Stripe Alumni Raise €30M Series A for Duna, Backed by Stripe and Adyen Execs

In a major boost for European fintech, Duna—a business identity verification startup founded by two Stripe alumni—has secured a €30 million Series A funding round led by Alphabet’s growth fund CapitalG.[1][2][4][6] The round, announced on February 5, 2026, includes participation from high-profile executives at Stripe and rival Adyen, highlighting the growing importance of Know Your Business (KYB) tools in the payments ecosystem.[2][4][5]

Duna’s Origins: From Stripe Veterans to Fintech Innovators

Duna was co-founded in 2023 by Duco van Lanschot and David Schreiber, both former Stripe powerhouses. Van Lanschot served as head of Benelux and DACH at Stripe for three years, while Schreiber spent six years there, managing the company’s largest global business unit, including its core card payment platform.[4][6] Their deep expertise in payments infrastructure positions them perfectly to tackle a persistent pain point: verifying business identities efficiently.[2][6]

The startup, headquartered in Amsterdam and Berlin (with operations spanning Germany and the Netherlands), emerged from the so-called “Stripe mafia“—a network of alumni launching high-impact fintech ventures.[2][4][5] This phenomenon mirrors how ex-employees from companies like Stripe and OpenAI are fueling the next wave of infrastructure startups, with Duna now the best-funded European player in this lineage.[4][5]

Duna’s earlier milestone came in May 2025 with a €10.7 million seed round led by Index Ventures, joined by Puzzle Ventures and angels like Qonto cofounder Alexandre Prot and Alan cofounder Jean-Charles Samuelian.[3][6] That funding brought the team to nearly 20 people and secured early customers such as US fintech Plaid, Spanish payments platform SeQura, and Dutch bank Brand New Day.[3][4] Total funding now exceeds €40 million.[6]

The Funding Round: A Who’s Who of Fintech Heavyweights

CapitalG, which co-led Stripe’s 2016 Series D, anchored the Series A, signaling strong conviction in KYB’s scale potential.[1][2][4][6] Alex Nichols, the CapitalG general partner who led the investment, praised Duna’s vision: “Duna is building the internet’s missing ‘one click’ identity network… Duco and David are the perfect founders to solve business identity for the internet.”[6]

The cap table boasts an impressive lineup of operators, blending Stripe insiders and Adyen leaders—despite the companies’ rivalry. Angels include:
– Stripe COO Michael Coogan
– Former Stripe CTO David Singleton
– Former Stripe COO Claire Hughes Johnson
– Former Stripe Global Chief Compliance Officer Michael Cocoman (noted variably across sources)[2][4][5]

From Adyen: CRCO Mariëtte Swart and CFO Ethan Tandowsky.[2][4][5] Existing backers Index Ventures, Puzzle Ventures, and Snowflake chairman Frank Slootman also re-upped.[2][6]

This “operator’s roundtable” underscores KYB’s centrality to fintech stacks, where business onboarding often causes churn and delays.[2][4] Notably, Stripe isn’t a Duna customer, but its execs clearly see the value.[4]

Solving the KYB Challenge: Faster, Cheaper Business Onboarding

Traditional business verification—Know Your Business (KYB)—relies on manual document exchanges, creating a “massive hidden tax on the B2B economy.”[6] Duna streamlines this for fintechs and banks, helping onboard corporate clients more efficiently while cutting fraud risks.[2][4] Customers like Plaid benefit from reduced churn tied to clunky ID checks.[4]

Duna’s model mixes subscriptions and variable fees, delivering compliant, auditable AI for enterprise needs.[3][6] Early traction with leading customers validates the approach, per van Lanschot: “We have seen strong traction with leading enterprise customers.”[6] The fresh capital will expand these AI capabilities while upholding bank-level regulatory standards.[6][7]

Duna’s Ambitious Vision: A Global “Digital Passport” Network

Beyond onboarding, Duna aims to pioneer a global trust infrastructure—a network of shareable business identities.[2][4][6] Imagine a “digital passport” for companies: verify once with Duna, then reuse across platforms like Moss, Plaid, or banks.[4] This B2B analog to one-click checkout could unlock network effects, especially for resource-strapped enterprises.[4][5]

Nichols highlighted this scalability: “I look for… network effects, or some sort of scale advantage… this is a very good example of [founder-market fit].”[4] By targeting the “long tail” of enterprises, Duna sidesteps giants while building toward massive adoption.[4]

Why This Matters for European Fintech and Beyond

Duna’s raise cements Europe’s rising fintech prowess, with CapitalG’s bet amplifying the “Stripe mafia” pipeline.[2][5] As payments evolve, robust KYB becomes table stakes—Duna’s €30M war chest positions it to lead.[2] In a crowded identity space, its operator-backed momentum and reusable identity network could redefine B2B trust.

For fintech founders and investors, Duna exemplifies how earned insights from Stripe translate to billion-dollar opportunities. As van Lanschot eyes global expansion, watch this space: business identity might just get its “one-click” revolution.[6]

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Original source: TechCrunch – Stripe alumni raise €30M Series A for Duna, backed by Stripe and Adyen execs