British Business Bank has invested $20 million into 9fin as part of a $170 million Series C funding round, propelling the London-based firm to unicorn status and reinforcing the UK’s position as a global fintech hub.
The round was led by HarbourVest, with participation from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and existing backers including Redalpine, Highland Europe, Spark Capital and Seedcamp. The British Business Bank’s investment was made in partnership with Redalpine, reflecting its growing focus on supporting later-stage scale-ups.
Founded in 2016, 9fin has built an AI-native intelligence platform designed for professionals operating in credit and debt markets, one of the largest asset classes globally.
The platform aggregates and analyses data that is traditionally fragmented across emails, PDFs and private data rooms, providing users with real-time insights, analytics and document extraction tools. This enables banks, asset managers, law firms and advisors to identify opportunities and manage risk more efficiently within a single interface.
With more than 300 institutional clients worldwide and multiple years of 100 per cent annual recurring revenue growth, 9fin has established itself as a fast-scaling player in financial data and analytics.
The new funding will be used to further develop 9fin’s AI capabilities, expand its proprietary dataset and accelerate growth in the United States, a key market for credit and leveraged finance activity.
Chief executive Steven Hunter said the company’s ambition is to become an essential platform for credit professionals.
“AI will redefine credit markets, but only if it is powered by proprietary data and embedded into how professionals actually work,” he said. “Our goal is to build the only platform they need.”
The investment marks another milestone for the British Business Bank’s equity programmes, which have now supported 27 UK unicorns, representing around 64 per cent of the country’s current billion-dollar startups.
Leandros Kalisperas, the bank’s chief investment officer, said increasing access to late-stage capital is critical to ensuring UK companies can scale while maintaining a domestic base.
“Investments like this help our most innovative businesses realise their commercial potential and compete globally,” he said.
George Mills, investment director at the bank, added that 9fin exemplifies the strength of UK fintech, particularly in applying AI to complex financial markets.
The deal highlights the continued momentum in the UK fintech sector, which remains one of the most dynamic in Europe.
By combining artificial intelligence with large-scale financial datasets, companies like 9fin are reshaping how markets operate, improving transparency, efficiency and decision-making across the credit landscape.
As global demand for data-driven financial tools grows, platforms that can integrate AI with high-quality proprietary data are expected to play an increasingly central role.
For 9fin, achieving unicorn status marks a significant step, but the focus now shifts to scaling internationally and maintaining its growth trajectory in a competitive and rapidly evolving market.
For the UK, the investment underscores the importance of sustained support for high-growth technology firms, ensuring that innovation developed domestically can translate into global success.
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British Business Bank backs 9fin with $20m as fintech reaches unicorn status
