Growth capital raised to facilitate scale-up's European rollout 

ROTTERDAM - Investors Borski fund and Rabobank are jointly investing €1.5 million in Closure. The Rotterdam-based scale-up unburdens families after the death of a loved one by ending or transferring ongoing subscriptions. In our current "subscription culture," a person has on average more than 30 ongoing contracts, accounts, subscription accounts or profiles. Closure responds to the confusing and difficult-to-cancel mountain of periodic obligations left by death. In addition to Borski Fund and Rabobank, early shareholders Kees Jan Rietveld, Lex Geerdes and Wiegertje Groenveld are also participating in this second investment round. This investment will mainly be used to expand the team and roll out to other European countries. 

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Graciëlla van Vliet, CEO of Closure photo: Bogdan Fecioru

Great burden on bereaved families 

It is a recognizable situation for people who have lost someone: all companies and institutions that next of kin encounter in the mail, email and on bank statements must be informed of the death. This is a time-consuming job for the next of kin, and experience shows that cancellation is often not easy. On average, a deceased person has more than 30 contracts, accounts and subscriptions, ranging from bank accounts and insurance to charities and social media. Because of our "subscription culture," this number is increasing rapidly. Closure unburdens the heirs of the deceased by acting as a single point of contact between heirs and organizations. Heirs indicate the companies at which subscriptions should be terminated or taken over, and Closure executes these requests. Through a weekly update and a personal dashboard, the heir stays informed of progress at all times. 

Machine learning: one employee can handle hundreds of requests 

Closure looks at problems from a data and technology perspective, leading to innovative solutions from the status quo. 'By applying various machine learning techniques, a single employee can now handle hundreds of requests per day. We not only unburden heirs, but also help organizations make handling a death notification smooth and less labor-intensive because companies' customer service often does not grow proportionally with the customer base' said Bart Verhaegh, CTO of Closure. 

Unburdening relatives and organizations

Meanwhile, Closure works with more than 200 funeral directors and numerous subscription providers such as: T-Mobile, Unicef, Interpolis, OV-Chipkaart, Knab. That number will continue to grow. Closure has obtained a license from the Financial Markets Authority to also terminate or transfer contracts from financial institutions. "Our goal is to support our to heirs in completing the digital legacy left by a loved one. This allows people to focus on what is important: grieving," said Graciëlla van Vliet, CEO and co-founder of Closure.

Rabobank bets on financial wellness 

Rabobank was involved with Closure at an early stage with an Innovation Loan for the development of the platform. Closure's services align with the social themes that Rabobank considers important. 'We want to be committed to innovations that boost people's financial well-being. Because of the team's innovative strength and mission-driven approach, we are now also supporting them in the next steps of growth. We see opportunities for Closure to increase their impact both in the Netherlands and abroad'. Says Thijs Reiling, investment banker startups and scaleups. 

Revolutionary software general purpose 

Closure was founded by the two talented female entrepreneurs Chantal van der Velde and Graciëlla van Vliet. Both have an econometrics background and their B2B SaaS solution using AI solves a major problem in the market. 'Behind Closure's software is a revolutionary innovation that could also be applicable outside the death process. At Borski Fund, we invest in AI solutions because they offer enormous opportunities to efficiently solve quantitatively large social problems. Closure is the fifth AI company we are adding to our portfolio. Says Bertrand van Leersum, Investment Director at Borski Fund.