and Michael Bruckberger at the end of 2018. linx4 offers machine users the possibility to finance or rent production machines on a pay-per-use basis. The fintech company connects industry 4.0 data with the financing world through the innovative contract middleware.

The trend towards digital and flexible financing services in modern production has been further driven by the Corona crisis. By combining industry 4.0 data with modern financing methods, the fintech company linx4 manages to bring a great deal of added value to this ecosystem. The linx4 platform allows machine users to finance machines on a usage basis. This allows cash flows to be optimized and shifts from fixed costs (CAPEX) to usage-based variable costs (OPEX). In addition, the financing basically allows a balance sheet-neutral acquisition.

Opportunities for machine manufacturers

Machine manufacturers (OEMs) benefit from additional sales opportunities and business models by offering their customers new financing models in cooperation with linx4. Financial investors can use linx4 to deliver the right financing solutions for Industry 4.0 and gain access to an attractive asset class. They benefit from the innovative, data-based financing algorithms implemented through linx4’s contract middleware. The broad database enables risks to be adequately priced and better managed over time.

In addition to established financial institutions such as banks or leasing companies, insurers, private equity investors and family offices have shown particular interest in participating in this new form of financing. linx4 is now able to meet this interest through the investment fund and enable third party investors to enter the machinery financing market.

The fact that data-driven financing products and tools will play a key role in the future of corporate treasury is now not only a conviction of the founders of linx4, but also of the renowned financial services providers with whom linx4 cooperates. 

The company operates in a market which, from the perspective of financial institutions and institutional investors, represents a significant and important growth market. With the million euro investment, the company intends to further expand its market lead and scale into other countries.

Paul Bruckberger, CEO & Co-Founder of linx4, is proud of the team and said that this great round of financing confirms their progress and reflects the confidence of their clients and partners. The founders are convinced that “this multi-million investment brings us a step closer to our vision of revolutionising the machine finance business with data-driven financing products and algorithms.” The seven-figure investment is also intended to expand the team.

Several business angels on board

In the current financing round, four business angels from the international finance, insurance and investment industry are involved: Rolf Steffens, Peter Oser, Markus Buncsak and a well-known US-fintech investor. In addition to sufficient capital, linx4 was able to bring the necessary international experience and specific expertise to the company. 

The company was also able to secure additional financing through the AWS Seed financing program. The investors around Rolf Steffens see linx4 not only as a technology leader but also as “the first fintech startup that has managed to combine industrial IoT data with financial products in order to offer pay-per-use financing in a scalable form on the market.”

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(Featured image by Julius_Silver via Pixabay)

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