European regulation is transforming ESG reporting from a nice-to-have to a must-have. This is creating new tailwinds for startups like Fishing daywhose platform targets private equity funds and large corporations that need to track and experiment with sustainability practices.
Asset management companies have been a prime target for Apiday, especially European companies. And because of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, it’s no longer just impact funds that are closely monitoring sustainability metrics: all types of companies are now paying attention to ESG reporting.
This creates a different environment than the one that existed when Apiday was founded in 2021, but one that has also seen negative reactions to ESG. CEO Edward Odey has been involved in Elon Musk’s Criticism of ESG RatingsHe agrees that these things have their limits. But his focus with Apiday is on using ESG to create value, not just compliance.
The company just raised €10 million in a Series A funding round, which will help Apiday accelerate its growth in a space that includes well-funded competitors like AlphaSense, Dataminr, and Sesamm, as well as FactSet-owned True Value Laboratories.
Like those players, Apiday leverages AI to save its clients time. But like traditional advisors, it also offers human expertise. The combination of the two is what gives it an edge over rivals old and new, CEO Edward Odey told TechCrunch.
Another factor that sets it apart is its expansion plan. With customers in 23 countries and 60% of its sales outside France, the company plans to double its efforts in Europe and open offices in Germany and the United Kingdom. Also aiming to improve its overall offering, it expects its team to grow from 40 to 70 employees over the next 12 months.
Audi also hopes that Apiday’s latest funding round will help boost the company’s position among asset management companies.
Before founding Apiday with former investor Charles Murray, Audi co-founded car rental company LeCab, a journey that inspired him to get into ESG. Compared to its competitors, LeCab was better in some areas of ESG, Audi said, but that wasn’t properly taken into account. In selling it Because there are no standards on these topics.
Again, the way investors approach ESG now is not the same as it was then; on the corporate side, ESG reporting is about to get another boost from the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). “ESG data will become increasingly important over the next few years,” said Stanislas Lott, the partner who led the round at Daphne.
![Fishing Day Maps](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Apiday-maps.jpg?w=680)
But data is just the foundation. What matters most is what you can do with it. For example, Apiday helps its clients develop roadmaps with around 350 actions they can take to improve their ESG practices after they comply with the standards. Funds are already at this stage, but Apiday expects companies to follow suit, and it will be interesting to see how quickly they do so.
Series A backers include AENU, Daphni, Galion.exe, SWEN Capital, as well as existing investors Speedinvest and Revent.