Web3 compliance company Satschel raises $5.2 million, partners with Assure

Compliance company Satschel has raised a $5.2 million seed round led by early-stage venture firm Brand Foundry Ventures, according to a spokesperson for the startup.

Leveraging web3 technologies, Satschel helps financial services companies become compliant with regulations through its automated Compliance Fabric technology, which enables investors and customers to be onboarded quickly while still meeting regulatory standards, per a release on Tuesday. 

“Compliance burdens and costs have ballooned since the financial crisis, and the development of a crypto ecosystem has accelerated the imperative to improve speed and accuracy in KYC [know your customer] and AML [anti-money laundering],” said Andrew Mitchell, founder of Brand Foundry Ventures, in a statement to The Block. 

The seed raise comes just days after Satschel’s announcement of a partnership with Assure, a fintech company for Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs). Assure’s customers will be the first to leverage Satschel’s Compliance Fabric technology. 

“We are excited about Satschel and look forward to seeing their innovative service deliver immediate value by eliminating pain points for Assure SPV customers and their investors,” Mitchell said. “The partnership represents a major step forward in the accessibility and quality of private market transactions.”

Assure enables clients to structure and close deals faster, according to the Tuesday release. The company has structured and closed more 8,500 deals with over $9 billion in assets under administration. Clients include Republic, Forge and Tech Coast Angels, the release said. 

“With Assure, we are demonstrating web3's potential to enhance value and experience, even for off-chain businesses, and bringing those benefits to what has traditionally been a very opaque market,” Eric Choi, co-founder and president of Satschel, said in the statement. 

The average deal size for projects at the seed level has declined for four straight months through July, before rebounding in August, according to funding data from The Block Research.