London-based Griffin secures €21.9M, receives regulatory approval to launch as fully operational UK bank
London-based Griffin, a Banking-as-a-Service platform, announced that it has gained approval from the UK’s financial regulators, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to lift restrictions and transition into a fully operational bank.
The company has also been supported by a $24M (approximately €21.94M) funding round led by MassMutual Ventures, NordicNinja, and Breega. Existing investors Notion Capital and EQT Ventures also participated in the round.
The move comes after a “successful” mobilisation period.
Dan Shellard, Partner at Breega, says, “Griffin is exactly the sort of founder-led business that we look to back.”
“The hard work the team has done over the last several years in building their own core banking platform and securing a UK bank licence has them incredibly well positioned to power this generation of innovative financial products – and the next.”
David Jarvis, CEO of Griffin, adds, “Today’s announcement is a culmination of years of hard work by the incredible team at Griffin. I’m particularly grateful to our pilot customers for placing their trust in us, and look forward to helping them continue to scale innovative products at the intersection of technology and finance.”
Build and launch financial products
Founded in 2017, Griffin is an API-first UK bank and full-stack Banking as a Service platform founded by Silicon Valley engineers David Jarvis and Allen Rohner (co-founders of tech unicorn CircleCI).
Griffin provides a comprehensive platform for tech-driven companies seeking to offer banking, payments, and wealth solutions to their customers.
“We’re here to help make it quick, simple and inexpensive for companies to embed financial services into their own products,” says Griffin. “We do the heavy lifting on complex infrastructure and compliance requirements, so you can focus on what matters: creating a world-class experience for your customers.”
With automated compliance technology and an integrated ledger, Griffin enables its customers to optimise financial operations while maintaining “high-quality” customer service.
Griffin aims for responsible growth as pilot customers go live and invite new customers through its early access programme, Foundations.
As a member of Tech Zero, Griffin Bank actively works to reduce its carbon footprint and environmental impact.
Brief about the lead investors
MassMutual Ventures (MMV) is a VC firm managing over $1B, specialising in fintech, SaaS, healthtech, climate tech, and cybersecurity. The firm accelerates partner companies’ growth through capital, connections, and strategic advice, fostering scalable ventures.
NordicNinja, launched in 2019, claims to be Europe’s largest Japan-backed VC fund. With a focus on scaling companies contributing to sustainability and digital advancements, it provides founder support through an experienced Japanese-European team and access to a network of 120+ blue chip Japanese corporations.
Breega, founded in 2015, empowers purpose-driven founders, bridging ideas to impact. With over €600M AUM and a portfolio of 100+ companies, Breega offers full stack funding. It provides capital, connections, expertise, and support throughout the entrepreneurial journey.
The firm focuses on pre-seed to Series A and beyond, both in Europe and internationally.
