Arabesque S-Ray apparently attracts $40 to $50 million in funding

This would not be the first million-euro investment that the start-up has received. It is dedicated to the topic of ESG.

According to the Frankfurt start-up Arabesque S-Ray, its data division could be Süddeutsche Zeitung could receive 40 to 50 million US dollars. A consortium led by the venture capital fund Energy Impact Partners, based in New York, London and Cologne, is said to be ready to provide the money. The investors want to acquire 20 to 24.99 percent of the company. S-Ray would then be worth up to 250 million dollars. Key data papers are said to already exist, but Arabesque and Energy Impact Partners have not yet announced this.

S-Ray has already raised many millions of euros: The Hessian Ministry of Economics invested two million euros of taxpayers' money. 18 million euros came from Allianz, Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS, Commerzbank and Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) and the consulting firm Accenture. DWS even invested a second time, spending eight million euros on an Arabesque subsidiary that aims to combine sustainable investments with AI.

However, Arabeque, which was founded in 2013 and has its headquarters in London, almost doubled its losses in 2020 to 11.4 million British pounds, according to the SZ. Revenue from customer contracts is said to have increased by only 38% to 3.4 million pounds. The company now wants to report profits for 2021.

Why is the company still so popular with investors? It is dedicated to the ESG sector. That stands for environment, social and good corporate governance. The topic of sustainability is also becoming increasingly important for investments: banks and investors also want to invest their money in an environmentally friendly way. Arabesque wants to bring ESG and high turnover together in the long term.