Dundalk based start-up raises €2.5 Million in funding round

Ctrl Alt, the Business to Business solutions provider for alternative assets which has its European headquarters at Creative Spark, Clontygora Drive in Dundalk has raised €2.5 Million in a recent funding round.

The funding is aimed at empowering fintechs and investment platforms to diversify their investment offering beyond stocks and bonds to investments in fractionalised assets such as property and green energy.

The funding round was led by Forward Partners and Middlegame Ventures and joined by a group of notable Angel Investors and follow-on funds, including Enterprise Ireland, Algorand Ventures, 365.fintech, Syndicate Room, Marc Cohen (Unbundled VC), Omid Ashtari (ex-Google, ex-President Citymapper) and Alex Macdonald (Co-Founder of sequel & Velocity Black).

Founded in 2020 by founder Matt Ong (former Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse), Ctrl Alt offers products including API and White Label capabilities designed to provide the infrastructure for investment platforms to access alternative assets within their brand and platform. 

A move they say could help financial services remain competitive by expanding beyond stocks and bonds to offer alternative forms of investment.

By bridging the gap between asset holders and asset allocators like fintechs and investment platforms, Ctrl Alt says it is making alternative assets, a typically exclusive form of investment, accessible to individual consumers. 

Matt Ong, CEO & Co-founder of Ctrl Alt, said:

“A culture of exclusivity, overly restrictive entry requirements and archaic processes have meant access to investing in things like property and green energy and more have traditionally been dominated by the super-rich and institutional investors. 

“A diversified portfolio should play a key role in any investment strategy and it’s not right that alternative assets, a typically robust form of investment, remain in the old world of money.”

Ctrl Alt says it simplifies the capital raising process for asset owners seeking investment. 

Ctrl Alt also say its team of financial and technical experts and their purpose-built products manage the asset investment side end-to-end, a move Matt says will bring a wider variety of assets into the market:

“There are plenty of asset holders who are looking for new ways to finance and free up capital.

“By simplifying the process and providing more on hand support, we’re meeting the growing consumer demand for alternative assets by bringing more assets into the market.”

Megha Prakash, Senior Investor at Forward Partners said:

“At Forward, we see a massive opportunity to democratise access to financial investments for eligible investors who have hitherto been locked out of these markets due to large tickets, administrative complexity and a lack of access. 

“Ctrl Alt promises to broaden access to a large range of investments. 

“With a strong background in structuring financial products and his digital-native, and wealth of experience working in the regulated space, Matt is a great founder to tackle this opportunity and we are excited to be backing him.”

Michael Meyer, Managing Partner of MiddleGame Ventures, said:

“We believe that more investors should have the ability to invest in higher returning alternative assets. To date, only institutions and the very wealthy have had access. Matt and his team at Ctrl Alt are working to change that. 

“We are thrilled to be backing such a great team that has built a unique business, combining Matt’s expertise on regulation with cutting-edge technology.”