Stockholm startup Matters raises $5m pre-seed to build an AI-native bank

Matters, a Stockholm startup building an AI-powered consumer bank, has raised $5m in pre-seed funding as it comes out of stealth. Swedish angel investor Jakob Johansson led the round.

Per Österström founded the company in April. He previously founded Sambla, a Nordic consumer loan broker, in 2014 and sold it to Nordic Capital in 2021.

Lars-Åke Norling has joined Matters as chair. He was chief executive of Nordnet, the Swedish savings and investment platform, from 2019 until March this year. Norling said he has spent his career in regulated consumer finance, working out when a financial product will and won't work.

Several other angel investors took part in the round. They include Knut Frängsmyr, Klarna's former chief operating officer, and Douglas Stark, a co-founder of scooter company Voi. Johan Bladh of Röko, Patrik Tran of Validio and Per Widerström of Evoke, a former chair of Sambla, also invested.

The reporting gives no details on what the bank's product will look like, when it will launch, or how AI will be used. What it does establish is the backing: an experienced fintech founder, a former Nordnet chief as chair, and a group of investors with ties to Klarna, Voi and Sambla, all behind an AI-native consumer bank in Sweden.