nextmarkets GmbH has secured sizable backing today now that Silicon Valley mainstay Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Paypal and instrumental investor of Facebook, has taken a $3.5 million stake in the group, amounting to a hefty sum during its latest investment round, according to a Deutsche Startups report.

Founded in 2014, nextmarkets GmbH is a German-based fintech group, focusing on preparing and providing technology for private investors for trading across myriad instruments and asset classes, including equities, foreign exchange (FX), and others. nextmarkets was launched by the Manuel Heyden, the former CEO of ayondo and FinLab and Dominic Heyden.

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nextmarkets managed to achieve a seven-figure sum during its investment round, which will be utilized to drive and ultimately finance its further growth ambitions. Peter Thiel adds to the group’s investor shortlist, having also included FinLaband EXTOREL, the Family Office of the Strascheg family.

To date, nextmarkets has pegged itself as a fintech group with the goal of democratizing knowledge of financial markets with the parallel goal of facilitating private investors. The securing of such a large investment by one of the industry’s most acclaimed individuals represents a coup for the bourgeoning group, which has made inroads in the fintech community via its innovative e-learning and training platform for trading.

One of the pillars of nextmarkets has been its mission to combat issues facing private investors, à la irrational decision-making and behavioral anomalies. Having navigated through no less than two market-defining events during the past two years alone, i.e. the Swiss National Bank (SNB) decision and the Brexit referendum surprise, the group’s focus has coincided with the problems of the times.

Now we can get started on the next phase of market development

Thiel’s latest funding also has been warmly received by Manuel Heyden, who expressed his satisfaction and excitement in a recent statement. Indeed, he is “very proud that we were able to win over experienced investors. We see that as a clear endorsement of both our concept and business model as well as our long-term vision.”

“nextmarkets has created an impressive platform and we are pleased that we were able to successfully conclude this round of financing with such strong and well-known partners. Now we can get started on the next phase of market development,” reiterated FinLab’s CEO Stefan Schütze, a key player in past funding rounds for the company.

“After nearly two years in development. We can now offer the world’s most innovative platform that intelligently combines e-learning with trading. Each and every day, our users get real-time demonstrations of the tools essential to success in different markets. Chart illustrations help turn learning into a fascinating game. That’s learning by doing – it’s fun and provides an immediate sense of accomplishment,” added Dominic Heyden, co-founder and CTO of next markets.