# Lightyear

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/lightyear
> research date 2026-05-30 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [Lightyear — official](https://lightyear.com/)

## Overview

**Lightyear** is Estonian-founded neobroker by **ex-Wise founders Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer** + **25 countries** + **$1B+ customer assets Jul 2025** + **$23M Series B Jul 2025** + **Richard Branson investor** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Estonia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/EE)</sup>. **2025 baseline**: Lightyear $1B+ customer assets + $23M Series B funding Jul 2025 + 25 countries; **Estonian-founded neobroker by ex-Wise founders Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer** distinctive Estonian fintech ex-Wise heritage; **6,000+ stocks + ETFs + MMFs** distinctive European neobroker offering breadth.

**Distinctive Lightyear positioning**:
- **Estonian-founded neobroker by ex-Wise founders Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer** distinctive Estonian fintech ex-Wise heritage
- **25 countries** distinctive European neobroker geographic coverage
- **$1B+ customer assets Jul 2025** distinctive European neobroker scale
- **$23M Series B Jul 2025** distinctive European neobroker funding
- **Richard Branson investor** distinctive European neobroker celebrity backer
- **6,000+ stocks + ETFs + MMFs** distinctive European neobroker offering breadth
- **2021 Lightyear founding by Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer in Tallinn** distinctive Estonian fintech post-Wise founding
- **FCA UK + EFSA Estonia licensed** distinctive European neobroker dual-licensing

## History

**2021 — Lightyear founded by Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer (both ex-Wise) in Tallinn** as Estonian European neobroker.

**2024 — Lightyear available in Ireland** distinctive European geographic expansion.

**Jul 24 2025 — Lightyear raises $23M Series B funding + surpasses $1B in customer assets** post-CNBC coverage <sup>[2][2], [3][3]</sup>.

**2025 — Lightyear operates in 25 countries** <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **Lightyear Financial Ltd.** (Estonian-founded neobroker; FCA UK + EFSA Estonia licensed; Tallinn HQ).

**Major shareholders**: **Martin Sokk (co-founder + CEO) + Mihkel Aamer (co-founder) + Richard Branson (Virgin Group founder) + Estonian + European angel + VC investors + $23M Series B Jul 2025**.

**Regulators**: **FCA (Financial Conduct Authority UK) + EFSA (Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority)**.

## Technical integration

Lightyear mobile app (iOS + Android; $1B+ customer assets Jul 2025; 25 countries) + lightyear.com online; SEPA + SEPA Instant + Faster Payments GB; **6,000+ stocks + ETFs + MMFs (Money Market Funds)** distinctive European neobroker offering breadth + **commission-free + fractional shares + multi-currency accounts** distinctive European neobroker model.

## Users & growth

**Jul 2025**: Lightyear $1B+ customer assets + 25 countries.

## Use cases

European retail + private + investing + commission-free trading + 6,000+ stocks + ETFs + MMFs (Money Market Funds) via Lightyear mobile + lightyear.com online; SEPA + SEPA Instant + Faster Payments GB; **6,000+ stocks + ETFs + MMFs (Money Market Funds)** distinctive European neobroker offering breadth + **commission-free + fractional shares + multi-currency accounts** distinctive European neobroker model.

## Implementations & partners

**Operator**: Lightyear Financial Ltd. (Estonian-founded neobroker; FCA UK + EFSA Estonia licensed; Tallinn HQ); Martin Sokk (co-founder + CEO) + Mihkel Aamer (co-founder) + Richard Branson (Virgin Group founder) + Estonian + European angel + VC investors + $23M Series B Jul 2025.

**Major European neobroker + investment app competitors**: [Trade Republic](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/trade-republic) (Europe's largest neobroker by users; 10M+ users in 18 European countries; €150B+ AUM; €12.5B valuation post-Dec 2025 secondary share sale) + [Scalable Capital](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/scalable-capital) (German digital wealth manager + neobroker; Munich; €27B+ AUM 2024) + [eToro](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/etoro) (Israeli social trading + crypto investment; ETOR NASDAQ post-May 14 2025 IPO; 30M+ registered users in 75+ countries) + [Robinhood](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/robinhood) (US commission-free trading + crypto; NASDAQ: HOOD; 23.9M+ funded customers Q3 2025) + Freetrade (UK commission-free trading; IG Group ~£160M acquisition Apr 2025) + BUX Zero (Dutch commission-free trading; BlackRock + ABN AMRO investors) + DEGIRO (Dutch FlatexDEGIRO; European discount broker; FlatexDEGIRO Bank AG full German banking license).

**Regulators**: FCA + EFSA.

## Fun facts

- **Estonian-founded neobroker by ex-Wise founders Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer** distinctive Estonian fintech ex-Wise heritage.
- **25 countries** distinctive European neobroker geographic coverage.
- **$1B+ customer assets Jul 2025** distinctive European neobroker scale.
- **$23M Series B Jul 2025** distinctive European neobroker funding.
- **Richard Branson investor** distinctive European neobroker celebrity backer.
- **6,000+ stocks + ETFs + MMFs** distinctive European neobroker offering breadth.
- **2021 Lightyear founding by Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer in Tallinn** distinctive Estonian fintech post-Wise founding.
- **FCA UK + EFSA Estonia licensed** distinctive European neobroker dual-licensing.

