Citi and BDC Capital Take Stake in Arteria AI

Citi SPRINT (Spread Products Investment Technologies), the strategic investing arm of the bank’s Global Spread Products division, and BDC Capital, have invested in Arteria AI, a provider of enterprise digital documentation.

Citi and BDC Capital join FinTech investors Information Venture Partners and Illuminate Financial, along with StandUp Ventures and Golden Ventures. 

The capital will accelerate Arteria’s global growth and adoption of its differentiated low-code, data-centric approach to documentation. 

The terms of the transaction were undisclosed.

Christina Wojcik

“Arteria is approaching the complex document data challenges of financial institutions with a forward-thinking approach, reflecting their deep understanding of financial documents,” said Christina Wojcik, Director, Legal Innovation at Citi.

Arteria’s software has been deployed at numerous top-tier global financial institutions to deliver fast and accurate documentation experiences to clients, while lowering the cost and risk of doing business.

Arteria uses artificial intelligence and a data-first approach on its mission to make documentation processes frictionless. 

Arteria includes a series of product modules that can be used to help draft, negotiate and analyze documentation and contracts. 

Unlike standard digital document platforms (also referred to as Contract Lifecycle Management or CLM), Arteria was built to the specific requirements of the institutional banking and trading sector. 

It delivers efficiencies to document and data management processes from the simplest to the most complex segments within finance, from primary and secondary capital markets, to lending, prime brokerage, structured finance, transaction banking and private equity.

Katya Chupryna, Head of SPRINT at Citi, said: “Our investment in Arteria AI aligns with our strategy, as the company’s differentiated technology is both widely applicable to multiple Citi businesses including new issuance for structured credit and accretive to our broader ecosystem of portfolio companies. The company has already accumulated significant traction with established financial institutions, demonstrating the immense utility of their technology. A strategic investment into Arteria also represents a great opportunity to support a female-founded and led enterprise FinTech company.” 

Mark Trevitt, Partner at BDC Capital, added: “We are delighted to strategically partner with Arteria AI to improve the efficiency of lending processes within financial services. Working with Shelby Austin and her team also furthers our mission to support the development of iconic Canadian entrepreneurs and companies.” 

The strategic investment round follows Arteria AI’s Series A in April 2021, where it raised $11m just five months after the company’s inception. 

Shelby Austin, CEO of Arteria AI, said: “This investment is a strong signal that Arteria uniquely addresses the documentation challenges faced within institutional finance. We are so pleased that Citi and BDC Capital recognize that our technology, and the specialized nature of our multidisciplinary team, are highly differentiated.”