Tillit, a fintech startup that is building something akin to buy now, pay later for B2B purchases, looks set to become Sequoia’s next European investment, TechCrunch has learned.
According to multiple sources, the Silicon Valley VC — which recently expanded to Europe with an office in London — is backing a €2.5 million round in the Oslo, Norway-based company, alongside seed investors LocalGlobe and Visionaries Club. Sequoia and LocalGlobe declined to comment.
With the tagline, “Making b2b purchases a breeze” and yet to launch, Tillit appears to combine invoice financing with a buy now, pay later model, meaning that credit is offered at the point of checkout (or invoice), with a number of payment options, including installments. In addition, Tillit offers expenses management, with a range features to make it easier for employees to make B2B purchases.
In other words, the premise is that sellers get better conversions through offering instant credit, and buyers can defer or spread out payments and have greater control and visibility over purchases.
Meanwhile, Tillit isn’t the first investment in Europe by Sequoia since it revealed that it was doubling down on Europe with a dedicated team on the ground. Most recently, the firm led a $20 million round in Xentral, a German startup that develops enterprise resource planning software covering a variety of back-office functions for online small businesses. That speaks to Sequoia’s remit to “invest throughout the journey,” from pre-seed/seed all the way to IPO and beyond.
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