## Comparison

| Feature | Lightyear | [Trade Republic](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/trade-republic) (Europe's largest neobroker by users rival; 10M+ users in 18 European countries; €150B+ AUM) | [Scalable Capital](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/scalable-capital) (German digital wealth manager + neobroker rival; Munich; €27B+ AUM 2024) | [eToro](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/etoro) (Israeli social trading + crypto investment rival; 30M+ registered users in 75+ countries) | DEGIRO (Dutch FlatexDEGIRO rival; European discount broker) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **Lightyear Financial Ltd. (Estonian-founded neobroker; FCA UK + EFSA Estonia licensed; Tallinn HQ)** | Trade Republic Bank GmbH (BaFin-licensed German broker-bank; €12.5B valuation post-Dec 2025 secondary share sale) | Scalable Capital GmbH (BaFin-licensed German digital wealth manager + neobroker; Munich; BlackRock + Tencent + HV Holtzbrinck Ventures + Tengelmann + others investors) | eToro Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ETOR post-May 14 2025 IPO) | FlatexDEGIRO AG (FRA: FTK; FlatexDEGIRO Bank AG full German banking license) |
| Type | **Estonian-founded neobroker by ex-Wise founders Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer + 25 countries + $1B+ customer assets Jul 2025 + $23M Series B Jul 2025 + Richard Branson investor + 6,000+ stocks + ETFs + MMFs + commission-free + fractional shares + multi-currency accounts** | Europe's largest neobroker by users + 10M+ users in 18 European countries + €150B+ AUM + €12.5B valuation post-Dec 2025 €1.2B secondary share sale + 70% first-time investors | German digital wealth manager + neobroker + Munich + €27B+ AUM 2024 + BlackRock + Tencent + HV Holtzbrinck Ventures + Tengelmann + others investors + First digital investment platform to offer BlackRock private equity solution | Israeli social trading + crypto investment + 30M+ registered users in 75+ countries + ETOR NASDAQ post-May 14 2025 IPO | Dutch FlatexDEGIRO + European discount broker + FlatexDEGIRO Bank AG full German banking license |
| Country | 25 countries (EE + GB + DE + FR + IT + ES + NL + BE + IE + FI + PT + AT + LU + PL + SE + NO + DK + GR + SK + EL + LT + LV + SI + MT + CY) | DE + FR + IT + ES + NL + AT + BE + IE + LU + PT + FI + GR + SK + EE + LT + LV + SI + PL (18 countries) | DE + AT + FR + IT + ES + NL | 75+ countries | DE + NL + ES + FR + IT + others |
| Distinctive | **2021 Lightyear founding by Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer (both ex-Wise) in Tallinn; 2024 Ireland availability; Jul 24 2025 $23M Series B funding + $1B+ customer assets; Richard Branson investor distinctive European neobroker celebrity backer** | 2015 Trade Republic founding by Christian Hecker + Thomas Pischke + Marco Cancellieri in Berlin; 2019 Trade Republic mobile app launch; Sep 2025 Poland launch (first market outside eurozone; 18 countries total); Dec 2025 €1.2B secondary share sale at €12.5B valuation | 2014 Scalable Capital founding by Erik Podzuweit + Florian Prucker + Patrick Pöschl + Adam French in Munich; 2019 BaFin license + neobroker pivot from digital wealth manager; 2025 BlackRock private equity offering launch via Scalable Broker | 2007 eToro founding in Tel Aviv; May 14 2025 NASDAQ ETOR IPO; CopyTrader social trading distinctive | 2008 DEGIRO founding in Amsterdam; 2020 FlatexDEGIRO merger |

## Status

**Active, Estonian-founded neobroker by ex-Wise founders Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer + 25 countries + $1B+ customer assets Jul 2025 + $23M Series B Jul 2025 + Richard Branson investor** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [3][3]</sup>:
- **Lightyear Financial Ltd. (Estonian-founded neobroker; FCA UK + EFSA Estonia licensed; Tallinn HQ)** since 2021 Lightyear founding by Martin Sokk + Mihkel Aamer (both ex-Wise) in Tallinn + 2024 Ireland availability + Jul 24 2025 $23M Series B funding + $1B+ customer assets.
- **Lightyear $1B+ customer assets + 25 countries**.
- **FCA + EFSA regulated**.

## Sources

[1]: https://lightyear.com/ "Lightyear: Investing app with 6000 stocks, ETFs & MMFs — Lightyear"
[2]: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/24/european-robinhood-rival-lightyear-raises-23-million.html "Estonia's tech elite are getting behind a European challenger to Robinhood — CNBC"
[3]: https://estonianworld.com/business/estonian-investment-app-lightyear-raises-23m-to-fuel-ai-driven-expansion-in-europe/ "Estonian-founded investment app Lightyear raises $23M for AI expansion in Europe — Estonian World"
[ee-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/EE

- [1] [Lightyear: Investing app with 6000 stocks, ETFs & MMFs — Lightyear][1]
- [2] [Estonia's tech elite are getting behind a European challenger to Robinhood — CNBC][2]
- [3] [Estonian-founded investment app Lightyear raises $23M for AI expansion in Europe — Estonian World][3]
- <sup>[Estonia report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/EE)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/EE-estonia.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [lightyear.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/lightyear). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.