Spanish fintech Clarity AI has raised $15m to further develop its platform that analyses the societal impact of investment portfolios.
Clarity AI was founded in Madrid in 2017 by Rebeca Minguela, who last month featured in our rundown of Europe’s leading women in fintech. The platform uses in-house technology to leverage big data and machine learning (ML) to assess and provide a transparent image of the impact of investments on society and the planet.
“Investors attempting to evaluate impact have faced fragmented and unreliable data, inconsistent subjective definitions, and a lack of standards and tools for comprehensive analysis,” says Minguela. “Clarity AI provides a solution for that.”
Led by Deutsche Börse AG and co-investor Mundi Ventures, capital from the latest funding round will drive Clarity AI’s sustainable expansion plans to scale up investment in new technology and AI, as well as further integration with other leading finserv platforms. The approach will make it simpler and swifter for investors to access reports on sustainability and impact.
Sustainable market growth
Growth in the ‘sustainable investments’ market has soared by some 34% in the past two years, primarily as millennials demand greater transparency over the social impact of their portfolios. Sustainable investments now represent around a third of global assets under management (AUM), a figure that will likely grow motivated by asset managers’ “desire to minimise risk and improve financial performance over time”.
Minguela believes “it has never been more important for investors to have accurate insights on the true impact of the companies in which they place their trust and their money”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been partly responsible for this leap, but other high-profile social issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, demonstrations for bodily autonomy and gender equality around the world, have played a big role.
Clarity AI has witnessed this over the past six months, with significant increase in demand for its services, including signing clients with eight times the AUM as in the preceding period.
“That is why we are scaling up our business to enable investors to identify and support those companies helping to solve society’s biggest challenges,” Minguela added.
Banner Photo by Sarah Dorweiler, Evano Community
