The news: Seattle-area financial services technology startup PortX landed $16.5 million in fresh cash.
Investors: The Series B funding round was co-led by Seattle-area venture capital firm Fuse — which just raised its own $250 million fund — and Curql, a collective of credit unions. BankTech Ventures, EJF Capital, and the Btech Consortium also joined.
The tech: PortX, led by CEO David Wexler, sells financial services infrastructure software to community banks, credit unions, and fintech companies. It aims to help customers enable embedded banking-as-a-service solutions, eliminate vendor dependencies, and streamline access to banking data. The company says the new money will power initiatives including “enhanced AI offerings and data automation components.”
New subsidiary: With the backing of Curql, PortX is also forming a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) to better serve its credit union customers. Curql manages a strategic investment fund representing 68 credit unions and credit union industry partners.
Background: Mercer Island, Wash.-based PortX was spun out of ModusBox last year. That startup was founded in 2013 with a focus on design, development, and support for financially inclusive, national-level real-time payment networks.
Quotable: “Their vision and technology align perfectly with the industry’s evolving needs,” Brendan Wales, a founding partner at Fuse, said of PortX. “This is our second investment in the company, and it’s not just a vote of confidence in PortX, but a bet on the transformative power of open banking in shaping the future of commerce and financial services.”
Final details: PortX has raised $26.5 million to date, including a $10 million Series A round a year ago. The company employs 78 people.
