Tebi, the new startup by Adyen’s departed cofounder, raises a fresh $30M from Alphabet’s CapitalG

Arnout Schuijff, cofounder of Adyen, left in 2021 to start Tebi, a fintech startup providing an all-in-one platform for hospitality businesses, now valued at over $61 billion. Tebi recently secured a €30 million investment led by CapitalG, Alphabet's growth fund, bringing its total funding to €56 million, to support its expansion from the Netherlands into the UK and other European markets, and to add more AI features to the platform. CapitalG's investment was driven by the observation that European SMBs are underserved by costly, bank-dominated payment solutions, similar to the U.S. market 15 years ago.

Analysis

Arnout Schuijff, co-founder of Adyen (market cap over $61 billion), has launched Tebi, an Amsterdam-based fintech startup targeting the hospitality sector with an all-in-one, subscription-based platform for payments, reservations, and inventory management. Tebi, now with 35 employees, recently secured a €30 million investment led by CapitalG, Alphabet's growth fund, with participation from Index Ventures, bringing its total funding to €56 million. This capital infusion is earmarked for expansion from the Netherlands, where Tebi reports merchants are already processing nine figures in annual payments, into the U.K. and subsequently other European markets, alongside enhancing its AI capabilities for features like automated onboarding and future business optimization tools. Schuijff states his departure from Adyen in 2021 and the creation of Tebi were driven by a personal desire to return to coding and to develop a tailored solution for SMBs, a market segment he believed was better addressed independently of Adyen's enterprise focus, rather than to fill a void left by his former company. CapitalG's investment thesis, articulated by partner Alex Nichols, highlights the significant opportunity within the underserved European SMB market, which currently relies on costly, bank-dominated payment solutions, drawing a parallel to the U.S. market approximately 15 years ago before the widespread adoption of software-embedded payments. Tebi has also strategically strengthened its leadership by incorporating former executives from Notion and Wolt to complement its initial tech-heavy team, signaling a focused effort on commercial strategy and market expansion.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Investors should monitor Tebi's market penetration and product adoption in the competitive European hospitality SMB sector as a key indicator of disruption potential from well-funded, founder-led fintech enterprises.
• Alphabet's (GOOGL, GOOG) investment through CapitalG signifies a strategic interest in the European SMB fintech landscape, representing a potential, albeit currently minor, growth avenue for the tech giant.
• The successful and substantial funding rounds for Tebi, including from notable VCs like Index Ventures and CapitalG, underscore continued private market appetite for vertically-integrated SaaS and payment solutions addressing specific SMB needs, particularly those leveraging AI and offering comprehensive platforms.
• Incumbent providers of point-of-sale systems, reservation platforms, and inventory management solutions within the hospitality industry should anticipate heightened competition from emerging all-in-one platforms like Tebi that aim to consolidate services and integrate advanced functionalities such as AI.