$36 Million in Debt for iZettle Ahead of New AI Plunge

The notion that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems will fundamentally change the way we handle commerce is nothing new. Thus, companies looking to make advancements in this field are at the cutting edge, but not exactly going out on a limb. Joining in this fray is iZettle, who recently took on a 30 million Euro—around $35.957 million US as of this writing—debt load to augment its own presence in the AI and machine learning fields.

With the new cash in hand, iZettle will be looking to develop four key areas: improving the digital commerce picture, developing AI and machine learning, advancing payments infrastructure and ramping up legislative and compliance systems to match. The company primarily focuses its efforts in Europe, though has recently made some moves into the Latin American markets by way of Mexico and Brazil.

The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) played a role in this, and the new load of debt funding arrives just nine months after the company had previously raised a combination of debt and equity funding totaling $63 million.

Though this kind of debt load might shake some, iZettle’s CEO and co-founder Jacob de Geer was enthusiastic, saying of the funding “It’s the type of offer you can’t refuse, and it will allow us to further accelerate our growth and continue to level the playing field for small businesses, giving them access to tools to take on the big corporations.”

Considering that somewhere around a third to half, potentially more, of the company’s funding comes from debt right now, it needs a win, and in short order. Otherwise, a lot of people holding a lot of IOUs are going to get very nervous very fast. Granted, we’re talking about a corporation’s debt, but a company with at least of a third of its funding based on debt has got to be unnerving somebody. It would be different if the mix were weighted more heavily toward equity, but the risk may be acceptable.

Still, if it can innovate the next big thing in AI or machine learning, then no one’s going to care what the company’s debt load looks like. It will be too good not to invest in, especially given how much AI is poised to change the economic landscape.