Shapers Launches $75M Fintech Fund I as Portfolio Company Finary Secures €25M Series B

The news comes alongside a milestone for its portfolio company Finary, which just closed a €25 million Series B. It’s uncommon for investors to share the spotlight this way, reflecting Shapers’ community-driven approach to the startup ecosystem.

Co-founder Philippe Teixeira da Mota focuses on fintech, insurtech, and high-growth tech companies across Europe and beyond. I spoke with him to learn more.

Da Mota started his career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan before moving into venture capital, where he built a strong track record backing category-defining companies. He was the first employee at Hedosophia, spending nine years investing in fintech, expanding globally, and achieving major success.

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Yet, as the company grew, Da Mota admits he was enjoying it less. He explained: “My role became more managerial than pure investing, which is what I really like. At one point, I was on the board of 21 companies which, looking back, was way too much. That’s one of the problems in this industry.”

This was a big motivation for da Mota to start his own firm: “I’d learned the craft, enjoyed it, but I wanted something smaller, nimbler, and more focused rather than a bigger, fast-scaling firm. I felt I had the experience, the network, and that it was the right time, both for me and for the ecosystem,” he shared.

Another motivation was personal his co-founder is his brother, Thomas, who built most of his career at Bain. The two had previously collaborated on various companies and investments, but both felt this was the right moment in their lives to officially work together side by side.

“So that’s how it came together we wanted to build a startup, except in this case, the “startup” is a fund where we get to work with other incredible entrepreneurs on a daily basis.”

But back to Finary. Da Mota revealed that he first backed Mounir Laggoune CEO of Finary as an angel investor in 2020, when all he had was an MVP, “and today I’m doubling down again as he raises a €25 million Series B.”

Da Mota was immediately drawn to Finary “because of his energy and vision to democratise access to a private-banking-like experience.”

“Mounir also understood better than anyone that to succeed, he needed not only to build a fintech company, but also a media company and a differentiated, scalable customer acquisition strategy.

I wrote an angel cheque after that first meeting and later led the Series A while at Hedosophia.”

According to da Mota, he remains a huge believer in Mounir’s vision, and AI now “makes it clearer than ever that the Finary team will succeed.

“And the results speak for themselves: Finary is now one of Europe’s fastest growing fintechs with 600k users, 3x YoY revenue growth and a unique media-led growth playbook.”

Da Mota highlights Shapers’ LP base as one of its unique strengths with over 60 fintech founders and operators investing in the fund. Backers include leaders from Qonto, Wise, N26, Bitpanda, and Affirm, as well as major global banks and respected VCs like Creandum, Hedosophia, LocalGlobe, Motive Partners, and Valar Ventures, alongside traditional institutional investors.

So far, Shapers has been most active in the UK and France, with additional deals in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. As a specialized fund, it often partners with generalist or US funds, providing valuable local expertise.

About Shapers

Founded in 2023, Shapers is a fintech-focused investment firm backed by leading global operators. With over 60 founders and industry leaders as LPs, the fund supports ambitious fintech entrepreneurs across Europe. Shapers brings deep expertise, community-driven values and a hands-on approach to help founders build category-defining, enduring companies.