Republic acquires local business platform, NextSeed

By Pavithra R

New York-based Republic, missioned to democratize investing has announced the acquisition of local business investment platform, NextSeed. The announcement marks the company’s third acquisition this year in addition to Fig (gaming) and Compound (real estate). 

Founded in 2014, NextSeed aims to connect businesses and individual investors to build vibrant communities across America. The firm has facilitated over $20mn in investments from 25,000 members into 75 local businesses. It has empowered everyday investors to invest directly in local businesses, enabling private companies across the US to raise capital directly from their community.

The acquisition is bringing NextSeed’s Main Street and debt financing expertise to a robust ecosystem that provides investors with direct access to investments in tech startups, gaming, crypto and real estate assets. NextSeed will expand the capabilities of the Republic private investment infrastructure with debt financing technology, soon to be available across other Republic offerings.

“Private investing is the next mainstream fintech category. The NextSeed acquisition is just the latest milestone for Republic as we deliver the most expansive platform of marketplace offerings and investment types for private investors globally,” said Republic CEO Kendrick Nguyen.

By adding NextSeed to its ecosystem, Republic is gaining a strategic partner that shares its mission to build a financial system that will democratize finance and create more opportunities for everyone, while also adding additional industry and financing capabilities critical to fueling further growth and expansion. The collaboration is a continuation of Republic’s efforts to expand its breadth of offerings and services. The firm witnessed tremendous in recent years, facilitating over $200 mn through its online platform for retail investors as well as its private platform for accredited investors.

Republic has also announced the joining of NextSeed CEO Youngro Lee as Republic’s COO. Youngro will remain as CEO of NextSeed’s parent company as well as NextSeed Securities LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer which will continue to operate independently. 

“Private investing is legally complex to deliver at scale. The decision to join forces with Republic was simple: no other platform in the world has anywhere near this level of legal engineering,” said Youngro Lee.

Founded in 2016, Republic is a leading private investment platform with 800,000 members and over $200 million facilitated through more than 250 deals. The company has now built or acquired the RegTech components necessary to enable a wide variety of investment types, including Reg CF, Reg A, Reg A+, Reg D, Reg S, real estate, debt financing, revenue sharing, and crypto-assets.