BREAKING: C2FO closes $200M investment led by backer of WeWork, Uber, Slack
August 7, 2019 | Startland News Staff
Startup giant C2FO continues its climb to the top, having secured a new $200 million investment — and doubling the amount of its once-record funding raise in fewer than two years.
“We are very fortunate to have a team who, for years, has delivered industry-leading unit economics, extraordinary customer satisfaction, and strong global growth,” Sandy Kemper, C2FO founder and CEO, said in a release Wednesday.
Updated: Click here to read more of Kemper’s thoughts on the massive funding round, including C2FO’s big challenge: proving it’s worth of Kansas City’s biggest investments.
The chart smashing round — believed to be the largest yet for a venture capital-backed startup in Kansas City — was led by the $108 billion SoftBank Vision Fund, which also has stakes in WeWork, Uber, Slack and DoorDash. The investment places Nahoko Hoshino, vice president of investment at SoftBank Investment Advisers, on the C2FO board of directors.
Click here to read about C2FO’s previous record setting, $100 million funding round.
Investment firms Temasek and Union Square Ventures returned to the table and placed new bets on C2FO, the company said of the round’s additional participants.
“This infusion of capital from the Vision Fund and existing investors will be used to further our expansion as we strive to build a new world wherein the increased liquidity provided by the C2FO platform helps companies and in turn, entire economies, grow more rapidly,” Kemper said.
Streamlining the world of working capital, C2FO’s online marketplace has amassed over 300,000 clients in 173 countries — helping them control their cash flow and manage more than $1 billion in funding on a weekly basis, the company explained.
Such reach and the ability to shake the industry helped attract SoftBank to the energy-rich startup, said Ashkay Naheta, managing partner.
“We invested in C2FO because we think their disruptive innovation offers a solution to an industry that has traditionally lacked cost-efficient alternatives for businesses of all sizes looking to free up cash quickly,” Naheta said.
Cash injections and the ability to rapidly scale wouldn’t be possible without the C2FO team, Kemper noted.
“Due to their work, we have now grown to match over $1.2 trillion of accounts receivable and accounts payable,” he said.
SoftBank believes C2FO and its leaders are equipped with vision that could help the company — which is expected to reach a $1 billion valuation — become the global exchange for working capital, Naheta said.
Startland will have more on this story as it develops.
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Eyeing Midwest startups, Firebrand Ventures adds to advisory board
A Kansas City-based venture fund announced the addition of another distinguished advisory board member. Joining the team alongside Techstars CEO David Cohen, Kansas Citian Keith Harrington, who’s the managing director for Novel Growth Partners, and Brian McClendon, former Uber vice president of maps, Tom Ball is expected to bring his Austin-based investor experience to Firebrand Ventures. …
KCultivator: Plexpod founder Gerald Smith on Internet trolls, anti-gravity machines, man crush
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Check out our features on innovation coach Diana Kander, Victor & Penny’s Erin McGrane, SEED Law’s Adrienne Haynes, Code Koalas’ Robert Manigold, Prep-KC CEO Susan Wally and community builder Donald Carter. Plexpod is more than a shared…
LaunchKC $100K winner Cambrian Tech taking simple idea to new reality
After winning LaunchKC’s grand prize — $100,000 — Cambrian Tech has its virtual eyes on another prize: total interior home transformation. “The goal is to open your phone, walk around and visualize any project you may consider doing,” co-founder Joel Teply said. “From walls, countertops, backsplashes, flooring, cabinetry, appliances, hardware and landscaping.” DIY tech presents…
Techstars Spotlight: Somatic Labs’ sees freedom from distraction in touch tech
Somatic Labs is designing a technology for a future without screens, founder Shantanu Bala said. Imagine this: You’re driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood and instead of needing to look at your phone for directions, your wearable device uses physical sensations to direct you to your destination, keeping your eyes on the road. Or maybe you’re…

