TL;DR
- Lightyear, founded in 2021 by ex-Wise duo Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer is one of Europe’s fastest growing investment platforms operating across 25 countries in 10 languages.
- The company announced a $23M Series B led by NordicNinja, alongside Lightspeed, Superangel, Skaala, SpecialistVC, Metaplanet and Bolt’s Founder & CEO Markus Villig.
- Reaching $1 billion of customer assets, Lightyear also unveils three new AI-powered market intelligence tools today, marking a new era for retail investing in Europe.
- The Series B will be used to further expand Lightyear across every European country, starting today with the brand new additions of Denmark, Sweden and Bulgaria to its coverage.
Investing in clarity: backing Lightyear’s vision for smarter, fairer investing
When people talk about purpose and building a better future, they often point to the visible: clean energy, electric vehicles, logistics and circularity. These are technologies we deeply believe in and actively back.
But beneath them sit financial systems that quietly determine who gets access, who benefits and who’s left behind. Without making finance more accessible, intelligent and fair, we can’t unlock real, sustainable societal progress.
That’s the mission behind our latest investment, Lightyear.
Founded by Martin Sokk and Mihkel Aamer — two early operators at Wise — Lightyear is one of Europe’s fastest-growing investment platforms. It was built to remove the traditional barriers around investing, offering a simple and transparent way for anyone to grow their money globally, without hidden fees or jargon.
A unified mission for a fragmented continent
Europe is home to over 750 million people, yet only 11-13% actively invest, compared to over 60% in the US. This means most are missing out on the benefits and opportunities giant financial markets provide.
The challenge isn’t lack of interest; it’s infrastructure. From regulation to tax wrappers, the landscape is fragmented, complex and often designed with institutions, rather than individuals in mind, with too much complexity and not enough transparency.
Lightyear is solving this – its platform lets users invest in stocks, ETFs and money market funds across multiple currencies, with tax-efficient accounts like ISAs, flexible business accounts and market-leading interest through easy-access Vaults. Everything is designed to be clear, flexible, and built for the real world.
But what truly sets Lightyear apart is its use of AI to provide something missing in investing: clarity.
Its tools make sense of markets in real time, to help people make smarter financial decisions through context. ‘Why Did It Move’ lets you tap any point on a chart and instantly see the reason behind a stock’s movement. ‘Bulls Say, Bears Say’ scans and summarises hundreds of trusted sources to show both sides of an investment thesis. These features don’t overwhelm, they empower, and whether you’re just getting started or managing larger sums, Lightyear makes investing feel more approachable, more transparent and more in your control.
Pragmatic progress
This pragmatic approach to AI fits squarely with our thesis – that when applied with purpose and trust, AI will be a fundamental pillar of digital society. As does Lightyear’s ability to scale across borders through a product purpose-built to handle Europe’s financial landscape with its multiple currencies, regulations and user expectations. Already live in 25 countries and 10 languages, it’s now expanding further into Denmark, Sweden and Bulgaria, with more to follow.
Lightyear is infrastructure in its truest sense: it works quietly, flexibly and at scale. That’s exactly what we look for – companies solving real problems with systems-level thinking, where the product is not just the interface, but the engine for expansion and progress.
As retail investing evolves, there’s a huge opportunity to build something better and more sustainable than the models of the past. With Martin and Mihkel at the helm, Lightyear’s team brings operational excellence, regulatory sophistication and a clear-eyed view of what fairness and intelligence in investing should look like. It’s not a one-size-fits-all playbook and that’s exactly the point.
Welcome to the Nordic Ninja portfolio, Lightyear. We’re proud to join you on this next chapter — and proud to do so alongside Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mosaic Ventures, Superangel, SpecialistVC, Metaplanet, Taavet Hinrikus, Sten Tamkivi, and Bolt’s Markus Villig. It’s a privilege to work with partners who share our belief in building the future we want to live in.
