NayaOne, a Sandbox-as-a-Service platform designed to connect financial institutions with fintech companies, has successfully raised $4.7 million in its latest funding round.
The round was led by EJF Capital, with additional participation from Valley Ventures, the corporate venture capital branch of Valley Bank, and Carthona Capital. Valley Bank stands out as the first U.S. institution to adopt NayaOne’s innovative technology, which offers a sandbox for testing cutting-edge solutions from a curated marketplace of thoroughly vetted fintechs.
Neal Kapur, managing partner at Valley Ventures, noted, “Our collaboration has dramatically streamlined how we vet fintech vendors, positioning us well ahead in the digital transformation and AI race.”
Karan Jain, former Westpac executive and current CEO of NayaOne, emphasized that the funding underscores both the significant opportunities and the challenges the company is addressing within the financial services sector. As more banks strive to catch up in their digital transformation journeys by collaborating with fintechs, he remarked, “It’s about more than just growth; it’s about setting the pace in a sector that’s fundamentally rethinking how it evolves.”